Church Strategic Positioning: Multi-Site vs. Multi-Venue

Many churches have responded to this growing need by continuing to add multiple hours of worship services (ie. Saturday Night, Sunday Night, Mid-Week services, etc.) ultimately to discover that these additional worship hours only further tax our already stretched thin church staff without providing for a viable long-term outlet for church growth. Whether you are located in the heart of the bible belt or on the coastal extremes, churches are continuing to discover that most people prefer to have “church” during some portion of a three-hour block on Sunday morning.

The reality of this paradigm is causing many churches to rethink their philosophy as it relates to facility/campus expansion plans leading many to wrestle with the question of multi-site vs. multi-venue as an outlet for additional growth.

Philosophically, both options present unique opportunities as best summarized by Larry Osborne, North Coast Church.

“Multi-site is a way to expand geographically. It also allows a church to go to people rather than build ever bigger buildings that people have to drive farther and farther to get to. Multi-venue is a way to expand demographically. The word of God cuts across all demographics, worship styles, and external differences that set churches apart. By offering venues as diverse in worship and ambiance as our Country Gospel, Traditions, and Edge venues, we are able to reach a much broader demographic than we ever would have with a one-size-fits-all (or blended) service.”

With many “options” come many “opinions”, even amongst executive leadership teams and elder groups with a single-minded vision. There is often robust dialogue in regards to which is “better” or “best” as it relates to facilitating continued ministry growth. The following story highlights one church’s journey as the executive leadership team & elder group utilized scenario analysis modeling to review multiple growth options (ie. multi-site vs. multi-venue) and review the key factors that led to the ultimate decision to go with multi-venue on the main campus rather than start their second multi-site campus.

The following story is based on the actual events and statistics; however, the name of the church has been changed for the purpose of this writing.