Jim Tomberlin

Summer is over and school has started for almost every school-aged child. As families have been busy getting ready for the new school year there has been a lot going on in the digital and online ministry space.

A church merger is a delicate dance in which one leads and the other follows. Regardless of church size and health of two merging churches, every church merger involves a lead church and a joining church. A church mergers is usually initiated by the joining church. If there is a joining church pastor, he or she typically remains on staff post-merger, but usually not in the same role. Mergers that result in a multisite outcome typically have higher rates of success and satisfaction.

Of the estimated 8,000-plus multisite churches in North America, one-third deliver their messages primarily by video, another third are hybrid delivering their messages with video and in-person, and one-third deliver their messages primarily in-person. In addition, the majority of the 300K-plus protestant churches across America offer some sort of church online experience.