Why do we do it?

In 2002-2003, Bethlehem’s growth forced a choice. Either we could build a much larger church at our existing downtown Minneapolis location, relocate to a suburb and build a larger church there, or adopt a multi-campus model in which we remain a single church with multiple locations across the Twin Cities area. While none of these approaches was ideal, we decided in 2004 to take the multi-campus approach, like many other growing churches in the US. At the bottom of the page are materials that give more background on how we came to that conclusion.

 

How do we do it?

Bethlehem campuses share the following:

  • Vision
  • Strategy
  • Theological foundation
  • Eldership
  • Constitution
  • Band of global partners (missionaries)
  • Budget

Bethlehem campuses are unique in these ways:

  • Campus-specific Support staff and Pastoral staff (with some overlap)
  • Campus-specific Elders
  • Campus-specific Worship leaders and content of worship service(s)
  • Each campus also has a presence in its respective community, unique to its context, with varied opportunities for outreach. 

Each weekend, the pastor bringing the sermon preaches at the Saturday evening service at the Downtown Campus at 5:30pm. This sermon is digitally recorded and shown at the North Campus on Saturday evenings at 6:00pm. On Sunday morning, the preacher is at one of our three locations. At the other two locations, the digital recording of the Saturday evening sermon is shown at Sunday worship services at 9:00 & 11:00am and at 5:00pm. The sermon is usually the only aspect of the worship service that is delivered by recording.

 

Multi-campus Resources

© 2012 Bethlehem Baptist Church