This blog entry is part of a series of reflections on the multi-site model of church. After the whole series has been posted, you can do a search for multi-site within the blog to pull up the whole series.
Simply because this model of church is new, it’s not yet clear to everyone who makes what decisions. Some multi-site churches have more centralized control while others have more localized control. Wherever your church lands on that continuum, you’ll need to clearly communicate expectations around decision-making.
My personal opinion is that that site pastors need to be empowered to make most of the decisions that are specific to their site. A model that has a senior pastor in the weeds of the site pastor’s territory is a messy conflict waiting to happen.
Avoid the rock-and-a-hard-place-scenario of the site pastor bearing the responsibility for their site but lacking the authority to make needed changes. With responsibility must come commensurate authority and empowerment. The need for an atmosphere of trust and empowerment is even higher in a multi-site structure than it is in a traditional structure.