I ferment my lager starters at room temp. After all, you're not making lager, you're growing yeast. Then, I chill and decant all of the spent wort. Then, when I brew, I get my wort to 52 degrees, and my yeast from the fridge at 50 degrees or so. Pitching that yeast into slightly warmer wort (just slightly, as to not shock them) seems to really wake them up.
Some of the others are talking about pitching the yeast into warmer wort, and then bringing down the temp after fermentation starts. I've never done that, but I know some do. I have very good results with pitching cold. I also pitch all my ales at fermentation temps. So, I pitch my lagers at around 52 degrees, and my ales around 65 degrees all the time.