Wednesday's Catch: The End of Multisite? And More

The End Of Multisite Is Near (Sort Of)

...there are rumblings of the demise of the multisite model. High profile churches like Tim Keller’s Redeemer Presbyterian and Matt Chandler’s Village Church are spinning off their locations as autonomous congregations, and other churches are closing offsite campuses. Yesterday one of the early adopters of multisite, Dr. James Emery White at Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, posted an article explaining why they are closing their satellite locations and consolidating everything back to their 80 acre campus in the suburbs. Is this the beginning of the end of the multisite fad? Read More

"...it is still very challenging for people to connect deeply with a church that is more than 20 minutes from home. A church can certainly attract people who live further away, but unless the goal is for people to only attend online, this barrier still exists for many." My own personal experience supports this conclusion. It is challenging to connect deeply with a church in one community when one lives in another community. It is also challenging to provide pastoral care to attendees who live scattered around a region rather than together in a particular community. A number of Continuing Anglican churches were started as regional churches. In the long term this has proven a barrier to their growth and partially explains their decline.

On the other hand, an ongoing disadvantage of multisite is the sermon which is live-streamed from a central location and may not address local concerns and needs.

One-on-One with Bryan Jarrett on Resourcing Rural America, Part 1

"We've not looked at rural as a mission field. We haven't seen it through missiological lenses." Ed Stetzer welcomes Bryan Jarrett to The Exchange for a two-part interview. Bryan is Lead Pastor of Northplace Church in Sachse, Texas. In Part 1 today they talk about the Water Tower Leadership Network. Tomorrow they will discuss Lonesome Dove Ranch. Read 

More Seven Ways to Love Your Community

Church leaders should love their churches where they are now, not where they wish their congregations could be in the future. That’s a given, or at least should be. But what about the community? Church leaders should love their communities as much as their churches. Granted, some churches are easier to love than others, and some communities are easier to love than others. A calling to a place, however, requires a love for that place. Read More

The Peculiar Tale of an Anglican-Baptist Church Plant

Why would two distinctly different denominations work together? And what have they learned? In the fall of 2014, a Baptist church in Edmonds, Washington, planted another congregation. But this wasn’t an ordinary planting experience—rather than starting another church in their own tradition, they planted an Anglican one. Read More

3 Ministry Lies Church Leaders Must Silence

If you’re attempting to lead in ministry, you have an enemy who wants to discourage and distract you from the mission to which God has called you. If he can cripple you with doubts, fears and excuses, the ministry will be hindered. Remember, this is a battle for the souls of people. We can’t afford to waste time with the mind games of the enemy. Here are three, of many, lies that I have fought regularly, along with some encouragement the Lord has given me related to each one. Read More

9 Things You Should Know About Cohabitation in America

A new survey finds that cohabitation is pervasive in the United States, and is increasingly viewed as acceptable by Christians—even if it doesn’t lead to marriage. Here is what you should know—and that most American don’t—about cohabitation. Read More

How Shifts in Digital Behavior Are Changing Outreach

You can be a good leader and communicator and yet your church can be in decline simply because you’re not making certain shifts toward the digital world. After all, everybody you want to reach is online. If you’re not there, you’re missing them. Here are five digital shifts that affect church growth.... Read More

The Problem With “Spiritual but Not Religious”

“I’m spiritual but not religious.” Have you heard that expression before? I recently had a conversation with someone about faith. After a delay to articulate his beliefs, someone nearby helped by saying, “spiritual but not religious.” “Yeah,” he said, “I’m spiritual but not religious.” This is a common phrase, but it abounds with many faults. Read More