I had a great time at the Innovation3 Conference last week. The best part was all the great people I got to hangout with while I was there. I got to lead a couple sessions. One was on multi-site and another was on churches that are reproducing both sites and church plants. In each session I was paired with two other terrific leaders. The first session I was leading with Larry Osborne and the second session with Greg Surratt; but led with Mark Driscoll in both. In this pic Larry is up front teaching while Mark and I are waiting our turn in the front row.
And during those sessions I thought Driscoll's stuff about multi-site was worth repeating. Here is Marks apologetic for a multi-site church:
- Theological: It is a great means for accomplishing the Great Commission. If we study the New Testament we see networks of churches within cities.
- Missological: We need to "do all things possible to reach some." The multi-site church can be a great missional expression of the church.
- Ecclesiological: We have historical examples of one church meeting in multiple places. One example are the circuit riders who would deliver the same message at a variety of locations and travel from one to the next by horseback.
- Technological: With each technological innovation (ex.: chairs, printing press, electricity, etc.) it creates new opportunities for spreading the gospel. The innovation of Internet and video creates unprecedented opportunities for sharing the good news.
that's a good point about technology giving new opportunities to share the gospel. Multi-site may be the most powerful tool for church growth and church planting out there!
Posted by: Catalyst | February 09, 2009 at 09:08 AM