After going down the multi-site road for a few years…and talking with a bunch of people in small towns who are ready to launch multi-sites…I want to share some of the lessons we have learned the hard way and maybe it will help you decide if you are ready to go multi-site in a small town.

QUESTION #1: As lead pastor, is your main job casting vision, study, and prayer at least 90% of your time or are you tied up doing other things?

If you do not have a STRONG TEAM under you that can carry out the details and lead the charge, you just DOUBLED your troubles and dis-functions. It doesn’t get ANY easier just because you have more people and might have more staff at other campuses.

Unless you are strong already at most levels, and I do mean most levels (not necessarily GREAT, but STRONG) and headed in the right direction…then don’t even think about it. If you are spinning too many plates instead of doing the Acts 6 thing (teaching of the Word and prayer should be our dedication), then you will inherit way more plates to spin, except that you will be running how ever many miles between spinning plates (campuses) to accomplish the spin.

Do you think Craig Groeshel, Perry Noble, Andy Stanley, or whomever are pulling the same weight at all their campuses? No way. They barely run their first campuses [they have an amazing team under them accomplishing it so they can do what they are called to do best...they are truly level 5 leaders]. Do you have to be level 5? You better be at least a 4 in my opinion.

Your first campus (don’t say main, central, mother ship) should be so not in need of you and your staff ready to take on another big challenge before considering multi-site. If not, you doubled your work, stress, and dis-function, which isn’t worth the net gain (we gained 400 or so already) from multi-sites. See ya back tomorrow for some more to chew on.

blessings!