Many Locations, One Church: How to Keep Your DNA While Adapting to Local Campuses

Multisite ministry sounds great—one church, many locations—but practically speaking, balancing centralized consistency with local campus adaptations is a real challenge. In today’s episode of the All About Multisite series, I want to help you manage this important balance effectively.

Throughout this series, I’m sharing practical wisdom every Wednesday and insightful interviews with successful multisite churches every Thursday. Today, we’re diving deep into a core multisite tension: How do you maintain your DNA while empowering local campuses to thrive?

Episode Highlights:

• The DNA Challenge:
  • About 60% of churches with 1,000+ attendees are multisite, yet only 15% expand beyond three campuses. A key reason? Struggling to balance central alignment with local autonomy.
  • Most multisite churches (75%) maintain a single central parent board, highlighting the importance of clear governance and unity.
• Centralized Constants vs. Localized Adaptations:
  • Successful multisite churches identify clear “centralized constants”—elements like teaching, worship style, branding, children’s curriculum, and key events. These are non-negotiable across all campuses.
  • At the same time, churches must empower campuses with “localized adaptations,” allowing flexibility in things like local imagery, specific worship song choices, and tailored campus-specific messaging.
  • Life.Church, one of the largest multisite churches in North America, exemplifies this by replicating their services down to the minute, yet giving local leaders strategic freedom within this framework.
• Avoiding the Independent Campus Syndrome:
  • Beware the “independent campus pastor”—leaders whose vision subtly diverges from your central DNA can fragment unity over time.
  • Campus pastors should be strong second-chair leaders who embody and champion your church’s DNA. They’re leaders passionate about implementing, not reinventing, your proven model.
• Practical Systems to Maintain Alignment:
  1. Clearly Define Decision Rights:
     • Campuses focus on execution, people care, and alignment. Central teams manage curriculum, quality standards, and defining campus constants.
  2. Build Central Support Teams Early:
     • Anticipate the need for central roles (teaching, creative, administration) before expansion pressures arise.
  3. Regular Cross-Campus Meetings:
     • Hold weekly or bi-weekly face-to-face alignment meetings with key campus leaders. This maintains relational unity and operational coherence.
  4. Shared Planning and Calendars:
     • Collaboratively develop shared ministry calendars, synchronized events, and sermon series. Involve campuses in the planning process.
  5. Develop Playbooks and Guides:
     • Document core processes in playbooks (assimilation, volunteer training, safety protocols) to standardize and simplify operations across campuses.
  6. Create a Leadership Development Pipeline:
     • Use cross-campus training to foster unified leadership DNA and build a cohesive culture among all campuses.
  7. Prioritize Intentional Communication:
     • Maintain clear, consistent, two-way communication with campuses. Avoid surprises with a “no last-minute changes” rule, ensuring teams have ample lead time for adjustments.

A Word to Leaders:

• Central Leaders: Approach campuses as servants, not inspectors. Show up with encouragement and practical help, not checklists.
• Campus Pastors: Care deeply like shepherds but think broadly like ranchers—overseeing systems of care rather than trying to personally handle every detail. Your role is multiplying leaders and empowering others.

I hope this episode helps you maintain a cohesive vision across campuses while equipping local teams to thrive. Thanks for leaning into this important multisite conversation!

Additional Resource:

• Check out the latest edition of EXECUTIVE PASTOR digital magazine, featuring more insights into multisite strategy.