Learn

In response to requests from you (our awesome readers!), we’ve decided to take on the topic of managing communication at a multisite church. For this two-part series, we thought it best to defer to two experts in the field — our friends Lauren Wright, Communications Director at Northview Church in Carmel, Indiana and Laura Bice, Communication Pastor at The Vineyard Church of Central Illinois.

Lauren starts off the series by sharing a few tips on making the shift from single site to multisite.

FH: What would you say to the communications staff of a church that is about to transition from a single site to multisite church?

Lauren: Going multisite changes the whole way you think about things as they relate to communications. Suddenly, you are communicating to two or more audiences, sometimes very different audiences, depending on how similar the communities your multisites are in.

We found that as we added campuses, our communications department became important in keeping our campuses aligned. We found we were one of the few centralized support teams on our staff that was in regular contact with all other campuses, so we sometimes were the ones most up-to-date on what was going on at all Northview campuses. If we heard about events or things happening at other campuses that didn't seem to align with our mission and vision, we were the ones that needed to bring them up. And if our multisites weren't getting the information they needed, we needed to be their voice to speak up for them. 

Alignment won't happen without regular communication. I don't think you can communicate too much or too often when you are working with multisites. The easiest way to alienate a campus is to keep them out of the communication loop. 

FH: What have some of your challenges been? How has your team worked through them?

 Lauren: With adding multisite campuses, we have increased our workload and the people we work with. We have had to add and perfect systems that help keep us organized. For example, we have had to figure out a system for ordering deliverables for all campuses and having them at each campus in time. This has meant that we have had to back up our timelines so that we can have things delivered to one campus and then have time to distribute them to the others.

FH: How do you craft language for church members to help facilitate unity across the campuses?

Lauren: When we are communicating across campuses, we speak on a high church-wide level. We don't allow ministries at each campus to create their own branding. Instead, we have built common language and branding that we use at all three campuses. This way, we can talk about Alpha or Discipleship Walk at any campus, and everyone should understand [what we mean]. When we are creating deliverables, we try to make them work at all three campuses. Not only does that save money on the printing side, it also communicates the value of multisites to our people and helps us remember that we are all one family, working toward the same goals.

Do you have tips to share about making the transition to a multisite church? Let’s hear them!