In the coming weeks hundreds of new campuses will launch for multisite churches across the country.  The process is a lot like birthing a new baby . . . often times we are so focused on the delivery we don’t spend time thinking about what happens after the new thing arrives!  The first month in the life of a multisite is critical and here are 4 best practices for that first month after your launch to ensure the long term viability of your brand new campus!

• Throw a Thank You Party! // Make sure you plan out a fantastic celebration opportunity in the first few weeks.  Have your core group over to you house for dinner and prepare some heartfelt words to share with the group.  Take a bunch of great photos of opening day and put them into an album and hand them out.  You spent a lot of time thinking about how to get these volunteers onto your team . . . take a healthy amount of time to thank them for what they are doing!
• Follow Up On First Time Guests // There is a high likelihood that you will see as many first time guests in your first month as you will see in the entire next six months combined.  Be ready to follow up with each and every one of those people that arrive.  Make yourself and your team available to have coffee with them.  Be constantly finding ways to connect them with people in your community.  
• Promote “The Next Big Thing” // Your volunteers and leaders have been focused on the launch and will be wondering “what’s next?” for your church.  Before you launch ensure that you have something lined up to direct your people towards once the campus is open.  Maybe you have a community service project planned for 6 weeks after launch . . . or you could be talking about the next big series coming up. Build a momentum bridge to the next big thing.
• Focus on Continuous Improvement // From the very first weekend you host services, begin to asked for and give consistent feedback on how your team can improve.  Is there a way to improve the teaching experience for people? What can we do to make sure mom’s feel great dropping their kids off? Could the band work on the transitions between songs to make them smoother? Does what our first time guests experience present a welcoming experience for them? Embedding the idea of constant improvement from the beginning with help drive long term improvement as a campus.

You only get to do the first month once.  It’s critically important to go into that month with a plan to leverage it for everything it’s worth!  [What have you learned from your first month in a new campus? We’d love to hear!]