Option 6: Multi-Site or Multi-Campus Merger
Sometimes a church that finds itself stuck and no longer attracting
new people will join with a strong growing church to become a campus
of the lead church. These multi-site or multi-campus mergers work
especially well when the joining church has a strategic location and
functional facility. Typically the lead church and joining campus
are far enough apart to serve unique areas but close enough that
staff members can move between campuses easily. The leadership and
resources of the lead church bring growth and vitality to the new
campus. Most of these mergers have occurred in evangelical settings
but they are starting to happen with mainline churches. The key is
to combine the strengths of the joining church with the leadership
and vision of the lead church.
Multi-Site Case Studies
In January, 2014 Christ the King and Cross of Life Lutheran
Churches voted to merge into one congregation with two campuses. The
churches are about 6 miles apart in Brookfield, Wisconsin, a suburb
of Milwaukee. The 2013 merger prospectus states the objective:
“As Christ’s church we exist to grow in faith through our mission
areas, Worship, Learn, Serve, and Invite. The Christ the King /Cross
of Life collaboration facilitates this mission by expanding
opportunities and activity in each of the four tenets, strengthening
both congregations, as well as the ELCA presence in our community”
The merged church is now Unity Lutheran Church. The main campus is
the former Cross of Life facility. The former Cross of Life is now
the Cross of Life campus of Unity Lutheran Church. The four pastors
and 11 staff members serve both campuses. In her 2019 annual report
one of the pastors wrote, “Sometimes, I wish we could have bottled
the openness to listen and learn about one another, the respect
people showed, and the boldness in which people had in seeing that
God was calling us to a new thing. Becoming one doesn’t mean that we
have forgotten the history or the memories created. It doesn’t mean
that we now think exactly the same way, but it means that we claim
what unites us…Christ!”
In 2015 Embrace, a United Methodist Church in Sioux Falls, South
Dakota was named as the 10th fastest growing church in
America. St. Croix Valley UMC in Lakeland, MN at the eastern edge of
Minnesota, had become older and smaller. At the suggestion of the
UMC bishop St. Croix Valley voted to become the St. Croix campus of
Embrace. Embrace St. Croix attracted over 400 people when it opened
in November, 2015. It now has two campus pastors and live streams
sermons from Sioux Falls.
There is an inspiring twist on the two campus concept In Lincoln,
Nebraska. Prince of Peace
Lutheran Church was stuck. While it still functioning its 80 active
members were aging and its options were limited. On the other side
of town Sheridan Lutheran Church was bursting at the seams with
1,500 at worship. In July, 2008 the two congregations merged. They
sold the Prince of Peace building and used the proceeds to
form a new satellite
congregation, Spirit of Hope, in a more promising location. Since
then Spirit of Hope grew strong enough to becomes an independent
ELCA congregation.
Track Record of Mainline Multi-Site Mergers
The track record with Evangelical Multi-Site mergers is very
strong. The book, Better Together Making Church Mergers Work
by Jim Tomberlin and Warren Bird, documents this movement. We’ve
identified around 20
such mergers in mainline churches, most of which are fairly recent.
There isn’t enough data to draw concrete conclusions but the early
indications show a high degree of success. The key is to develop a
merger agreement that respects and honors the joining church while
clearly giving the lead church the mandate it needs to make the
changes necessary for success. The process, therefore, depends on
trust building between the churches.