Jump directly to the Content

Valuing Visitation

A new survey of multi-site churches shows a growing disconnect between pastors and their large congregations.

In the hierarchy of church problems, most pastors wouldn't mind figuring out how to handle a congregation that has grown so rapidly that they can no longer get to know everyone personally. The multisite church boom has met this very challenge by leveraging the best teachers with new technology to reach mass audiences at low costs. Motivated by spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, pastors understand the number of new professions of faith as a sign of God's blessing. There appears to be little downside to adding new church sites. There is little of the personal risk and exorbitant cost of church planting. In fact, there are few arguments against multiple sites that can't also be made against multiple services in one church building. And most medium and large-sized churches crossed that line without much consternation some time ago. So if people don't mind watching a pastor on television, what's holding us back?

Maybe some people really do mind. A recent report on multisite churches by Cathy ...

April
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
Evangelism that Flows
Evangelism that Flows
Natural forces drain evangelistic energy, but your church can keep its outreach strong.
From the Magazine
I Wanted a Bigger God Than My Hindu Guru Offered
I Wanted a Bigger God Than My Hindu Guru Offered
As my doubts about his teachings grew, so did a secret fascination with Jesus.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close