On September 13th, Vineyard Columbus will be launching its first ever satellite campus in Sawmill, about 15 minutes from the main campus in Westerville.

In its 20 years as a church, Vineyard Columbus has planted over 25 churches, but this is the very first satellite campus. Unlike a church plant, the satellite campus will still be a part of Vineyard Columbus, sharing its mission and vision, as well as the leadership and resources. The campus will have its own campus pastor with local small groups. We will video tape the sermon from the Saturday night service to show at the satellite campus on Sunday morning.

So, why a satellite campus instead of a church plant? One of the biggest reasons is that the satellite campus model will create more service opportunities for people who may have a desire to step out but may feel uncomfortable joining a new church plant. It has most of the benefits of planting a church, but with lower risks. Here are some stats about the multi-site churches according to the Christian Standard:

In 1990, there were 10 multi-site churches. In 1998, there were 100 multi-site churches. In 2004, there were 1,500 multi-site churches. Today, one out of four megachurches is multi-site. Additionally, 33 percent of all churches are considering multi-site, seven of the 10 fastest-growing churches are multi-site, and nine of the 10 largest churches are multi-site.

Vineyard Columbus will still plant churches and send out missionaries. But this new model will give us one more tool in our toolbox to develop passionate, mature, reproducing disciples of Jesus.

CLICK HERE for more information about the Sawmill Campus.