What’s the Real Difference Between a Traditional Church Plant and a Multi-Site Satellite Campu
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Mon, December 20, 2004
- Viewed 179
- (64) comments so far
"Johnson Ferry Baptist Church has a great reputation, and we're transferring the core mission, the values of that institution, to this campus," said Terry Nelson, head pastor of the new Johnson Ferry @ Cedarcrest.
The 23-year-old church is counting on its trusted name. Such branding is used to sell everything from hamburgers to computers, so, why not use a brand name to sell salvation?
The spinoff church will draw people from west Cobb and east Paulding counties and will initially hold services at Shelton Elementary School on Cedarcrest Road in Paulding County.
Services at Johnson Ferry @ Cedarcrest will be a mix of live music, live prayer and videotaped sermons delivered by Bryant Wright, the senior pastor at Johnson Ferry for 23 years, who is known for his "right from the heart" 60-second radio homilies.
The mix of live worship and videotaped sermon has been used at Johnson Ferry, Wright said.
Midmorning services are held simultaneously in the chapel and the church gym. One week, Wright delivers the sermon live in the chapel. The next week he speaks in the gym while those in the main sanctuary see a video version.
Such spiritual franchises, Wright said, "are definitely a trend across the country, especially among larger churches of all denominations."
North Point Community Church of Alpharetta has a branch in Buckhead, where the Rev. Andy Stanley appears via 3-D video image. North Point also has started a congregation in Dothan, Ala., and plans another in Forsyth County.
A 2000 Hartford Seminary study of 153 megachurches (there are an estimated 850 nationwide) found that 22 percent had satellite churches. Being a branch of a big church, as opposed to an independent start-up, has several advantages, Nelson said.
Church members know what to expect. "There are no unpleasant surprises," Nelson said.
The worldly expenses of running a church ? rendering unto the power company what is the power company's ? are covered by the established church.
"You can pour your passion and your energy into the ministry instead of worrying if you'll survive," Nelson said.
Until a a Cedarcrest campus is built, Sunday services are being held in the school gym.
The church paid to have heating and air conditioning installed in the gym, an expense beyond the reach of a typical start-up operation, Nelson said.
The staff of the new church is holding practice services in preparation for the Jan. 16 official first service. Equipment loaded into four trailers and a 26-foot cargo truck transforms the school gym into a worship center in about 45 minutes. About 120 people have been attending the practice services.
The services will be a bit more casual than those of the mother church, Nelson said.
"We'll never be in a coat and tie over there," he said.
Is this really any different of an idea than what we're used to in the past with the traditional church plant model for church growth?
Montpelier Baptist Church was a church plant of First Baptist Church of Stryker, OH (a church about 20 miles away). MBC was started because one local church cared about the spiritual well-being of people from another local community. Fortunately, I lived in that other community. 
What's the difference between what Johnson Ferry is doing in January and what First Baptist Church did 35 years ago? There are only two things that intially come to mind:
1. The name of the church
2. Technology
I know many are reluctant to take the multi-site movement seriously. I know that many think that multi-site churches somehow should not exist ("Why are they making their kingdom larger rather than just starting an entirely new church?" "Multi-sites are just another way to make mega-church pastors more popular and feed their own ego"). But in many ways, multi-sites make sense from a start-up standpoint... they take a local church's strengths (their values, vision, and mission) in their own community and duplicate this to a nearby community. Everyone is on the same page because they come from a mother church. And the financial pressure that many church plants find themselves under can be better leveraged by being more closely connected to the mother church.
Just as First Baptist saw spiritual fruit through their efforts 35 years ago, so will Johnson Ferry during 2005. Lives will be reached. Souls will be saved because God's people are once again reaching out.
For those who are opposed or look down on the multi-site approach, I would ask you to consider what the differences really are from the ways that we are already using and willingly 'accept'.
That should be enough to get the wheels rolling this morning... what do you think?
Todd
I was saved almost 30 years ago in a small church plant in Montpelier, OH. Today the evangelical church world is being rocked by a new type of church plant. The ‘multi-site church’ movement is gaining strength every week in America. Clint Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently wrote an interesting article on another church that is opening a new church via a multi-site, satellite campus approach. Take a few minutes to read this article and consider some of the questions and ideas that I took from this article…
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Jade on Tue, March 22, 2005
I have been reading on this blog for awhile and I can almost predict with accuracy what some of you are going to say. I think we get it that you don’t like fads and mega churches. Maybe we all should do things the way you do them. I mean, heaven for bid we review how we are doing church and adjust to culture in a Biblical way. Are there fads out there of course, and I also a cringe when I hear a new one as well. I think the problem becomes when you duplicate another churches program to the T. The purpose-driven church is not ment to be used exactly the way Rick Warren did it.
I think Rick was just trying to get everyone to relook at the way we do church, and make sure that we do things for specific reason, not just for the sake of doing them.
When we know why we are doing something, then we can figure out how to do it effectively. Example, Why does this church exist? To worship God, tell others about Him, serve others for Him, teach others how to live for Him, and create a community believers where care for one another for His sake. “This is how they will know your are my disciples, That you love one another.” Ok now we know why we exist, how can we fulfill our purpose, lets seek the Lord in this.
Rick even says in the book, I did not come up with these purposes, they are in the Bible, he is just pointing them out.
As for multi-site Churches. Why not just plant a new church, and select a Pastor to lead it. I have been involved in two Church plants, and I would be afraid that the Senior Pastor of the big church would micro-manage me. If however, the church is used to reach the community for Christ, then more power to them. God calls me people to do church in many different ways, and who am I to quench God’s moving.
bernie on Wed, June 22, 2005
Todd says:
“I don’t think that “branding” of a church as an identity has anything to do with “branding salvation.”
Is the “branding” too close to celebrity worship? That’s my concern… Why would anyone want to have a megachurch when they can plant churches… I don’t understand… I know it’s “harder” to plant churches, but do we do the right things because it’s “easy” or do we do what God asks us to do, regardless of whether it is “easy” or “difficult?”
I think megachurches grow by addition, whereas church planters grow using multiplication.
...Bernie
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/247/
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