Last Sunday my brother Jeff and I visited a unique congregation in San Diego--Northcoast Community Church. Currently they meet in a warehouse complex (they own almost the entire complex with the exception of a Toyota repair shop). What makes the church unique is their innovative approach to "planting" churches. Rather than starting a new church, they use "satellite" sites (hence the tongue-in-cheek use of Sputnik in the title). A satellite site is basically a worship venue, or another worship service in a place other than the main worship facility.
In the case of Northcoast, they operate several different satellites on their main campus. They have their main worship service in which the music and the speaker are all live. They also have a traditional service which meets in a venue that seats about 100. A service called The Edge, which seats 500-600. A Video Cafe which seats about the same. Each "venue" offers a different kind of musical style from traditional hymns (Traditions) to worship choruses with an edgier sound (the Edge). In each of the satellite sites the worship is live but the sermon is on the screen--taped from the Saturday night service. So different styles and worshipping communities but the same message, same church.
Northcoast also has two off-site worship venues. In this way, they are able to build a big church (6000 per weekend) but keep the worship services smaller (500-600). It also makes for a faster, less expensive way to expand mision and ministry over against starting new churches. Many of the staff positons can be shared (i.e., the preaching, administrative, youth, childrens, etc) while new satellite venues are planted throughout the city using musicians, a campus pastor, and the hospitality team.
Jeff and I attended the live Saturday evening service. After 20 minutes of rock-driven worship choruses Larry Osborne, the senior Pastor, spoke for 47 minutes! The service ended with the offering/worship chorus.
On Sunday we attended The Edge--great edgy worship choruses for about 20 minutes followed by the same message we saw Saturday only now on-screen. After a few moments you forget you are watching a video image. Because the worship was live and the screen so big, it really works. Everyone in attendance was engaged by it.
Then we attended the Video Cafe, staying only for the worship (we didn't feel we needed to see the 47 minute sermon a third time--no offense, Larry!). The music in this venue was a little lower key than they other two services. But like the other two, the service was full.
On a seven acre campus they are able to hold about 1800 people at one time at their various on-site venues plus kids stuff. That doesn't include the two off-site satellites.
Northcoast has about 40 acres of land they will develop, building from the start on the concept of several venues on one site so that they can grow, but keep the services smaller.
Other churches using this model offer live preaching at all of their various sites, rotating two-three pastors from site to site. Personally, having seen the video experience, I'm convinced it works and works well. In fact, I liked the video message better than the live version because I could see a bit better.
I'm really intrigued by this concept. Our five year goal at Grace was to plant a new congregation out of Grace much as Community Church of Joy did with us. But increasingly I am convinced that the satellite model is more effective and a stronger option. Plus, our Bishop is encouraging us and other Lutheran congregations in this area to seriously look at this model.
I have several ideas and sites in mind as we think through what God would have us do. It's a dance right now as we build a new campus and yet look to perhaps start a new site or two in the coming years.
As I learn more, and as our leaders mull this over more, I'll share more insights with you. I also look forward to your comments as you think through how God might want to use this model to bring his grace to the world.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to worship at Lutheran Church of Hope in Des Moines, IA. Hope is one of the ELCA's largest and fastest growing congregations. About 1 year ago they established a second worship site in Ankeny, IA, a fast growing suburb of Des Moines. Right now they worship about 4,500 on a Sunday in 2 sites. They are actively planning to start several more sites in the next few years.
I worshiped at the Ankeny site before I attended worship at the main site. The Ankeny site used a taped sermon from the week before. What I found so interesting was that within a minute into the sermon I was unaware that the person on the screen was on tape or DVD. It just worked.
What is also interesting is that Hope is a bit more traditional a setting than Northbranch in California. It seems this concept can work in both contemporary and traditional settings.
Given the cost of land, the cost of building, the shortage of strong leadership and the cost of educating and training new pastors, the multisite approach makes sense.
This may seem like a new way of doing worship but in many ways its just a recycling of an old concept. 100 -150 years ago Methodist (and many Lutheran churches) on the frontier experienced a shortage of trained pastors. In those days the pastor would ride a circuit of up to 10 or more churches preaching at a church or two each Sunday. The circuit rider was one way the church addressed a need to staff new mission churches. The multisite church of today is just a higher tech version of the old circuit rider.
Personally I'm excited to see the church having to struggle with this problem. It means we are healthy and growing.
Dale Kvittem-Barr
Post a Comment