Satellite churches--hi tech circuit riders or consumer Christianity?

[James Nored]

Currently I am doing some research on satellite churches. A satellite church is an extension of a main church, with an additional site or campus in another location. This site receives video feeds from the main church, usually of the sermon, with live music.

The question I am asking about satellite churches is, are they or can they be missional? Here are the positives:
1. It allows the church to expand into new territories, a key element of being missional.
2. It utilizes the giftedness of those with speaking gifts in a way that reaches a broader group.
3. It can cut down on drive time of certain members, helping them be more involved and invite their friends to worship.
4. It costs less than a replica of the main church, and may allow a church presence where this presence is missing.
5. It allows pooling of resources and access to the resources of the main church.

Here are the potential drawbacks:
1. The preacher, through video, is not able to interact with the members, and the message is less incarnational.
2. It can possibly lead to a cult of personality and consumer Christianity.
3. It may have too much of the DNA of the main church, restricting its ability to adapt to its new environment.

Here is a good, balanced article from Christianity Today on satellite churches.

In many ways, satellite churches remind me of the circuit riders in the Methodist movement, where traveling apostolic types would make their rounds in a region, speaking to different Christian groups and expanding the gospel into new territories. Those with apostolic/missional gifting by their nature think regionally and wish to impact whole regions for God, and satellite churches are a way to reach a broader region and use the apostolic/missional gifting of certain leaders.

On the other hand, video is not the same as in-person. And without the hard work of evangelism, follow-up ministry, relationship building, etc., few people, if any, will be reached for Christ by just setting up a video screen. A successful satellite church requires a local minister or a highly devoted and gifted group of members to do this work. In addition, while cheaper than replicating the main church, satellite churches are more expensive than one might think. According to the Christianity Today article, the start up cost for Willow Creek's satellite churches is $300,000-$500,000, plus ongoing costs.

I would like to hear your thoughts. What do you think of satellite churches?

[James Nored]

Hi Bobby. Thanks for the link. I read the article--it was very informative. I suspect, as indicated in the article, that the percentage of megachurches using satellites is indeed much higher today. The importance of local pastors/ministers and small groups in these satellite locales is again noted in this article. Some think that a satellite church alllows expansion with virtually no cost; however, these models show that this is not the case. To do this well, it requires some significant commitments.

Thanks for the great reporting, as always.

[Bobby Ross]

Hi James, I wrote a feature on satellite churches for Religion News Service in 2005. Here it is in case it might interest you.

[James Nored]

Thanks, Rick, for sharing this. I will have to check out The Branch sometime. I have heard that the video there is really lifelike. I wonder what the cost on this would be.

[rick]

Farmers Branch started a satellite church, which is The Branch. The sermon from Saturday night is recorded and then it is played at the services that Chris Seidman is not at on Sunday mornings. All the praise and worship is done at the church with worship leaders. It seems to have worked out good and they are even thinking about expanding in the future after the current building is paid off. I had visitors with me one Sunday morning, and they did not realize at first that the sermon had been recorded and was actually from a video.