Multi-site church

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A multi-site church is a specific church congregation which holds services at multiple geographical locations, either within a specific metropolitan area or, increasingly, several such areas.

Contents

Characteristic

A multisite church is a local church that has other campuses in various locations within the same city or in different cities. [1] Within the multi-site approach, both the primary location (usually the one with the largest physical attendance) and the offsite locations will commonly have their own music worship and announcements pertaining to that congregation. [2] The sermon is mostly given by an on-site pastor, while in some churches it is broadcast via video from the main location. [3] The different campuses share physical and financial resources. [4]

History

The first church to become multi-site was Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1942. [5] [6] In 1990, there were 10 multisite churches the United States. In 2014, there were 8,000 multisite churches. [7] According to a 2015 Leadership Network study, 37% of multi-site church campuses were autonomous churches that merged with another church. [8] Some multi-site churches have also established campuses in prisons. [9] A study by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and Leadership Network published in 2020 found that 70% of American megachurches had a multi-site network. [10]

Criticism

American Professor Eddie Gibbs on Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary, criticized the model of the video sermon broadcast in some multi-site churches for the lack of relationship between the pastor teacher and the faithful at each site, which would lead to messages less adapted to the reality of each campus. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethlehem Baptist Church (Minneapolis)</span> Church in Minnesota, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fellowship Church</span> Church in Texas, United States

Fellowship Church (FC) is Baptist Evangelical multi-site megachurch based in Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Its senior pastors are Ed Young and Lisa Young.

Mars Hill Church was a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch, founded in 1996 by Mark Driscoll, Lief Moi, and Mike Gunn. It was a multi-site church based in Seattle, Washington and grew from a home Bible study to 15 locations in 4 U.S. states. In addition to services offered at its 15 locations, the church also podcast content of weekend services, and of conferences, on the Internet, with more than 260,000 sermon views online every week. In 2013, Mars Hill had a membership of 6,489 and average weekly attendance of 12,329. Following controversy in 2014 involving founding pastor Mark Driscoll, attendance dropped to 8,000–9,000 people per week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Life Church (Colorado Springs, Colorado)</span> Megachurch

New Life Church is a charismatic evangelical non-denominational multi-site megachurch based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States.

International Christian Fellowship (ICF) is an international charismatic Christian association of churches. The headquarters is located in Zürich, Switzerland.

Misión Carismática Internacional is an evangelical megachurch, in Bogotá, Colombia, its part of the neo-charismatic movement. It operates under a pyramidal and cellular model.

Bob Merritt is the retired senior pastor of Eagle Brook Church in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, a megachurch.

The Potter's House is a megachurch in Dallas, Texas, United States, founded by T. D. Jakes. Outreach magazine ranked it the 10th largest in the US as of 2008 based on a weekly attendance of 17,000 and a capacity of about 8,000.

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The Salem Baptist Church is a Baptist megachurch located at 752 E 114th Street in the Pullman neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The senior pastor is Charlie Dates.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooklyn Tabernacle</span> Church in New York City, United States

Brooklyn Tabernacle is an evangelical non-denominational megachurch located at 17 Smith Street at the Fulton Mall in downtown Brooklyn, New York City, United States. The senior pastor is Jim Cymbala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lagoinha Church</span> Church in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Lagoinha Baptist Church is a charismatic Evangelical Baptist multi-site megachurch based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais in Brazil. Márcio Valadão is the current senior pastor of the church. The church became known through one of its ministries, the worship ministry Diante do Trono, which is one of the world's largest ministries of praise, worship and mission. Some of the main services are broadcast live via Internet and also via their own TV and radio station: Rede Super. It is affiliated with the Convenção Batista Nacional and Baptist World Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Bird</span> American writer and researcher of megachurches

Warren Bird is an American writer and researcher of megachurches. He has authored or co-authored 34 books on church leadership, including Emotionally Healthy Church and Prepare Your Church for the Future, which have both achieved the bestseller status of 100,000 or more units in print. He has also overseen more than 25 research reports on issues affecting large and growing churches. His research on megachurches is regularly cited in mainstream and religious media. He currently serves as Senior Vice President of Research and Equipping for the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Eagle Brook Church is a Baptist megachurch with multiple locations, based in Centerville, Minnesota. It is affiliated with Converge. Weekly church attendance was 20,923 people in 2023. The senior pastor is Jason Strand.

References

  1. ↑ Jeff Strickler, Chain churches, startribune.com, USA, February 8, 2008
  2. ↑ Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, Warren Bird, A Multi-Site Church Roadtrip: Exploring the New Normal, Zondervan, USA, 2009, p. 109
  3. ↑ Warren Bird, MULTISITE: IN-PERSON VS. VIDEO TEACHING, leadnet.org, USA, February 27, 2014
  4. ↑ Jeff Strickler, Chain churches, startribune.com, USA, February 8, 2008
  5. ↑ Lisa B. Deaderick, BRIEF HISTORY OF MULTISITE CHURCHES, dailypress.com, USA, December 23, 2006
  6. ↑ Eddie Gibbs, ChurchMorph: How Megatrends Are Reshaping Christian Communities, Baker Academic, USA, 2009, p. 169
  7. ↑ Jessica Martinez, Multisite Church Movement Grows to 8,000 Sites; Study Shows Success Comes with Reaching More New Believers, christianpost.com, USA, March 06, 2014
  8. ↑ Kyle Rohane, Kevin Miller, The New Math of Church Mergers, christianitytoday.com, USA, December 2, 2019
  9. ↑ Daniel Silliman, The Latest Multisite Campus: Prison, christianitytoday.com, USA, October 22, 2019
  10. ↑ Maria Baer, US Megachurches Are Getting Bigger and Thinking Smaller, christianitytoday.com, USA, November 19, 2020
  11. ↑ Bob Smietana, Rebecca Barnes, High-Tech Circuit Riders, christianitytoday.com, USA, August 31, 2005
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