5 Things I’ve Learned In Multi-Site Student Ministry

I have been on staff at Biltmore Church since 2018, working as the Student Pastor at our East Campus. When I started, my campus met in a school and only had one service on Sunday mornings. Throughout the week, the Student Ministry would meet in an old Harley Davidson Paint Shop garage. Before that, the Student Ministry met in an Ice Cream Shop. In 2019, our Campus moved into a permanent location with a designated space for Student Ministry. It was incredible.

Throughout my time here, we have adopted a “Central” model of ministry, launched/adopted several other campuses, are currently building another location for our next campus, and have had many staff and structural changes.

Here are five things I’ve learned over the past six years working in a multi-site ministry context:

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

I was 22 years old when I first started as the East Campus Student Pastor. I was fresh out of College with a B.S. in Student Ministry, which meant I knew nothing about full-time ministry. Looking back, I was incredibly blessed to step into a multi-site church that had a community of other pastors with various levels of experience, expertise, and advice for the new guy!

Most of my friends who graduated with me also went to work at other churches as Student Pastors, and we have stayed connected. What tends to be the number one thing I hear that they wish they had is a community of other Student Pastors around them. Ministry can tend to be lonely, especially as you carry others’ heavy burdens, fight spiritual fatigue as you lead and pour into others, and manage expectations that may be difficult alone. Working at a multi-site church, I am so thankful that I have a built-in team of Student Pastors that I could go to for advice, run an idea by, or work together on a task.

Being a part of a team has allowed me to have a network of support that I can work with, delegate tasks together when we write curriculum, create games, or plan big events, and practice vulnerability as I transparently share struggles and challenges that allow me to reduce burnout and strengthen connection with other staff members. Being on a team has reminded me of the importance of not doing ministry alone. I want to take advantage of the team God has allowed me to serve on while also looking to be there for someone else in ministry.

Leadership Development Opportunities

In my experience, I have had several opportunities to grow and develop as a leader and Pastor. My natural bend is to focus on the students and families from my campus and work together with other campuses and staff teams to achieve the overall mission and vision of the church.

This year alone, I get to be a part of three mission trips in the life of our church. Two of which are Student Ministry specific and involve all seven of our other campuses. This has and will allow me to grow as a leader as I lead not only my campus but all campuses and their students, leaders, and families.

At our big events, we divide into teams such as rec, games, content, worship, volunteers, etc. This has helped me grow as a leader because I get to help plan games one year, lead and equip volunteers the next, and plan breakouts that equip our students the next. We all get to grow in areas that we may not be good in. In addition to this, our student team comes together with our worship team, missions team, communications team, production team, and kids’ ministry team to plan and execute events. I am able to connect with and learn from a wide variety of ministry leaders, which helps to inspire and strengthen my own leadership.

I’ve learned a lot by watching other teams work together, think about things from different perspectives, and find common ground for us all to get an event or task across the finish line for God’s glory. Church staff and upstream pastors have poured into me over the years to help develop me as a pastor, leader, and father in my church. I’m truly grateful. When I look back over the years, I can see the growth and impact my church has had in my development.

Wider Reach and Kingdom Impact

By the nature of multi-site churches, the opportunity to impact communities across different regions is huge. Biltmore Church is currently in 3 different counties, and we all share the same mission, leadership, and resources to do ministry in those areas. That being said, the reach is wider, and the impact is incredibly rewarding. In 2024, as a church, we celebrated 600+ baptisms across all of our campuses! One thing I’ve learned here is to celebrate with other campuses when they have something to celebrate. At our Wednesday night kickoff this year, there was a student who gave her life to Jesus at another campus! I am able to celebrate with our team what God is doing across all of our campuses.

For one of our events last year, we hosted 735 students and 115 leaders at one of our events. Students from dozens of different schools, multiple counties, and various backgrounds, beliefs, and family dynamics. We saw dozens of salvations, students called to ministry, and students grow closer in their walk with Jesus and are able to celebrate those together! I love being able to have a front row to the Kingdom impact we make across our state and beyond.

 Communication

Communication is key at a multi-site church. Without it, we are like a choir without a director; each voice may be strong, but the lack of direction and harmony leads to confusion instead of a unified, impactful sound. With so many different ministries and departments, it’s easy for communication to get lost, diluted, or delivered last minute. Everyone has great ideas, but when those ideas are communicated poorly, without a clear “why,” or are delivered late, they become difficult to support and execute effectively. This becomes especially prevalent to campus teams when we are dependent on effective communication and the resources that we need to make our events/programming happen.

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Effective communication is key when contextualizing ministry. A training, event, or teaching series that works at one campus may not translate well at another, leading to confusion or lack of engagement or buy-in from other staff members. Consistent communication across campuses is essential to ensure that everyone is on the same page, even as contextualization takes place.

Serving in multi-site has shown me the importance of communication in my own personal ministry and in our broader church as a whole. From our all-staff meetings, executive team updates, and vision from our Lead Pastor, communication of any form plays a key part in creating unity, clarity, and confidence for teams as they lead in their respective roles.

Contextualization and Campus Location

One of the biggest challenges in multi-site student ministry is finding the balance between maintaining a unified vision and mission across campuses while still adapting to the unique needs of my campus. All of our campuses have different levels of resourcing, whether it’s financial, leaders, or physical space. This can create tension when one campus is able to offer more tailored or specialized programming than another. For context, our main campus has between 200-300 hundred students on a regular programmed night, whereas one has 20-30 students and another has 50-75 students. So the question becomes: How do you create this event for 20 students and 200+ students? How do you feed leaders with your budget when you have 8 leaders show up, or 50 leaders show up?

At my campus, we have about 60 students on Sunday mornings and about 40 on Wednesday nights. However, we have to be creative on our campus because we share space and time with other ministries. On a given Sunday, we have 4 Student Connect Groups that meet in our lobby. So, the question becomes what is most effective and how can I use my space to have effective, fruitful groups, whereas other campuses have specific rooms for each student connect group. Ensuring that all campuses are equipped to contextualize well within their means without creating disparities can be a significant challenge.

Contextualization and campus location have caused me to think creatively, collaborate with humility, and learn from others. It also has reminded me time after time of the incredible privilege I have of leading out on my campus with the responsibility to carry out our mission in a way that honors our church leadership.

There are plenty of unique excitements and challenges of working in a multi-site Student Ministry. The built-in collaborative culture, opportunities to grow as a leader and Pastor, and the massive Kingdom impact make working in this context a dream come true! However, the challenges of maintaining unity on such a massive team, effective communication, and contextualization across multiple locations can be very difficult. The challenge is difficult, but the reward is great. Over the past 6 years, I’ve learned that a successful multi-site Student Ministry depends on strong communication, adaptive leadership, and healthy contextualization.

Share your thoughts with others in our YM360 community:

1. How can you celebrate all that God is doing across the campuses (or ministries) in your church?
2. What role does contextualization play in your ministry? While you may not learn from other campuses, you can still learn from other churches. How do you contextualize what others are doing to possibly fit in your ministry?

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