What Is A Neighborhood Campus?
By Pastor Vince Arnone (APC Deer Lakes Campus Pastor)
A famous study conducted by the Leadership Network concluded there were 5,000 multi-site churches in North America in 2019. They defined “multi-site” as churches that held services in at least two or more campuses, functioning as “one church in multiple locations.” This number had increased from an estimated mere 200 in the year 2001. That’s a 3000% increase in eighteen years. Over the last three years since the study, some organizations estimate hundreds to even thousands more multi-site churches have been added to these numbers.
The sheer number of churches that have discovered the multiplication power of multi-site is astounding. However, there’s also an intricate and complex beauty of ever-evolving expressions and models of multi-site missiology bursting forth from these ministries that might be even more impressive.
Jeff Leake’s book, Twelve Trends in Multiplication: A Study in Reproducing Churches, gives a detailed look at a dozen real-life models and concepts for multisite churches. Even though it only highlights twelve, the various types and styles of campuses these models produce have stark contrasts. I believe this not only pronounces how many different ways that multi-site can be done, but also how the evolutionary process and experimental nature of these campuses is likely to stay inextricably linked to the multi-site church movement.
Nine years ago, Allison Park Church in Pittsburgh, PA began its own foray into the multi-site adventure. During this time, we have seen the model of multi-site ministry that we employ completely turn over as we adjusted to the needs of a typical northeastern U.S. city replete with challenging topography, roads, weather, and socio-historically defined enclaves of population. As we grew in our understanding of our unique challenges, our experimentation with a variety of models has led us to form what we call the “neighborhood campus” model.
Here are four defining characteristics of what comprises a neighborhood campus and distinguishes it from a “regional church” or “ regional campus”:
#1 - A neighborhood campus prioritizes a geographic population in need of a life-giving church almost exclusively over any other factor.
When considering where to plant or grow a neighborhood campus, the question becomes really simple: “Where’s the greatest number of people furthest away from a healthy, Bible-believing church?” Factors like proximity to highways, greatest economic potential, population growth estimates and so forth, don’t weigh too much into the decision.
Can a neighborhood campus be located in a wealthy area with great visibility and a growing census? Sure. But typically, there are often many great churches and campuses in these optimal areas. Neighborhood campuses will most often be found in areas that are overlooked and underserved. Neighborhood campuses thrive in communities that do not have some of the more traditional advantages.
#2 - A neighborhood campus generally focuses its efforts on a location defined by transportation time versus square miles.
According to Lifeway Research, 72% of church attenders in the US don’t want to drive more than fifteen minutes to church, and a third of these respondents said they currently drive less than five minutes to do so. Both of these numbers have drastically increased in the last twenty years. A neighborhood campus recognizes their reach is more likely to be defined by roadways, hills, rivers, tunnels, access to transportation, and so forth than by their zip code. Whereas a regional campus might desire a location near highways and interstates, a neighborhood campus model would choose to locate as close to the center of an underserved target area as possible. By focusing their resources on smaller segments of population, the neighborhood campuses can clearly identify and serve felt needs with maximum impact.
#3 - A neighborhood campus understands and responds to the “why” behind the “who.”
A number of years ago, I was hired by a large and thriving young church in central Florida. I had recently moved to the area and was trying to ascertain some of the qualities of those who lived in that region. In a conversation with the Executive Pastor, I asked for information on the demographics of this area. He offered a few generalities about race and income level. When I pressed him for more information, he gestured to the sky around us and people walking about the restaurant we were dining at and said, “This is our demographic.” This church had thrived by creating dynamic, event-based ministry that reached a large part of the general populace. It was high quality but focused on “tried and true” proven strategies, scripts, and curriculum done by other churches reaching similar demographics.
A neighborhood campus has the distinction of becoming steeped in the story and culture of one location so that it can identify, not just the essential facts of the demographics, but answers the question of why it is that way. Doing so can help a multisite neighborhood model church fine-tune its outreach and ministry campus by campus.
For instance, one multisite church with several neighborhood campuses might reach communities that face poverty in different ways. One neighborhood campus might address the need by prioritizing a food bank and while another campus realizes they need support groups for addiction, first and foremost. Likewise, one neighborhood campus might realize they have so many busy young families that they need to provide food and childcare in order to execute effective small groups, while another campus needs to prioritize their resources on translating their teaching materials and messages into the language of a large immigrant population.
#4 - A multisite church with neighborhood campuses constantly translates rather than duplicates.
Many multisite churches thrive by exercising great discipline in duplicating the methods and style from campus to campus with as much detail as possible. Everything from the look of their buildings to scripted communication from the stage is designed to ensure high quality and uniformity.
A multisite church with a neighborhood campus model places the emphasis on being completely aligned with the church’s values. Things like language and various aspects of branding might still be primarily aligned, but building types, locations and sizes might be quite disparate. Certain variances in worship style or platform expression could become embraced by a multisite neighborhood church as they discover what is effective in reaching the local people. Whenever people visit our various neighborhood campuses, they’ll often say, “I love how you know it’s Allison Park Church, but each campus has its own distinct character.”
For the neighborhood campus model to work effectively and not become just a bunch of separate churches unified in name only, the neighborhood campus leadership must know and consistently speak about their values often. While knowing and speaking about your values consistently is a good practice for any church, it is absolutely imperative for the neighborhood campus model.