Warren Bird and Jim Tomberlin
Why Multisite is Back and Booming
About The Episode
As the church enters a new season of ministry in 2026, this episode of Leaders in Living Rooms invites leaders to re-examine what they think they know about multisite ministry. Sean Morgan is joined by Warren Bird and Jim Tomberlin to explore how the multisite movement has quietly shifted from simple replication into a multiplying, movement-driven model focused on discipleship, innovation, and the Great Commission. Together, they unpack common critiques of multisite churches, highlight emerging “pacesetter” churches shaping the future, and preview an ambitious national research project designed to equip churches navigating growth, complexity, and mission at scale.
Welcome to Episode 150 of the Leaders in Living Rooms Podcast with Sean Morgan.
Insights from Warren and Jim
- Multisite Is No Longer About Buildings — It’s About Movement
Bird and Tomberlin emphasize that multisite ministry has evolved far beyond adding campuses within driving distance. Today’s healthiest churches are thinking in terms of movements that transcend geography, culture, and even national boundaries, allowing the church to multiply disciples and leaders faster than traditional models.
- Growth Requires Saying “Yes” to Responsibility
One of the strongest insights from the conversation is that growth accelerates when leaders invite people to take responsibility, not just attend services. Multisite environments create natural gaps and opportunities that empower everyday believers to step into leadership, discipleship, and mission.
- The Local Church Thrives When It Gets Smaller and Larger at the Same Time
Multisite churches succeed when they combine the resources, excellence, and innovation of larger churches with the intimacy and community of smaller congregations. This “both/and” approach helps people be known while still benefiting from shared vision and infrastructure.
- Innovation Flourishes Where There Is Margin
Larger, multisite churches often have the margin to experiment, adapt, and learn without risking collapse. This allows leaders to test new ministry expressions, contextualize campuses for different communities, and respond more quickly to changing cultural realities.
- Structure Must Serve Mission — Not Replace It
Both guests warn against allowing bureaucracy to calcify into a monument. Healthy churches live in the tension between enough structure to scale effectively and enough flexibility to innovate. Mission clarity, not rigid models, is what keeps movements alive.
- The Future of Multisite Will Be Data-Informed and Disciple-Driven
The upcoming national research project aims to surface best practices, benchmarks, and trends from thriving churches across the country. The goal is not to create a one-size-fits-all model, but to give leaders confidence, wisdom, and courage as they discern what God is calling their church to next.
Episode Links
The Multi-site Church Revolution, by Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, Warren Bird
10 of Today’s Most Innovative Churches, by Elmer L. Towns
How to Break Growth Barriers, by Carl F George, Warren Bird
125 Tips for MultiSite Churches, by Jim Tomberlin
Better Together: Making Church Mergers Work, by Jim Tomberlin and Warren Bird
If you’re a leader approaching a succession or transition, or maybe you’re a few years in and beginning to see how complex transitions leadership is… go to The Art of Pastoral Succession and check out my course in partnership with Carey Nieuwhof.
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Who is Warren Bird?
Warren Bird, Ph.D. Dr. Warren Bird is one of America’s leading researchers and writers on areas related to healthy, growing churches. He is the author or co-author of several dozen major research projects and also 35 books for church leaders including Better Together, coauthored with Jim Tomberlin on healthy mergers; Hero Maker coauthored with Dave Ferguson on leadership development; and his latest book, Becoming a Future-Ready Church, coauthored with Daniel Yang and Adelle Banks, on church trends. He has previously served as church planter and church staff member, seminary professor, senior VP of research for ECFA and a similar role before that with Leadership Network. He is now a full-time church researcher and writer, with his major research project for 2026 in partnership with The Ascent Leader.
Who is Jim Tomberlin?
Over four decades of diverse ministry, Jim has pastored a church in Germany, grown a megachurch in Colorado, pioneered the multisite strategy for Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago and served as the Chief of Staff at Christ Fellowship in Miami. In 2005, Jim founded MultiSite Solutions, a church consulting company that has assisted hundreds of churches in multiplying their impact through intensive multisite, church merger and succession consultation. From 2019-2024, Jim partnered with Tony Morgan and The Unstuck Group to expand their capacity to assist more churches. As the @MultiSiteGuy, Jim continues to track multisite developments and has become the nationally recognized expert on multisite church. In addition, he has become the @MergerGuru, having co-authored the leading book on church mergers and assisting numerous churches through the church merger process. Jim is the author of 125 Tips for MultiSite Churches, Better Together: Making Church Mergers Work—Expanded and Updated and Church Locality: New Rules for Church Buildings in a Multisite, Church Planting, and Giga-Church World. Jim resides in Colorado Springs, CO and holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Georgia State University in Atlanta and a Masters of Theology (Th.M) from Dallas Theological Seminary. Jim and his wife, Deryl, have three grown children and eleven grandchildren.
Sponsors and Partners
Thanks to our sponsor: MOHI
Partnership with MOHI is built on long-term, meaningful relationships. Your church will serve a specific community, its local leaders, and its families. It’s a shared journey marked by prayer, presence, and ongoing connection rather than one-time projects. Many of our partner churches have been walking with the same community for years, even a decade or more, building stability, fostering trust and creating lasting impact.
Learn more at mohiafrica.org/partner/
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About the Host
Sean Morgan is a coach and speaker with a national reputation as a catalyst of fresh vision. His passion is to help ministries navigate obstacles and turn them into opportunities.
Throughout his career, Sean has pioneered initiatives impacting thousands of leaders across the country. He started out serving as Executive Pastor and CFO at New Life Church in northern California.
As host, Sean gives you access to amazing conversations, hard-won wisdom, and poignant insights from world-class leaders in intimate “living room” settings.
Your Host
Sean Morgan
Leaders in Living Rooms
Craft & Character
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