At VALLEY Christian Church, we are rolling out our vision for ministry for the next 10 years. After countless hours of prayer, study and discussion, we began holding a series of gatherings for anyone and everyone who was interested in hearing more. We called these gatherings V3 (A View of VALLEY’s Vision). This post, and a few subsequent posts, are shared with the hopes of being examples to help other church leaders in communicating vision in the churches they serve as well.

Our Future

God has really blessed VALLEY Christian Church over the last few years with unprecedented growth (average of 20% a year over the last three years). Currently, over 1,000 people call VALLEY their Church Family. In response to this growth, and with the continued desire to reach people in our community and beyond, our 10 year “God-Sized” goal and strategy to reach more people is explained below:

OUR GOD SIZED GOAL:
5,000 people weekly in attendance by 2025 (or 5 for ’25)!

THE STRATEGY:
Multi-Site

THE LOCATION:
Poughkeepsie

THE SITE:
Regal Cinemas in the Poughkeepsie Galleria
(Click here for more details)

Frequently Asked Questions about Multi-Site Churches:

What is the definition of a multi-site?

A multisite church is one church meeting in multiple locations–different locations in the same region, or in some instances, different cities, states, or nations. A multisite church shares a common vision, budget, leadership and board.

Why is VALLEY choosing to launch multi-sites?

VALLEY wants to leverage our church’s strengths and maximize our potential to impact local communities around the region. Launching multi-sites helps to develop an intentional, region-wide strategy that is unique to each community while minimizing expenses. VALLEY’s new sites will not be separate churches but multiple locations of VALLEY Christian Church. We will operate as one church with one lead pastor, one group of Elders, one staff and the same message each week. One diverse church in multiple locations for all generations.

What is our reason for adding multiple campuses?

Statistics show that people prefer to attend a church within a 15 minute drive of their home. When people are required to drive more than 15-20 minutes to church, it becomes a challenge to attend gatherings regularly, volunteer, invite friends and experience deeper involvement in their church community. In addition, we want to see VALLEY Christian Church multiplied into different areas around the region so that we can have a greater ability to reach people right where they are.

Are other churches doing this?

Yes. There are over 8,000 churches currently using this strategy across the United States with over 5 million people worshipping in multi-site churches each weekend.

What are the advantages of having multiple sites?

• Assists in reaching friends and family unwilling to travel a great distance to church
• Brings together the best aspects of larger churches and smaller churches
• Increases the total number of available seats during optimal worship times
• Overcomes geographic barriers when a church facility is landlocked or tightly zoned
• Enables untapped talent to emerge each time a new venue or site is opened
• Mobilizes volunteers through an added variety of ministry opportunities
• Improves a church’s stewardship of funds and resources
• Provides a pipeline for the development of emerging leaders and future staff

What is the difference between church-planting and multi-site?

A church plant is usually a small delegation of people who leave a church to go develop a brand-new church. Typically, church plants have their own teaching pastor, their own leaders, and their own budget with some financial help from the “sending” church or denomination; otherwise, they are a new and independent entity. Multi-site campuses are new but extended, fully-functioning congregations of a sending church but not independent churches.

Why add more sites and not just plant another church?

Some reports reveal the failure rate of a new church planted as high as 70 to 80%. However, churches already possessing ministry momentum such as VALLEY are more likely to breathe new life into older communities. Both are viable strategies for reaching more people for Christ and neither is right or wrong. It’s a matter of how we believe God is leading VALLEY to most effectively reach people in our community.

Are we competing with other churches in other communities?

No, not at all. VALLEY Christian Church has a vision to reach Dutchess County and beyond. We are interested in the lost and those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as Savior. Some people may attend from other churches, but our goal is not to empty other churches; it is to assist each other in reaching the community for Jesus.