Can you imagine arriving in a town, renovating an old grocery store into a church, opening the front doors and hoping people show up? Then, what if 1700 did show up? (and several got saved on top of it!) That's exactly what happened to NewSpring Greenville last Sunday in Greenville, SC - the largest satellite church launch in the country to date.
I had the opportunity to play in the band on this historic Sunday. What a pleasure to see a church that wants to be excellent (if you read this blog you'll find this isn't the norm!) and receive God's blessing.
NewSpring Greenville is doing the video satellite thing - a live simulcast of pastor Perry Noble's sermon is beamed through the Internet from Anderson to Greenville (and also to future plants in other cities.) NewSpring Greenville has a campus pastor, youth pastor, children's director and other staff as well as a live worship band led by worship leader Tom Pellerin (of the band Overflow.)
When the technology is in place in a few weeks, the sermon broadcast will go a step further. A huge screen the length of the stage will drop after the music and an almost holographic, high definition image of Perry will be projected from Anderson. In other words, there won't be different camera angles - there will be a single, fixed camera filming Perry and this wide angle image will be projected on the wide screen in Greenville. Perry will walk across the stage in Anderson and also appear to be walking across the stage in Greenville!
I was so excited about the launch I had trouble sleeping Saturday night - it was like Christmas morning. What I was eager to see was just how many people would attend. The whole thing is a no-brainer - at least 1,000 people drive from Greenville each week to Anderson, and most pledged to attend the Greenville campus (amazingly, the Anderson campus did NOT lose 1,000 people, but were actually UP 800 from the previous week.) It's an instant church. Now people will start coming to Greenville from nearby Spartanburg and Gaffney. I don't know NewSpring's plans, but it certainly would make sense to leapfrog church plants - plant another church in Spartanburg in a year or two, and on and on.
What I'm finding perplexing and sad is how snippy some of my friends who go to other local churches are reacting. One friend blew up and told me how "stupid" NewSpring is and wondered why people go there. I pointed out there sure are a lot of stupid people at the church - 8,948 at both campuses. I took another on a tour of the new building and he criticized everything he saw. Another friend, a pastor of a tiny church in Anderson, so ranted and raved over lunch about what a terrible place NewSpring is that I lost my appetite.
It looks like my blog post from 2006 is coming true. In that post, I wrote "The multi-site revolution will be a call for churches to get their act together. If you insist on operating like it's 1963, you might not be too long for this world. If you're just now considering using contemporary music in your worship, you're 20 years behind. If your church is full of politics that strangle your ministry, you just might be put "out of business" by churches who are more concerned with seeing people reached for Christ."
It's high time churches stop being so petty and start moving. No, you don't have to be like NewSpring, but mixing excellence with Godliness might be a good place to start.
Watch a video about NewSpring Greenville on a local news channel.
Greenville Newspring blog.
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11 comments:
Anyone that thinks "We've never done it like that" are doomed to seeing their church dying when their members die. I love traditions, I do, but they are TRADITIONS, not RULES. Most of them don't have a scriptural backing either.
Sometimes my cynical side says the traditionalists should get rid of A/C and indoor baptismals too. :)
Great Post
Jim
Hi Don,
I think the concept is great. They are bringing the message to an audience, not a congregation; those that need to hear it. It's not hard to come into a new place and be a part of the audience. Breaking into a congregation is much harder.
to warbird2010,
First of all, I'm not a traditionalist. However, don't confuse dwindling attendance with dying churches and don't equate increased attendance or "excellence" with spiritual life.
A dying church, Biblically speaking, will always be a result of the absence of the word or the gospel which is characteristic of many "seeker friendly"/"cutting edge" churches.
Rob Wren said "A dying church, Biblically speaking, will always be a result of the absence of the word or the gospel which is characteristic of many "seeker friendly"/"cutting edge" churches."
Rob, I think I'm understanding you to say that the word and the gospel are absent in many "seeker friendly"/"cutting edge" churches. If that's not what you're saying, then I apologize for misunderstanding you.
If it is what you're saying, then I've got to ask if you've been to many "seeker friendly or cutting edge churches?"
I grew up in the traditional (denominational) church. I'm a pastor's kid so my church attendance was pretty regular... every time the doors were open ;-) I now attend a seeker friendly church...
Why? Because I was starving for the word AND the gospel. In the "church of my origin" we got rules, we got politics, we got "Standards" we got behavior modification but we never got the word or the gospel, were never expected to really grow... much less see any of that lived out.
Seeker focused churches are BUILT on teaching the word and sharing the gospel. They don't have a denominational base to grow them by transfer growth. They HAVE to be fishers of men.
I hear the "watered down gospel" argument from people whose churches are struggling to keep the lights on because they haven't be relevant or culturally viable for 30 years. The "insiders" are dying and they haven't seen an "outsider" in decades. instead of looking at their own methods they smugly toss mud on churches that ARE seeing growth.
I baptized my son a few months ago... he was one of 50 being baptized that weekend. Starting in 1997 I spent five years in a denomination church doing "in church" evangelism that netted 7 new converts. We have that many decisions in the average weekend service where I minister now BECAUSE we are sharing the word and the gospel in a way that is challenging (we're asking for decisions) and accessible (no medieval language...)
I'd never go back to the "country club" church of my origin. Give me the word and "fresh fish" being caught by the gospel every week. It's real and alive, not arrogant, smug, clueless and dying!
I came from a similar church that Allan described when I was younger. The college-campus-based, contemporary, non-denominational church I attend now is as great as it is because of the way our pastors present the word and gospel. The congregation then knows the Great Commission, and we invite other students to come, and we grow in numbers. It's a simple as that.
I suppose Allan and I agree that equating "traditionalism" with "full-bodied gospel" is also something from which one should abstain. And I think that's part of Don's point, as well. A satellite church can be just as good as any. Just because you can't thank the pastor directly after service and shake his hand doesn't mean you can't thank someone else who helped to get that message to you. Thank the sound guys! Unless you couldn't hear anything... then thank the greeters or something. Hehe. Just kidding; thank the sound guys anyway.
I can't help thinking about the amount of money it cost to have a screen that big and the ways the money could have been spent for actually ministering to people. Do we really need to see the preacher walking around on stage when we know its a video feed? I'm all about using technology, but it seems there is a point when technology for its own sake begins to buy into cultural consumerism instead of doing the Work of the Gospel.
Heather, I hope your church meets in a tent, because I can only imagine all the money you could save on building costs, materials and utilities and use the money to actually minister to people.
Actually minister to people? What an incredibly condescending comment. It reminds me of when Judas griped because Mary "wasted" the expensive perfume when she washed Jesus's feet with her hair.
Good post Don. I live just an hour away in WNC and think newSpring is doing some great stuff. Perry and his staff have helped inspire us to think outside the box to find ways to reach more people for Christ. We are a network church of LifeChurch.tv and think the multisite, video teaching approach is a great use of the technology available. We are trying to take the Gospel as far we can and make Jesus famous.
Thank God for men of God like Perry and Craig Groeshel who are thinking about people instead of tradition.
Patrick - franklin, nc
This is not meant to be condenscending but I am curious to know how intimate the megachurches are. I am somewhere in between, not a traditionalist, but not in a megachurch either. Do megachurches address the many spiritual questions that are out there? (things featured in Ghost Whisperer and the like) I like feeling like part of a church family. I hate being lost in the crowd, just a number on a stat sheet for income for the church. I hope that no matter where you are you feel a part of something, and feel closer to God in whatever place you chose to worship.
Hi Don,
Just a reminder to all that we are the "CHURCH". Having said that, I can also say with confidence that
the "CHURCH" is strong and growing,
with our Lord Jesus's leadership
and His Spirit that is within us.
Anyone who has claimed the gift of the Gospel and is truly redemeed by
Jesus's sacrifice on the cross and made confession of it is part of the "CHURCH".
However, a group of believers gathering in His name assembled in a building, ie denomination big or small, whatever name of the denomination they go by or are affiliated with. of course are also part of the "CHURCH".
What is the point then? Plenty.
First of all, I like what is happenining in NewSpring. It is exactly what the people in that area needed. A strong desire to spread the Gospel, to spread the love of God, to make known who is Jesus. So we are now using new technology to reach out all people.
Wow, and why not.
Some believers like to go to small
churches so they can connect easier
and develop closer relationships with like minded believers, is that a problem, of course not. Is that a sign that the congregation is dying, ridicilous.
I heard an elder of a church one time did a ministry on the Human Body in relationship to the church.
And he made a good point that the"toe" being a part of the human body plays an important role in the overall function of the body, like balance when walking. The brain seems to think he is the most important until it is time for the body to unload unwanted trash, heh heh. I think you all got the point.
Traditional, Contemporary, big or small, high tech or not, big budget, small budget, come on people, ask the most important question........is our Lord Jesus Christ the leader of the band??
Are His will being done, and the commission He gave us being followed?? One final note, a gospel preacher once told me that he came
here and traveled a few thousand miles, and if there is only one soul saved after tonight's gospel meeting, then it is well worth the trip.
blessings
ed
Heather - and subsequently to everyone after: I agree with Heather. And I agree with Ed (previous post) - and I think that both comments run side by side. We (human beings...people) are the church. Now, I agree and believe in doing things with excellence. But what I can wrap my brain around is how a church (group of human beings who follow Jesus) can corporately vote or agree upon or whatever...to spend millions of dollars on building (that, because our terminology has effected or theology over the years....is referred to as the church) when literally 5 miles down the street there's a human being that is living on the streets. That multi-million dollar building isn't there to serve the needs of people who NEED Jesus. It's there to serve the wants of people who HAVE Jesus. For the most part. No one can make any over arching comments in these conversations - because every church, every person, has different motives, etc. But for the most part - Heather is right. If Jesus was standing here today and had 1 million dollars....do you seriously think he'd build a building with it? Or would he invest it into real needs in real people in real, tangible ways?!
Now, I'm not saying I disagree about what's going on at this church...because I don't know them or their hearts behind what they're doing. I can only speak from the experience of being a part of 2 different church launches in the last 5 years.....and seeing them both set budgets up so that more than 70% of their money was being directly spent on impacting the lives of people tangibly....and less than 30% on labor, administration, facility costs, etc. And all I can say is wow...the best church experiences of my life - seeing the church (again, people) live out 'where your heart is, there is your treasure'....and God do amazing things that are unimaginable because they allowed Him space to be great. Anyways...all that to say - heather, i agree.
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