This post is in response to a friends email referencing this post...Eric Bryant (the executive pastor of Mosaic) has an interesting blog on multi-site here: http://www.ericbryant.org/blog/2007/05/17/future-prophets/
I think there is a lot of truth to this thought. Video venues are great but there has to be a team of communicators... and I think even LifeChurch.tv is figuring this out. I know that Hillsong has 8 or ten of the preaching team and they fly them all over the world... But they also want to have more under 25 on there than over 25... Think of all the musicians you would need to raise up to facilitate multi site, Think of all of the small group leaders you would need.
What you create is a Farm system. If you spot someone with talent creating huge small groups, accomplishing great things early on you can fast track them into other venues... you have to have good leadership training or you will not be able to go to more than a few multi sites.
I think that every option has plusses and minuses but that there is a combination that would work: video, team teach, one main teacher per campus, rotating teachers... (But I wonder how different that one is to church plant except you see that guy in staff meeting each week.) But I know that this is the wave of the future. I find it interesting that our fellowship is all about autonomy. And one of the things that multi site does is great ride of that autonomy for greater improvements in quality and increased accountability.
Imagine what could be? We brought in a good amount of money last year but if we had that ability to share a full time assistant and having a part time worship coordinator because you are able to share with other bodies... or think of running all the finances through one filter you cut down on duplicate work all over the place. Imagine if you could be apart of O.H. and be apart of us launching our next campus? What if we could have one over arching small group structure or one common sermon series? The cost per dolor seems to me to be fantastic.
So we are being forced to make all of our gear portable again. We can no longer store equipment at the theatre. Crap! But on the other hand... I feel God will be calling us sooner than we think to another venue... it is just too good an opportunity to use thousands of dolor's worth of equipment a prepared message series and music team to put out another line so that more may come to Christ.
Pray for wisdom in this last point.
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