Multi-Site: Same Destination, Different Pace
I’ve said before that a multi-site approach may necessarily mean multi-standards. In other words, the permanence of the facility and our standing in the facility (rent vs. own) might affect things like cleanliness, environment, and the like.
But there’s a different way to measure standards and expectations, and that’s by asking what we value. If you know who you are as a church, your values are going to be in alignment with one another (for more on this, see our values series).
In other words, you’re going to be running toward the same destination.
However, there is a difference in sharing the same values and reaching goals at the same time. And in a multi-site world, there are all sorts of differences in different campuses, including…
- Resources. Different-sized campuses are naturally going to have different-sized budgets. That means that some smaller campuses might have to have a staff of generalists, while larger campuses can staff specialists.
- Space / venue / facility. If you’re renting space for a campus, that campus may not be able to have all the bells and whistles when it comes to production expectations, quality of the kids’ area, or even artwork on the walls.
- Levels of leadership. A newer campus typically has a larger number of younger leaders. While seasoned leaders should be coming from the sending campus, it’s naturally going to take time to develop a deep bench of established leaders.
- Essentials. I’m big on essentials. I believe in essentials. We have a document that spells our our essentials. But a smaller or newer campus might find it harder to get there. It doesn’t mean they get a pass, it just means that we have to work with them to figure out how the essentials happen.
Whatever the differences, it’s important to remember that even if you’re running to the same destination, you’re running at a different pace.
That’s why measuring goals can be tricky and should be done with the nuances of the particular campus in mind. Do they share the same values? That’s a win. Are the running towards the same destination? Win. Can they get there at the same time? Well, maybe that’s a when.
A healthy structure will define wins and whens equally, and we’ll do well not to get them mixed up.
Big thanks to Mike Passaro who shaped many of the ideas for this post!
