The church multisite trends are clear: growth through multiple smaller venues, financial stewardship through leasing, and reaching people in their neighborhoods.1 Yet, churches are leaving traditional facilities in favor of rented spaces that still provide for:
- Excellent environments for worship, children’s ministry, and community.
- A culture that matches the DNA of their main campus.
- Engaged, highly productive and happy volunteers.
There are two common mistakes churches can make when trying to launch strong in a portable campus – the definition of which is one that must be set up and torn down each week. First, churches trying to do it themselves; or second, thinking their permanent Audio, Video, and Lighting (AVL) Systems Integrator will be able to do the portable design with the same excellence they did the permanent campus.
Each approach overlooks the fact that whatever excellent products, equipment, and AVL that is chosen, volunteers will be arriving to church early to set it up and staying afterward to pack everything up. This routine – set up, serve, tear down – repeats week after week after week.
The “secret” to a thriving portable church launch begins with a design that incorporates both excellent products/equipment and the volunteers. Portability design is the most important expertise that a church can bring to the effort of planning for a strong and thriving church in a rented space.
Portable Church® Industries has developed and refined a Balanced Solution portability design process over the past 20+ years through direct, hands-on launch experience with over 2,500 different portable churches across North America. Our solutions have excellent and welcoming worship, children’s, and community environments that volunteers can set up quickly, efficiently, and with excellence. Volunteers in these churches feel valued, invested in, and more excited to serve. In fact, happy volunteers serve more, give more, and invite others more.
Volunteers get very frustrated when tasks are made harder than they need to be. They dislike wasted time – especially on tasks that don’t involve direct ministry. Their excitement and commitment to serve will be tough to maintain if the setup and teardown process is overly involved, time consuming and inefficient.
Launching strong in a rented venue doesn’t have to be frustrating. Engage a portability expert, like Portable Church® Industries, early in your multisite campus journey and prepare not only to launch strong, but to thrive. Learn more at www.portablechurch.com or call us today at 800.939.7722.
1“Why Smaller Churches Are Going Multisite – Rainer on Leadership #296”
