Available Today: Multi-Site Church Roadtrip

At least once a week I learn of a church that has added a new location, becoming one church in two or more locations. Is that your experience as well? In most cases, the motive is evangelism -- doing a better job of helping people find new life in Jesus Christ.
 
Mid-2006 saw the release of Multi-Site Church Revolution by Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon and myself. People have snapped up that book with strong interest -- and they continue to do so. When Zondervan, the publisher, decided to give it a new cover (old and new pictured), they asked if any of the material is outdated. We reviewed it and didn't find anything that needed to be changed. So it's still a great guidebook.
 
Today we three authors are releasing a companion volume, Multi-Site Church Revolution. It's virtually all-new material, including new antics by Geoff Surratt at Seacoast.
 
How do the books differ?

• The first book (Multi-Site Revolution) frames the idea of multi-site: what models are people using? how do you know if it's right for you? how do you present it to your board and congregation? how is it funded? how are campus pastors found and developed? and more.

• The new book (Multi-Site Roadtrip) drills down on a bunch of newer developments: how do international campuses work? what about merger campuses? what about churches that start two or more campuses at once? and more. We pick one church to represent each developments, and we take you on our roadtrip to visit that church and look inside its inner workings. Then we describe other churches doing likewise and principles they're all discovering.

 

As one example, the new book talks about Internet campuses, for churches that want to do far more than just a webcast of their weekend messages. One of the leaders in this particular innovation is LifeChurch.tv where Bobby Gruenewald is one of the pastors. He recently commented that their Internet campus reaches four different types of people:

• Distant: People who are outside the physical reach of the church
• Curious: People who would prefer to explore their interest in spirituality in an online context
• Mobile: People who are part of LifeChurch.tv, but are traveling or displaced
• Digital: People who prefer to experience much of their community in an online context

That's just one of many subjects we address. You'll also find lots of helpful material on our blog. It started in 2006, so it's got lots of excellent material. And you can order either book here, or also view sample chapters. Whether for you it's a "revolution" or a "roadtrip," we hope you'll join us!
 
Warren Bird, Ph.D., is Research Director at Leadership Network, and co-author of 21 books on various aspects of church health and innovation.