You Launched Your Second Campus

Mark Tidsworth, Team Leader

How long ago has it been?....maybe about 4 years.

We were consulting with churches who were interested in strengthening their online presence. The thought occurred to me that they were unintentionally establishing a second church campus - online. The reasoning of those methodologically progressive churches was that their people were online every day anyway; gathering, processing life events, and relating around all kinds of issues and activities. These churches recognized the internet and its connecting capacity as an integral part of our lives, making its presence known in every family or church event. We are symbiotically connected with online activity…every day. So these churches exercised their foresight, intentionally maximizing the opportunity to connect online.

Around that time, I wrote an article in this E-news on “Launching Your Second Church Campus,” describing the opportunities for churches to expand their ministries online. I shared this idea in training events, inviting churches to consider intentionally moving ahead. Less than a handful responded to this idea, believing this to be too difficult or too far a stretch. Perhaps the time wasn’t right way back four years ago. It was an idea whose time had not come for the majority of traditional, denominationally-based churches.

Funny how things can change in a couple weeks. Now, we all are with them. Every church I know is doing some form of worship and activity online. In fact, the internet is the primary church campus for most in our social distancing context.

So here’s the opportunity before us. Let’s recognize the great progress we’ve made. In a couple weeks, we launched a second church campus. We all are worshipping in satellite churches and participating in small groups right now. Our circumstances have driven innovation in ways which foresight and vision could not do. Let’s celebrate the fact that churches do change, have changed, and are living into change. Church transformation happens.

Then, we invite you to consider intentionally cultivating and strengthening your second church campus. Certainly we yearn for the day when we can gather in person again, recognizing the limitations of the internet when it comes to personal people connections. We are also now aware of how helpful online gatherings can be, connecting us in powerful ways. This week I’ve received stories from at least 3 coaching clients who describe how their churches are reaching so many dones and newcomers through their online events. It seems our second church campuses are opening the doors for participation in church for many previously uninvolved.

Now that we are here, actively being church on our second campus (internet), why would we want to abandon them when we are again in person? Since we put in the work to build this campus, why not inhabit it long term? Since we worked so hard to get here and it’s helping us connect with newcomers, let’s keep rolling.

And just like that, your church established its first satellite campus. Enjoy and thanks be to God!