Among the healthy and growing churches in America today, they have already gone multi-site, are planning on going multi-site or are thinking about it, said a church strategist.

“Today, the multi-site model has become a viable instrument in the toolbox of the church,” said Jim Tomberlin, founder of MultiSite Solutions.
Veteran “multisiters” with at least 10 years of experience in the “one church, multiple locations” approach came together Thursday to offer those exploring the model some advice.

Tomberlin went multi-site in 1997 when he was pastoring Woodmen Valley Chapel in Colorado Springs. Like other pioneers of multi-site campuses, Tomberlin found his church growing and running out of space. His church was already at a “great location” so the nondenominational congregation decided to launch a second campus in the same city.

“What began as a band-aid for megachurches that found themselves out of room or facing zoning restrictions quickly became a strategy for any healthy outreach-oriented church of all sizes,” he said during Thursday’s webinar, hosted by the Leadership Network.

Today, Tomberlin works full-time consulting churches across the nation on multi-site strategies. He has helped Willow Creek Community Church and other megachurches launch multiple campuses.
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Veteran multisiters, including Robert Wright, chief operating officer of Eastern Star Baptist Church, in Indianapolis, Ind., agreed that expanding their church to multiple locations has allowed for more numerical growth and greater ability to reach more people with the Gospel.

Editor’s Note: Redeemer Presbyterian (PCA) in New York City has just made the decision to go to a full multi-site model this summer and has called four lead pastors, one for each site. http://bit.ly/drgN2Q

Read More: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100625/once-you-go-multi-site-you-wont-go-back/index.html