New Hope church, planted in 2009 which has just planted its third location in the growing fringes of north west Sydney offers a hopeful model for church growth according to church consultant Ian Duncum.
New Hope has two characteristics that Duncum believes make churches effective at reaching new people.
• “Multi-site:” the church expands geographically, becoming a presence in new neighbourhoods.
• “Fast-planting: the rapid establishment and multiplication of new congregations or sites.
Duncum points to Paul’s planting strategy in Romans 15 of establishing churches in major cities like Ephesus and Corinth who in turn planted congregations so rapidly and widely in that region that Paul was content to move onto other opportunities such as Spain.
New Hope’s journey has been in to into Northwestern Sydney. Starting in Kellyville in 2009 2010, New Hope planted in Sydney’s new suburb Box Hill in February 2021, and back into the Norwest regional centre in February 2025. New Hope is a member of the Baptist Association of NSW/ACT which has an ambitious church planting target of “one thousand healthy churches in a generation.”
“We’ve seen that multiple sites has increased our capacity to reach people, participate in local communities (especially newly developing ones), and create community for unchurched and dechurched people to fellowship and grow in faith within,” Lead Pastor David O’Connor told The Other Cheek.
The Other Cheek interviewed Duncum about why he sees Multi-site and Fast Planting Churches contributing to the future.
Why do you think that fast-planting multisites will be part of the way forward in church growth in Australia?
Firstly, fast-planting multisites will not be the only way forward; there are other effective models. However, most churches do not have replication or multiplication as a goal, and this is an essential part of fast-planting multisites. As a church consultant who trains other consultants, I am always exploring what is effective and less effective in Australia and beyond.
You posted about the launch of Newhope Norwest?
Newhope is a fantastic story under the wise and dynamic leadership of David O’Connor. Four years ago, Newhope Kellyville planted a second site, Newhope Box Hill. On Sunday, 23rd February, Newhope Norwest was launched with over 70 attendees at the launch service. The other two sites average well over 100 attendees.
Is this a relatively new phenomenon in Australia?
Yes, but the number of fast-planting multisites in Australia is growing rapidly, mirroring what I am seeing in other countries – churches planting new sites every 2 to 4 years.
Why do you think fast-planting multisites are effective in planting?
There are several reasons. Firstly, there is an increasing emphasis on church planting and multiplication in Australia, which is necessary as roughly 40 more churches close each year than are being commenced. Secondly, it is much easier to start a new site than to plant a church from scratch. Thirdly, multisites have over 1.5 times the five-year survivability rate of single new plants (80% vs. 50% respectively). I believe we should do both! Fourth, multisites are effective in reaching those who have disconnected from church, as well as seeing first-time commitments.
Research in the United States shows that multisite churches grow faster than single-site churches. According to a study by Leadership Network and the Fuller Youth Institute, multisite churches in the U.S. grew by 7.5% in 2016, while single-site churches only grew by 1.2%.
JS: What are some of the other advantages of fast-planting multisites?
First, they lean into team dynamics as both site pastors and central staff support each other and use their gifts in complementary ways. Second, they release attendees by ‘uncapping’ leadership – the rosters or teams are never full because there are always more sites to plant, so discipling and leadership development are central. Third, each site has a vision bigger than themselves and their own needs and preferences. Fourth, they release spiritual entrepreneurs to lead and multiply in a way that shepherds cannot. Both giftings have their value and place, but spiritual entrepreneurs are often more ‘wired’ for planting and/or revitalisation. Fifth, with 70% of Australian churches in decline (NCLS Research, 2021 – albeit during Covid), some of these will be reaching out to healthy growing churches for replanting through adoption. Sixth, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), about 86% of Australians live in urban areas, and the population of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane continues to rise. As more people live in densely populated areas, multisite church models allow for more efficient use of resources, enabling churches to reach more people without needing to build new facilities for every new congregation. Seventh, while multisite models may vary, their agility often means that sites of the same multisite can be responsive to very different local demographics in different locations, including language and culture.
So where to from here?
It starts with one. I’d encourage all churches with 100 or more attenders to lift their eyes to the enormous spiritual interest in our communities and start planning for a second site. If you want help with that, I supervise multisite leaders, planters, and denominational leaders across Australia. Typically, some 38% of attendees would be interested in being involved in a church plant (NCLS Research). They are just waiting to be asked!
Rev Dr Ian Duncum is a church and non-profit consultant who also trains church consultants. He is an author, pastoral supervisor and the General Manager of AAOS. He can be contacted at [email protected]
Image: the launch service at Newhope Norwest. Lead Pastor David O’Connor is on the left, with site pastor Ben Cochrane next to him. Ian Duncum is just in the crowd.