Church and culture.

How the church and our American culture intersect and/or collide.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Going where the people are.

An interesting, thorough article about what’s being described as a “new American church trend”: multi-site churches.

A few excerpts (the emphasis is mine):

Going beyond additional service times and larger buildings, churches are expanding into multiple venues and locations—and as a result are reaching people they’d never meet otherwise, including diverse ethnicities and age groups. According to Dallas-based Leadership Network’s research, at least 1,000 churches across North America could currently be described as multi-site—churches (one vision, one staff, one board, one budget) that extend themselves to more than one location….

When North Coast Church launched in 1998, it was “out of space, out of good time slots, out of energy and out of options,” Senior Pastor Larry Osborne says….

In addition to space, lack of human resources is also fueling the trend. [For] growing churches that must add services… weekends start to spell burnout for pastors, worship teams, children’s ministry volunteers, tech crews, etc. Launching simultaneous services… at other sites can give overloaded staff and volunteers a much-needed break through new talent that emerges.

Still, the multi-site revolution continues to be motivated by an increasing number of churches desiring to reach the unchurched around them…. In Lynden, Wash., Grace Baptist Fellowship first launched its video venue to reach a younger age group—a segment of the population other area churches weren’t reaching, says Dave Duncan, pastor of ministry development…. “People who have never visited the main service are coming to the Upper Room, and they’re meeting Christ there” he says. “We see new, young faces each week.”

More detail in the full article.

Posted by Jana on 07/17 at 10:50 PM
Church and culture. • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Sunday, February 19, 2006

When the power goes out

CMS frequently has food for thought, but the 2/16 post about examining what’s really at the heart of your church service is especially good. I quote…

“If the electricity went out, and your walls fell down, and your biggest givers died, what would you have left? Would you have a community of people still seeking after the heart of God?”

If you’ve ever asked, “what makes church work?,” read the whole article. There’s some interesting stuff in the comments that follow, too.

Let me know if you can read the whole thing without squirming at least a little, some where. I can’t.

Posted by Jana on 02/19 at 10:47 PM
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