Church Franchises

We did a lot of driving this weekend -- out to Pearland, back to Katy, then back to Pearland and then back to Katy. I don't mind these trips; they usually give Luke and me the opportunity to talk to one another about anything and nothing. These are the few times when we are able to spill ideas like we did when we were dating.

I noticed something interesting this time. I don't know if this is a phenomenon elsewhere but it appears as though Houston has a sudden quickly growing crop of what can only be termed as franchise churches. These franchise churches started out like any other church but have grown to such massive sizes that the pastors have decided a second location is warranted. These franchise churches aren't daughter churches born from the greats, set out with some support to make their own way and their own impact. Rather these are shoots of the original -- empty shells all to be filled on Sunday with the same man in the pulpit. Some of these franchises are limited to one or two "campuses", usually separated by the sprawling metropolis of Houston, one on the North side and the other to the south, with staggered service times allowing the pastor to make his way via motorcade to each campus. Others of these franchises are spread throughout the city, meeting in movie theaters where the Sunday morning sermon is watched via closed circuit television; members get the message without the drive to the main campus.

I have to wonder as I pass these franchise churches (one of which has a campus just down the street from my home) what logic bore them. What thought entered the minds of the men in charge that led them to believe that rather than plant new churches it would be better to expand the original? Was it Greed? Pride? Or something more wholesome and less sinister? Our home church has planted 3 daughter churches in recent history -- two since we joined two years ago. And to these churches we have a responsibility -- to plant them isn't to send them out and hope they succeed but rather to tend to and care for, to support in prayer, in word, in deed and in $$ until each is capable to sustain itself in the task of reaching it's specific community. Why did we plant each? There was a need and God himself spoke to members of the congregation, calling them to meet this need. The entire process seems completely logical and more importantly Biblical...which brings me back to my original question. What is the motivation to found the franchise church? How do they foster true Biblical community, where members "do life" together and are more than Sunday morning greeting exchangers? Have these churches sacrificed so many important things in the name of convenience? Or, again less sinister, are these churches meeting a real need, ministering to a forgotten and typically unreached people group, filling a void that the typical church left gaping?

I'm not certain I know the answer. I know what seems to be the answer but I could be totally off-base for who am I to judge the hearts of man?