Jacksonville Chapel/Emergence

One of the waves sweeping the country in churches across America the last 5 years has been the multi site strategy. Multi site is a strategy where one church multiplies its efforts through increase in venues, or sites to expand its ability to impact its community. I have to admit, I like the strategy, I better I make my living as a campus pastor. However, what I am most excited about is a strategy we have chosen to experiment with at our church… building our multi sites around our mission and not our man.

The truth is most multi sites out there are video venue, multi sites. A venue where there is live worship, and a video feed or dvd of the (for lack of better terms) main campus teaching pastor. This model is probably the most widely used in that it is cost effective, uses Sunday teaching as what some churches label “the brand” of the church, and is extremely safe. Lead pastors view this as safe because it prevents a young guy from breaking off of the church and starting his own deal. It is a fearful thing to potentially raise up your own assassin. A process seen in ministry far too often, for far to many reasons.

Here is the thing that does not sit well with me, the video multi site is built on a man, rather then on a mission. Some churches even call the teacher “the brand” of the church, the equivalent of the Nike swoosh, or the McDonalds Arches. While I do believe that there are a few pastors who are gifted enough and should be doing this, guys who get 10,000 downloads a week, guys who have grown a church to 6,000 in 10 years, the guys in the top 1% of teaching gift. For the rest of us, navigating our way to a thousand, or leading God’s call in their community I believe we would be better off training up young gifted leaders to either church plant, or lead via live teaching at a multi site of the church. One has a pretty hard time seeing Paul, say, “Hey Timothy they just really love me in Ephesus, so how bout you be the face with the place, give announcements, and press play on DVD”. In fact Paul’s charge to Timothy seems to be the exact opposite, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” - 2 Tim. 2:2 (NIV)

I think we will see deep flaws to the video model in about 10 years… I keep asking myself what happens when one of these guys gets hit by a bus (traditionally a question reserved only for evangelism). In all seriousness, think about the long term effect one pastor has who trains up 4 gifted teachers in his life and builds a church on the mission of discipleship, verse the guy with 6 video venues… who one day will die. The difference is astronomical when we see it in terms of multiplication verse addition.

All of this simply to say I am glad to be part of a church willing to try multi-site in a way that is new. Despite our space issues, our zoning problems, the risks associated with team teaching, and the astronomical cost of North Jersey real-estate… we have chosen to build our multi sites on our mission and not our men. Central to our church vision is a dream to see a church with a continuing growing number of disciples… our hope is that process of discipleship would be our DNA. That our disciple making DNA would be so clear, compelling and consistent across every venue of our church that that is how people would know we where one church in many locations.

I am a firm believer that there is no perfect model I just believe the majority of multi sites should be equipping the next generation of leaders and building the kingdom around the mission of the church and not the men.