The multisite church revolution is the biggest thing to happen to the broader church movement in my almost 20 years of ministry. I’ve personally been involved in the launch of 12 campuses—working on two more as we speak!—and I’ve coached a bunch of other leaders through the process. I’ve written a lot on the multisite church movement, and I’m genuinely a fan of this approach to multiplication.
However, you might want to think twice before attempting this approach to multiplication at your church. Avoid going multisite if the following applies to your church:
5 Cautions About the Multisite Church Revolution
1. You want to spur growth.
Going multisite takes whatever is presently happening at your church and magnifies it. If your church is in decline, going multisite won’t turn that around … it will probably push it further into decline. Take time to uncover why your church isn’t growing and focus on that before making the step towards multisite. First nail it … then scale it.
2. Empty seats at prime time.
When was the last time your “prime time” service was packed to the roof? A building bursting with people provides the relational dynamics needed when casting vision for launching your services. Years ago, I heard an early multisite church pioneer say that if you didn’t have seven weekend services at your original campus, you shouldn’t go multisite. Although that is extreme, the core idea is correct. If you don’t have full services, it’s difficult to convince people to head to a new location.
