difference between multi-site campus and church plant?

Sometimes things can happen very quickly. After 2 weeks of vision-casting via a 2-week message series, describing what the leadership of Rock Harbor church was discerning for the coming year, attenders were invited to participate in the new multi-site campus launch in South County on the following Sunday!

To be fair, of course there were months of preparation and prayer, manifested in a summer partnership called the South County Project. The launch was also mentioned in the local newspaper, "RockHarbor church launches new South County campus".

As part of its "2+1" campaign, ROCKHARBOR is raising up 2 campuses and sending out 1 church plant in the next 12 months. To communicate this concisely and effectively to the thousands of attenders, here's how ROCKHarbor described the difference between a multi-site campus and a church plant:

"... a ROCKHARBOR campus is the full expression of RH vision and values existing in a specific geographical location. a campus falls under the leadership of RH and is centrally resourced by current RH staff. each campus will be an extension of what people experience at ROCKHARBOR central, but closer to home. a RH campus is not simply a different venue for weekend services, but contains the full spectrum of RH ministries within a geographical region. that means each campus has its own life groups. its own alpha course. its own REGUE. its own serve opportunities, etc. " [via]

"what is a church plant? ... a ROCKHARBOR church plant is an increasingly autonomous community that has received the blessing and affirmation of RH leadership. church plants will be unique to their specific contexts and will have their own elder board and leadership teams. how much a church plant shares the vision and values of RH is up to them." [via]

Question to you: How have you heard and seen church leaders communicate its multi-site strategy to their congregation?

Disclosure: ROCKHARBOR is my home church, and I was present at the launch of ROCKHARBOR South County. Below is my photo essay captured live on Sunday morning. There are also photos at the campus website, www.rhsouthcounty.org.

DJ CHUANG, Leadership Community Director at Leadership Network