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Satellite sermon
Published October 30, 2009
FREDERICKSBURG — Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, where renowned author Max Lucado delivers sermons, several years ago faced a situation of overcrowding.
Instead of building a larger auditorium to seat a growing number of members commuting from far-ends of the city, leaders opted to start two satellite campuses with elders from each of the neighborhoods and provide recorded sermons by Lucado or the church’s other well-known minister, Randy Frazee.
“A church is a bunch of people. It’s not a building,” said Sam Warren, director of pastoral care for all campuses. “It helps them to be able to be free to really engage in a life where they live, rather than being on the road.”
The model now has reached the Hill Country with a satellite service in Fredericksburg. Each Sunday, dozens of Oak Hills Church members opt not to make the more than 50-mile drive and instead gather for an evening service at the Rockbox Theater at
109 N. Llano St.
There is a live facilitator, children’s minister, music and communion. About half-way through the service, the lights dim and a high-definition video that church elder Doyle Jennings has physically driven to the theater plays a recording of the morning sermon from the church’s main campus near Interstate 10 and Loop 1604 in San Antonio.
So far, about 65 to 70 people of all ages regularly have attended the weekly service. Existing and new members seem to enjoy the worship experience, prayer time and message, said Rick Nicosia, who has facilitated the opening of the Fredericksburg campus or “mission.”
“People seem to be engaged. The Bible likens the experience to that of people being fed,” Nicosia said, noting the televised sermons have worked. “People are less concerned about having a live message versus the content of the message. The content of the message has been really, really good.”
Oak Hills Church started about 50 years ago as Oak Hills Church of Christ on Fredericksburg Road in San Antonio. In the late 1990s, the church moved to its now main location off Camp Bullis Road in San Antonio. It’s membership now totals more than 8,000.
Each of the first two satellite campuses — Journey Fellowship in Selma and Oak Hills Fiesta Westside — have developed differently. Journey Fellowship now counts about 1,000 members, while Oak Hills Fiesta Westside has about 250 members. The two newest campuses include the one in Fredericksburg and another near the San Antonio International airport.
Warren said several mega-churches in the United States have followed the trend of opening satellite campuses.
“A lot of them are rethinking the way they are doing church. What is the best way to serve the communities?” Warren said. “All of us are asking that question — how can we make more of an impact on people and communities of people?”
In a way, it is a lesson in economics and a look at finite resources, namely time. People who spend less time on the road will have more time for their families, communities and to make a difference.
“We’re being wise in the way we do things,” Warren said. “It costs a lot of money to build. ... Instead of having that money going into a building, we can put it into people.”
That message is in part what drew Andy Bray, his wife, Andrea, and their three young children — Hannah, 8; Caden, 6; and Lilli, 3.
“It’s a good fit for who we are,” said Bray, who is heading up the children’s ministry at the Fredericksburg mission. “I think it’s difficult to give your kids a heart for others and not be so self-centered. Not that we’re doing that perfectly, but if I can have a church that supports that, man, that’s where I want to be.”
Bray said he tries to help children by simplifying the key points from the Gospel. Bray also uses hand gestures, so children can visualize the lesson. To demonstrate “believe,” he put his hand on his heart, and for “belong,” he had kids give themselves hugs. For “be trained,” he pointed to his mind, and to exemplify “being strong,” Bray made a Popeye-like biceps curl.
“It’s nothing revolutionary,” said Bray, an architect with Mustard Design in Fredericksburg. “It’s the same way you teach them their ABCs and 123s.”
One of the benefits of having a community-based satellite church, is taking advantage of members’ talents, Warren said.
If Bray and his family were making the commute to the main campus each Sunday, they may not have had the time or energy to dedicate to the children’s ministry or other community service projects.
Although new, members already have pitched in for home-repair projects for those in need in Fredericksburg and food drives.
“The people who I’ve met there have a pretty common thread,” Nicosia said. “It may sound kind of hokey, but they really want to go out in the community and give and help. They want to go do something for people. That’s really exciting for me.”
Future goals for the Fredericksburg church are to continue with community projects and eventually find a full-time team of worship leaders, Nicosia said.
Charles Tatum, an active member of Oak Hills Church and its new Fredericksburg mission, foresees the Hill Country satellite church tripling its membership within the next few months.
“It’s doing better than I expected,” said Tatum, a psychologist and former pastor of five churches. “Our goal is to reach the unchurched and be available to help them.”
What: Oak Hills Church Fredericksburg Mission
When: 5:30 p.m. Sundays
Where: Rockbox Theater, 109 N. Llano St.
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