Crowdsourcing

In recent years, the phenomenon of crowdsourcing has been used to obtain goods, services, finances, information, and insights for a task or project by enlisting the participation of a great many people, typically by the internet.

With this post, we are using crowdsourcing to invite insights and ideas about combining two (or more) churches into a multi-site meld.

The multi-site movement, normally associated with larger churches, also creates an option for small and mid-sized churches. Where two (or more) sister churches are located in relative proximity, people and resources can be combined to create one stronger and healthier church in several locations.

For a declining church, transition to a church of two sites can be a path to revitalization. For a stronger church willing to sacrifice, nurture relationships, and practice sensitivity, a multi-site meld can expand its ministry.

This coming fall, in collaboration with the Center for Anabaptist Studies at Evangelical Seminary (Myerstown, Pa.), Barnabas initiatives is projecting a seminar on “church melds” (working title) as a way to combine and strengthen churches for optimum health, growth, and mission.

To garner all available instances and insights, we are devoting this post to crowdsourcing. Here are three crowdsourcing questions:

• Do you know of instances where this is under consideration?

• Do you know of churches that have been blended into one church of two (or more) sites?

• What insights can you offer to assist churches considering this strategy?

You can respond by email via the “contact” page of this website.

By pooling our experiences and insights, we can offer working models of church melds to churches that may benefit from this approach. Thank you in advance for your contribution(s) to the upcoming seminar.