What solutions have you found to help new people connect with the video teaching concept at your multisite campus?

[Eric Allred]

Hello everyone!

Ok…here’s my question. “What challenges and solutions have you discovered in trying to help new people connect to the video teaching concept at your multisite?”

My situation: I’m the campus pastor at a multisite church located in Mebane NC; about fifteen miles from our main church campus in Burlington. Mebane is one of those small southern towns in the Bible-belt with a strong religious mindset, plenty of traditional churches, but an unchurched population of about 70%.

When I became the campus pastor a little over five months ago I immediately began to address our revolving backdoor issue. You see, our main campus has a strong reputation within a 30-40 mile driving radius, so we get a regular influx of guests to our multisite. While that’s great, the problem is many are not sticking.

We've become really aggressive over the last five months with guest follow up. It's given me the opportunity to pray for many of our 1st timers as well as explain our multisite vision, and offer them information on small groups and other connecting opportunities in the church. But, the problem I’m encountering is the reoccurring comment that they don’t like watching a video.

Sharing the teaching load with my senior leader is not an option at this point. Plus, he is such a good communicator I’m not sure it would improve our “stickability” if I was speaking live anyway. He does speak at the multisite campus on occasion; maybe 6-8 times a year.

So, that’s my situation. Any suggestions you have are gratefully appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you.

Peace
Eric Allred

[Willy Maxwell]

Eric, I too have been a campus pastor at a video venue that is within 15 miles of the "live" campus. So I understand your situation.

Let me ask...

1. Are the people who are saying they don't like the video, are they attending at the live campus? I ask this because some people just don't like the video and there isn't much you are going to do to change that. But you could be directing them to the live campus to get plugged in.

2. Are there other reasons that people are giving for "not sticking"?

Look forward to connecting with you.

In Christ,
Willy


Over the past year I

[Bill Coffman]

Eric,
I'm also a campus pastor about 15 minutes away from our "live" campus. I agree will Willy in that the people who don't like video might never like video. But I have also found that some people use that as an excuse to not attend anywhere and they fall in that void between campuses and they don't connect at all. Also, I have had many people say they don't like video teaching on their first visit but the smallness and friendliness of our campus overrides the negative thoughts about video. Matter of fact after a few weeks many like video better. In reality it has nothing to do with video but the fact they got connected.

One thing that really helped us was the when we did One Prayer and Dave Ramsey video teaching at both campuses. Then everyone realized that video teaching works.

Lastly, our speaking pastors have never taught live at our campus. The decision was made early on that for us that was not replicable (more than 2 venues) and our feelings (right or wrong) were that if the speaking pastor was live that would make it even more difficult for people to wrap their heads around the campus pastor being their pastor and stick. Does that make sense? Hope this helps a little.

All that to say we are still trying to figure out what works best for us at our campus also.

[Wayne Lanier]

Eric,
Having been with the launch of our 1st campus 6 yrs ago I can totally relate. Additionally having launched our 3rd and and currently one of the leads in developing our new campus pastors and grooming the crop of up and comings; there are a few things we found that really are key.

1. Always keep the focus of everything (launguage, energy, teams) on the church. What's important is being connected in the house of God. Here's who we are, what we're all about, hope you join us. We are filled with passion for the house. So we have never put any energy into whether or not people accept video. We don't even put any emphsis on the screen. We say things like "man, we are so blessed to have a gifted communicator in our Pastor and this is the best way we could find to really make a difference in our community. we feel like to impact the community, we need to be in the community. That's why we are One Church with multiple locations"

2. we've never given a second thought to whether or not Pastor ever goes to a campus to preach live. Though he usually makes to each of them once a year, and we use that for promotional value big time. But we really don't set any expectations for him to be there within any given time frame.

3. Our Goal is to make our church the issue or really the vision of the house, which revolves around putting God First.. and Getting connected,

At the end of the day you have to be comfortable with who God has called you to be. For us, we are a multisite church.
It's late in the day so this may not have made any sense at all, but I tried. :)

[Brett Thompson]

This can be challenging, but the most challenging thing is to not be overly concerned about it. Especially early on it can be tough to see people come and go and hear that it is because of the video teaching. We found that its not for everyone and thats ok. Funny thing is that you can almost count on seeing some of those people back again in a few months.

We ask newcomers to give us 3 weeks in a row. We're just up front about it and challenge them to give it a chance. When they do, they stick. When they dont, they probably werent going to anyway regardless of the teaching medium.

Also, as the leader your attitude is EVERYTHING. If you seem worried and unsure about it, the people you lead will be uneasy about it in talking to newcomers.

[Tom Doyle]

Eric,

Over the last five years, I've worked with over 200 multi-site churches. Video teaching is the largest concern for multi-site churches. People are concerned about it the first time they see it. After the third time, they realize it's just like watching the football game on Sunday. It is easier for first timers, if they have been to your main campus, and you have some kind of imagine magnification (side screens) at the main campus. I might suggest to you a free webinar this coming week that address, Teaching Methodolgy and Playback Technology. Eric Geiger from Christ Fellowship (five locations) combo video playback and rotating team teach will be our keynote speaker. It may give you some ideas to think about. You can register by looking up my bio on the web-site.

Tom

[Eric Allred]

Hi Willy…

Thanks for your questions. See my response below:

1. Are the people who are saying they don't like the video, are they attending at the live campus? I ask this because some people just don't like the video and there isn't much you are going to do to change that. But you could be directing them to the live campus to get plugged in.

Yes, some who live in the Mebane community who don’t like the video are making the 12-15 mile drive to attend the live service at the Burlington campus. Even though they end up telling me that they watch the side screens at the main campus, they just like knowing the “real” guy is there.

The ones I’m most concerned about are our guest who don’t seem to connect to the concept of video teaching. We’re in the Bible belt so most come with some sort of religious upbringing and expectations. When I call concerning their visit I usually hear, “very friendly, great music, my kid loved it…but we’re not sure about watching a video.”


2. Are there other reasons that people are giving for "not sticking"?
Sure…sometimes they tell me that our style doesn’t fit what they like or they don’t feel comfortable going to church in a school. For the most part we always receive high complements on our friendless, hospitality, and opportunities offered through the church. Perhaps we’re being too contemporary in a southern gospel culture. Hahaha! But there are plenty of churches in the community doing that style.


Willy Maxwell said:

Eric, I too have been a campus pastor at a video venue that is within 15 miles of the "live" campus. So I understand your situation.

Let me ask...

1. Are the people who are saying they don't like the video, are they attending at the live campus? I ask this because some people just don't like the video and there isn't much you are going to do to change that. But you could be directing them to the live campus to get plugged in.

2. Are there other reasons that people are giving for "not sticking"?

Look forward to connecting with you.

In Christ,
Willy


Over the past year I

[Eric Allred]

Bill,
Thanks for your input. Our lead pastor (Bob) will rotate to the multisite campus about 3-4 times a year. I also have the opportunity to speak 2-3 times a year at the multisite campus as well. Perhaps that’s causing a rift in whether people can bridge the video gap. Just when they get used to video teaching, we throw them a curve by having a live speaker. Not sure?


Bill Coffman said:

Eric,
I'm also a campus pastor about 15 minutes away from our "live" campus. I agree will Willy in that the people who don't like video might never like video. But I have also found that some people use that as an excuse to not attend anywhere and they fall in that void between campuses and they don't connect at all. Also, I have had many people say they don't like video teaching on their first visit but the smallness and friendliness of our campus overrides the negative thoughts about video. Matter of fact after a few weeks many like video better. In reality it has nothing to do with video but the fact they got connected.

One thing that really helped us was the when we did One Prayer and Dave Ramsey video teaching at both campuses. Then everyone realized that video teaching works.

Lastly, our speaking pastors have never taught live at our campus. The decision was made early on that for us that was not replicable (more than 2 venues) and our feelings (right or wrong) were that if the speaking pastor was live that would make it even more difficult for people to wrap their heads around the campus pastor being their pastor and stick. Does that make sense? Hope this helps a little.

All that to say we are still trying to figure out what works best for us at our campus also.

[Eric Allred]

Hi Wayne,

I really appreciate your input about keeping the focus on the House of God in the community. I just took over 6-7 months ago as the campus pastor and I will admit that the multisite didn’t get off to a great start four years ago. Ok, let me restate that. It did kick off well, but went down hill quickly…i.e quality on the weekends, programs, attendance, etc. By the time I came onboard a reputation had already begun to develop in the community. That’s really sad because our main campus (15 miles away) has a tremendous reputation for about a 30 mile driving radius.

We’ve worked hard the past few months to reestablish the quality of the “house” and the results are positive. Our attendance is slowly growing, as well as the development of our leadership team. We’ve hosted a couple of community outreaches with attendance of over 1000 at each event. But…I’m amazed at how many say, “Oh, you’re the church that shows the video?” Of course I put the positive spin on it and tell them how great our pastor is and how we’ve harnessed technology, but they give me this glassy eye stare. It’s actually funny at times.

Wayne, I don’t make excuses for our use of video. Actually I’m rather proud of what we have to offer. I also know that video is working in small towns across the US, so that’s why I’m a little perplexed as to how to overcome this obstacle.

Also…I’d love to see any materials you have on developing campus pastors/leaders.

Thanks
Eric



Wayne Lanier said:

Eric,
Having been with the launch of our 1st campus 6 yrs ago I can totally relate. Additionally having launched our 3rd and and currently one of the leads in developing our new campus pastors and grooming the crop of up and comings; there are a few things we found that really are key.

1. Always keep the focus of everything (launguage, energy, teams) on the church. What's important is being connected in the house of God. Here's who we are, what we're all about, hope you join us. We are filled with passion for the house. So we have never put any energy into whether or not people accept video. We don't even put any emphsis on the screen. We say things like "man, we are so blessed to have a gifted communicator in our Pastor and this is the best way we could find to really make a difference in our community. we feel like to impact the community, we need to be in the community. That's why we are One Church with multiple locations"

2. we've never given a second thought to whether or not Pastor ever goes to a campus to preach live. Though he usually makes to each of them once a year, and we use that for promotional value big time. But we really don't set any expectations for him to be there within any given time frame.

3. Our Goal is to make our church the issue or really the vision of the house, which revolves around putting God First.. and Getting connected,

At the end of the day you have to be comfortable with who God has called you to be. For us, we are a multisite church.
It's late in the day so this may not have made any sense at all, but I tried. :)

[Eric Allred]

Brett,

That’s great advice. We have seen some guests come back after a few months…and while I am concerned about their connection to video teaching, I don’t communicate it to the congregation.

I guess I’m attempting to discover what will work best for our community. Some campus pastors say - don’t mentioned it - while others, like yourself, say - be upfront and let people know they need to give it time. I’m beginning to move toward the “be upfront” side.

This past Saturday we hosted a community event with an attendance of over 1000. I knew we’d have visitor flow from the event, so Sunday morning, as I welcomed guests, I quickly explained that we’re St. Mark’s Church – East Campus and we utilize technology to connect to our main campus for Bob’s teaching. I just assumed that I was speaking to guests, so I was amazed when a couple of “regulars” approached me after the service and said they didn’t know the reason why we did “video church” until I explained it.

I know I’ve only been doing this for 6-7 months, but wow. That was a shocker.

BTW…we still need to meet for lunch one day. I can make the trip to Gboro.

Eric


Brett Thompson said:

This can be challenging, but the most challenging thing is to not be overly concerned about it. Especially early on it can be tough to see people come and go and hear that it is because of the video teaching. We found that its not for everyone and thats ok. Funny thing is that you can almost count on seeing some of those people back again in a few months.

We ask newcomers to give us 3 weeks in a row. We're just up front about it and challenge them to give it a chance. When they do, they stick. When they dont, they probably werent going to anyway regardless of the teaching medium.

Also, as the leader your attitude is EVERYTHING. If you seem worried and unsure about it, the people you lead will be uneasy about it in talking to newcomers.