News came out from the Leadership Network last week that there are now more than 5,000 multisite churches in North America. That’s really a staggering number. It points to the positive impact this strategy can have on healthy churches to reach more people for Jesus.
For good or bad, multisite is the trendy topic in church world. When something becomes trendy, there’s a temptation to do it because “everyone” is doing it. What works for one church may not work for your church.
My fear is that churches may try to implement multisite too soon. Similar to building projects, multisite will help healthy churches reach more people faster. On the other hand, for churches that aren’t in a healthy position, multisite will help you get stuck faster. With that, here are…
9 Signs You’re Not Ready for Multisite
You haven’t clarified your vision and values.
When that happens, the DNA of your ministry gets really mushy the farther you get from your top leadership.
You don’t have a culture of leadership development.
Because of that, there aren’t enough strong leaders to launch the new location and fill the leadership vacuum at your original location. (Without a doubt, leadership is the key to success with multisite.)
You don’t have a culture of leadership empowerment.
When you start launching new campuses, you can no longer make every decision from your original campus.
You haven’t replicated core systems.
Think about every key next step people take at your church (i.e. membership, serving, groups, care, outreach, etc). You need healthy systems in place for each of those areas. Start by meeting at multiple times before you consider meeting at multiple locations.
