Building Multi-Site Campuses

I always like to include posts that are about topics that I am currently researching for work or are in the process of putting into action myself. In April my church is launching its second satellite campus in a small town about 30 minutes from our main campus. We want to model the second satellite campus after our first one which is located in a local prison and has been extremely successful but know that each area is demographically and culturally different. Our first satellite campus which we refer to as an Internet Campus or iCampus is a simple setup of a projector, portable sound system, projector screen, a laptop, and a hot spot. Basically, we stream our live services into the satellite campus and have a pastor available to facilitate the service. The challenges we are facing are not with a building and equipment but if the setup will be successful in this new area, if the people in the town would be as receptive as those in our first campus.

When brainstorming challenges we might face in this new campus, we ask ourselves if people would come to a church service that is being projected on a screen versus having a live service. Are we losing the relational aspect of a church by doing this? These are great questions to consider when building multi-site campuses. There are many churches that have built successful multi-site campuses and are continuing to do so as their churches grow. In researching many ways to start a satellite campus I have looked at other churches as examples and have talked with their staff and have looked at companies that have helped churches as well. ProPresenter is a great company that offers solutions to churches that are wanting to start multi-site campuses.

Right now it is a trial and error process to see what will and will not work but in the end it will be awesome to see what kind of satellite campus we end up starting. I will do a follow-up post in April that outlines what worked and what didn't.