the multi-site church (meaning 1 church whose congregation meets at different locations or campuses) isn’t really a new thing. i don’t know who first started it, but it’s been around for a while now. as a phenomenon, however, it seems to be spreading into more and more parts of the nation. no longer is the multi-site method confined to large metropolitan areas. it’s happening all over and it’s an interesting thing to watch.

because of technology, a single church can now have campuses miles, if not cities away from each other. and, while each movement does multi-site a little differently (i will not attempt to speak as an ‘expert’ since i’ve little experience, only observation), you typically find one prominent, charismatic (used in the personality sense, not the theological sense) teaching pastor who is piped in to every campus. then, at those campuses, one might find any variety of administration formats: some have live music, some are all video. some have individual campus pastors, some have a network of assistant pastors for congregants to interact with.

again, i’m certainly not an expert, (though here at calvary we like to jokingly refer to our overflow hall as our West Campus).

but i was thinking about multi-site churches the other day and wondering about the benefits and drawbacks it might have as a method.

on one hand, a multi-site church is able to pool resources and do larger work than individual churches, even compared to individual churches cooperating together. one church with multiple bodies can do some real damage (in the positive sense) because of the number of people, resources and opportunities which are all gathered together under one administrative roof and vision.

growth is a good thing. though some advocate smaller churches, i wonder how you decide when a church ‘too big’? if God is adding to the church, if people are showing up to be a part of the ministry, at what number should you start turning them away? 10,000? 1,000? 100? logistically, if a church is quite sizable and continues to grow, at some point you will run into space issues. i think most people have no problem with a church that has 2 services, but you can’t very well have 8 sunday services at the same location (well, you could i suppose, but you’d go through staff pretty fast since they’d probably die at that pace).

from that angle, i understand why a church would want to perhaps split into 2 or more campuses. it can solve logistical problems for a church bursting at the seems. it can also elevate the presence of that ministry in different parts of the community, or often different communities altogether.

on the other hand, i wonder if the tip-top pastors of these multi-site churches really are ‘pastors’ to, say, the individual congregant 2 cities over who may never actually meet said pastor.

more importantly, i sometimes wonder if some congregants aren’t attached to the church as much as they are attached to the personality in the pulpit. and, if that is the case, is that a characteristic that is more…papal in feel? would it be better for people to just grab his teachings online and then be involved with a truly local ministry?

these are just some of the thoughts i think from my safe and comfortable armchair here.

and they’re really just thoughts. i’m not attempting to make a statement.

i believe that large churches can do incredible good. growth is good. i believe that methods must change and update in order to engage each generation and culture. when method doesn’t change, movements die.

but, i also look at the evangelical church and see a trend toward something that’s very new and, perhaps, untested. i’ve just been wondering if what we see is an adaptation to growth and a technologically advanced culture or if it’s something else. a personality driven Church that elevates a few individuals while potentially negating some of the pastoral duties we see demonstrated by guys like Paul or Timothy.

like i said, i’m wondering.

and i’m wondering what you’re wondering.

a couple people will read this post. some of you attend a multi-site church and some of you don’t. if you’re inclined to click a link and type a little bit, i’m interested in hearing any thoughts you’re willing to share. because i’d like to think more about what we’re seeing around us. and i’d like more thoughts than those my armchair can generate.

so, be a pal and do what normal people don’t do anymore on the wide, wide world of web: comment on a blog post.

my love for In-N-Out just grows and grows.

here @calvaryhanford we have officially launched version 1.0 of our iOS app.

so, if you’ve got an iPhone, iPod Touch or even an iPad, head on over and grab it.

last january i went with a small team from @calvaryhanford to do some work in lima, peru and iquique, chile.

we’ve had a relationship with our friends in peru for many years, so it was great to see them again. because of our bond in the Lord, it feels like a home away from home.

but iquique was new. we hadn’t been there, nor had we met the people. we’d only communicated over email. and by ‘we’ i mean the one guy who speaks spanish emailed over and would translate the responses from the pastor.

before the trip, one of my travel companions had found this video and sent it around. it was the very group of people that we were about to meet and spend a few days with.

i remember it being very interesting to watch the video and try to figure out who was who.

now, it’s even more interesting to look back and know these people and remember that we spent some wonderful time of ministry and fellowship together, especially over meals like this one.

i had forgotten about this little film for many months until i accidentally came across it again today.

i’m excited to go back to iquique again at some point in the future. and, hopefully, we’ll rock a meal or two just like this one.

i like checking out other church websites.

to me, a church site shouldn’t go years and years without being tweaked, redesigned or just shifted to reflect more of the common practices out there on the wide, wide world of web.

that isn’t to say that you have to have a completely different web presence every 18 months or anything, but i do appreciate it when churches remember to grow their online ministry alongside the others.

part of my job is to maintain calvaryhanford.com. as a colorblind ‘designer’ with no coding or design training, that isn’t always easy.

thus, i often survey other church sites, where more qualified folks can show me how things are done.

the picture above is from cornerstone church in simi valley, ca. i was really impressed today that, in an endless sea of church sites that look and work exactly the same, their design team has decided to emphasize typography and negative space.

i mean, i look at this homepage and i’m drawn in by the big, bold choices i’m presented with. and i don’t feel like i’m missing anything. that’s something that’s hard to do when you have as much necessary information as a church website does.

i’m going to keep this in mind for the next time i tweak calvaryhanford.com.

question for you: what are you looking for in a church website?

it may well be that one of our faults is our desire for novelty. the great saving truths of Christianity do not change; and we cannot hear them too often.

we do not tire of the foods which are the essentials of life. we expect to eat bread and to drink water every day; and we must listen again and again to the truth which is the bread and the water of life.

we may enjoy the ‘fancy things’ at meal times, but it is the basic foods on which we live.

preaching and teaching and studying the side-issues may be attractive, and these have their place, but the fundamental truths can neither be spoken nor heard too often for the safety of our souls.

WILLIAM BARCLAY  /  THE LETTERS TO THE PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS AND THESSALONIANS  /  pg 52-53

if you have the time, this is a very interesting 15 minutes.

it’s interesting for a few reasons:

number one – it’s good to just hear people talking about God and what He’s doing in their lives and then to think about those things in my own life.

number two – it’s interesting to see 3 personalities, or, 3 styles of communication demonstrated by these guys. quite honestly, i was pretty surprised with some of the interaction.

number three – it’s interesting to evaluate how different leaders have a different focus of ministry and methodology. in one i see grace and humility. in another i see assumption but some openness. in the third i see…less grace and more tones of superiority. at least in this conversation.

what did you see?

ht//mr. belmont

awesome.

ht: my dad

tomorrow i’m headed out early to utah where i’ll be leading worship at calvary chapel salt lake city’s weekend services.

i’m a little apprehensive, as this is not something i usually do.

in fact, in the last…oh…10 years i’ve only traveled a few times for something like this. once in 2003 to estes park, colorado with my college’s worship team to play at a youth conference. once in 2005 the mrs and i drove to montana to play at a calvary in the bitterroot valley and now, it’s 2010 and i’m headed to salt lake.

also, i’m worried my guitar is going to be exploded by TSA. we’ll see.

in all honesty, i’m excited. very excited. it’s an honor to be asked to do something like this.

will try to give you updates, but when you don’t have an iphone it gets hard sometimes.

wish me luck.