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Over the past few years several churches in the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church have chosen to go multi-site. Meaning, offering worship services and other ministries in more than one location. Why would a church that is highly successful in making disciples in one location attempt to duplicate their ministries in another location? Is this just a passing fad or is it something more?
Grace United Methodist Church has been looking into multi-site for several years. In 2000, we helped launch Hope UMC in Lone Jack Missouri. In 2010, we helped launch Renaissance UMC in Kansas City. We ourselves are a church plant from 1990. It is in the very DNA of Grace church to plant churches.
After passing on some interesting opportunities, we jumped at the chance to launch a second campus in El Dorado Springs Missouri. Yes, it’s an hour and half from our Lee’s Summit Campus. El Dorado Springs is a “small” town and the UMC had closed in 2014. At the time of our leap, we had not identified a campus pastor.
The model we employed was to begin with worship, then move toward missions and discipleship. In the midst of all of this, we’ve learned some valuable lessons and a few take-aways from the journey. One of which required significant upfront work and a shift in focus at our Lee’s Summit Campus. So here they are:
Learning #5 (Renovations)
It takes more effort than can be imagined to renovate a church property. With our two campuses so far away (1.5 hours), we relied on some church leaders to help, which was a huge blessing. But, we had to hire out much of the larger work because of distance. It did not slow us down much, but it was unexpected, in that the normal contractors we use at our Lee’s Summit campus were unavailable to offer the same services. We worked with new folks, on a schedule we were unaccustomed to, but all in all, it was an interesting experience.
Learning #4 (Stay Connected)
Thank God for mobile phones and technology. We could not have launched a church at such a quick pace without the amazing resources of technology. Whether it’s dropbox, email or Final Cut, we are able to stay deeply connected between the two sites. And weekly, if not daily conversations with the onsite staff can provide great spiritual support and encouragement. Celebrate EVERY victory together. And through some amazing work of the Spirit, we were blessed with an AMAZING Campus Pastor!
Learning #3 (Duplication Works!)
Grace church leadership and pastors have consulted in over 10 congregations and mentored/coached numerous pastors. We’ve experienced the negative side of structure and poorly led leaders. Being a healthy and vital congregation has helped us duplicate much of what we have done these past ten years in another location. Our daily practices and routines translate well and have allowed us to be ready to launch.
Learning #2 (Video Venue)
I was not sold on a video sermon in another location. In 2012 we began live streaming our worship services. This was a radical change for us, especially our pastors. We went from talking to folks in a small room, to reaching anyone who would listen. The shift was a good one. And as the livestream grew, we saw the blessing of folks all over the world joining us in worship.
In can take up to 20 hours to write one sermon. So, if you take the pressure off a multi site pastor, they can focus on discipleship, missions and evangelism. What a huge blessing for a gathered congregation. Instead of stretching pastors in every direction, each pastor can focus on their context. In a world of distractions, time matters more than ever. We’ve given our Campus Pastor time to connect with people.
Learning #1 (Culture Matters)
A fruitful, healthy and joyful culture of “church” can be exported. When the focus is on being a light in the darkness, loving God and neighbor, it makes room for new people. If we focus on shame, judgement and guilt, that can be exported too, but will eventually fail. We choose to focus on the love of God, not the sin of sinners.
That simple focus allows us to reach new people for Jesus Christ. We are able to stand out in a community and show people what we care about and who we love. It is transformation and sometimes a bit shocking that we focus so much on the needs of others, instead of the needs of a church building.
Final Thoughts
If your church is thinking about branching out into a new community with multi-site, may God richly bless you. It is not for the faint of heart. It will stress you and the church leadership out. But, you can nearly immediately see the fruit of your labors. If you are willing to risk big, then go for it.
And for those congregations that might be considering closing and giving up, call us. It doesn’t matter where you are, we want to talk. Due to technology, distance is no longer a barrier. If you would like to join the multi-site revolution with us, contact us today.
Grace United Methodist Church, Lee’s Summit Campus
2400 SE US 50 Hwy, Lee’s Summit, Missouri 64086
816-246-5764
[email protected]
www.grace4all.org