unSeminary Podcast: Pioneering Bilingual Multisite Ministry with Eric Garza
Date: October 16, 2025
Host: Rich Birch
Guest: Eric Garza, Executive Pastor of Campuses, Cross Church, Texas
Episode Overview
In this episode, Rich Birch sits down with Eric Garza, Executive Pastor of Campuses at Cross Church, to explore the operational challenges and breakthroughs of leading one of America's largest and fastest-growing bilingual, multisite churches. They dive deep into Cross Church’s growth story, their unique bilingual model, the balance between alignment and autonomy across campuses, and practical strategies for churches considering similar ministry expansions. The conversation is packed with actionable insights for church leaders wrestling with multicultural ministry in a rapidly changing society.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Cross Church Growth Story & Multisite Strategy ([03:07]–[05:38])
- Founded in 1995, Cross Church is now one of the fastest-growing churches in the U.S.
- Located in Deep South Texas, near the Mexican border, serving a predominantly Hispanic/Latino demographic.
- Expanded from 1 to 12 locations in about 7 years (2018–2025).
- 7 English campuses, 5 Spanish campuses.
- All locations are within 30–35 minutes of each other, forming a regional ministry network.
Quote:
"In the last 18 to 20 months, we've doubled in size as an organization."
—Eric Garza [04:40]
2. The Multisite, Bilingual Model: Structure and Philosophy ([06:30]–[10:43])
- Many campuses are physically shared spaces, offering both English and Spanish services with their own pastors and staff.
- Strong philosophical commitment to go to the people, rather than expect people to come.
- Ministry vision: "Raise up an army to lead a spiritual revolution."
- Contemporary, family-focused, non-denominational ministry in both English and Spanish—previously unavailable in the region.
Quote:
"We wanted to go to where people are at instead of expecting people to come to us."
—Eric Garza [06:52]
Alignment:
- Service formats and ministry offerings are "identical across the board"—only language differs ([08:41]).
- Everything offered in English is also provided in Spanish: worship, kids, next gen, pastoral care, etc.
- Centralized systems and branding, with minor local contextualization for community engagement.
3. Navigating Multicultural, Bilingual Ministry: Lessons Learned ([12:26]–[16:15])
- Cross Church is a national pioneer in dual-language, multisite ministry—no blueprint to follow.
- Ministries are contextually sensitive to language preferences of age groups (i.e., Next Gen usually prefers English).
- Majority of kids/Next Gen at Spanish services are English-speaking, so kids ministry is primarily in English, but always with capacity for bilingual support.
- Many pastors, including the Senior Pastor, are bilingual—frequently preaching and translating live on stage.
Quote:
"If you know something that we don’t, please tell us because we’ve...adapted this in our context. ...There is, to our knowledge, no thriving ministry in America that sets a precedent for how to do multisite bilingual ministry."
—Eric Garza [13:54]
4. Alignment vs. Autonomy Across Locations ([19:18]–[22:33])
- Very centralized organizational structure:
- Central teams set systems and curriculum for ministries (Kids, Next Steps, Worship, etc.).
- Local campuses execute those systems, with latitude for community-specific outreach and events.
- Shared branding, training, resources, and experience quality regardless of campus size.
- Local campus pastors have some situational authority, especially with community outreach.
Quote:
"Central will set the systems. Campuses will execute those systems."
—Eric Garza [19:41]
5. Shared Facilities: Relationship Between Campus Pastors ([22:33]–[25:13])
- Physical locations may host both English and Spanish congregations; each has its own pastor.
- Core value: Unity—campus pastors work as a single team, not in silos.
- Service times are identical across locations: 10am for English, 12pm for Spanish.
- Staff for each language support each other, are present across services, and cultivate strong collaboration.
Quote:
"They both attend each other's services... it's a very pastoral structure where we help each other out and we're there the entire Sunday to back each other up and to provide pastoral presence."
—Eric Garza [24:48]
6. System Evolution & Adaptation ([26:25]–[29:32])
- Systems are uniform in intent but implementation is flexible (e.g., size/location of a Next Steps area).
- Periodic assessment leads to adaptation—systems that worked at 3 campuses may not work at 12+.
- Focus on continuous improvement, not perfection; nothing except Scripture is "untouchable" in process.
Quote:
"Our systems are the same, but the local implementation...may vary campus to campus."
—Eric Garza [27:42]
7. Discipleship Pathways, Serving, and Language ([29:32]–[32:23])
- Cross Church does not currently use small groups—they focus on connecting people through serve teams.
- Discipleship and midweek Bible study is bilingual: same teaching is delivered in both languages, often recorded separately.
- Aim is not pleasing people, but serving congregations with excellence.
Quote:
"What we do in English, we want to offer in Spanish and then vice versa."
—Eric Garza [31:12]
8. Launching New Language Services/Ministries: Practical Steps ([33:40]–[38:29])
- Expansion takes intentional preparatory phases:
- Extensive market research and congregational surveys.
- Testing interest through special events (e.g., Spanish worship nights).
- Building a committed leadership and volunteer team for the new service.
- Months of preparation, not just weeks—branding, community engagement, team training.
- Sanctuary capacity is only one metric; consider kids and other space limitations.
Quote:
"It's a process. It doesn't happen from one month to the next... we want to do systematic, but we want to make sure that this is a God thing for our church or for that campus before making the final decision."
—Eric Garza [37:44]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
"We say we have a great system, but it's not a perfect system."
—Eric Garza [13:19] -
"As the demographic of our country continues to shift...thriving bilingual ministry, we believe, is going to become a key factor in how the church operates in different communities in the country."
—Eric Garza [39:16] -
"Just because it's a good thing doesn't mean it's a God thing."
—Eric Garza [37:23] -
"If they're not, if you don't have a good segment of [leaders] on board, you're going to have a difficult time getting that service off the ground."
—Eric Garza [38:18]
Actionable Takeaways
- Centralize core ministries but empower local contextual outreach.
- Build strong bilingual leadership capacity—prioritize finding, training, and platforming bilingual communicators.
- Listen to your congregation: Use surveys and focus groups before launching new services.
- Over-prepare for launch: Treat new language/campus launches as 3–6 month projects, not weekend events.
- Continuously evaluate and adapt systems: What works at 3 campuses won’t necessarily work at 10+.
Timestamps for Key Segments
- [03:07] – Cross Church Growth Story
- [06:30] – Multisite Model Explained (English/Spanish structure)
- [12:26] – Aligning Multicultural Ministry
- [13:19] – Challenges and Lessons in Bilingual Ministry
- [19:18] – Centralization vs. Local Autonomy
- [22:33] – Campus Pastor Collaboration at Shared Locations
- [26:25] – Evolving Systems and Implementation
- [29:32] – Discipleship and Serving Pathways
- [33:40] – How to Launch a Second Language Service
- [37:44] – Spiritual Discernment and Leadership Buy-In
Final Resources & Where to Learn More
- 360 Global Network: 360global.network
- Cross Church: crosschurchonline.com
- Eric Garza on Instagram: @ericp.garza
- Social Media: @crosschurchrgv
This episode is essential listening for church leaders pursuing multicultural, multisite, or bilingual models, and those seeking to future-proof their ministry for changing U.S. demographics. Eric Garza’s candid, generous insights offer a practical and inspiring roadmap for breaking church growth barriers in a multicultural world.