Healthy Cell Group Ministry

It was the early 1980s, and my friend, Ibrahim Omondi, from Nairobi, Kenya knew his people were not living up to their full potential. Having a keen interest in the cell church concept, he sought for a working model before returning to Africa and asked to “tag along” as I served as a pastor in our cell-based church. Our church had been birthed several years earlier in Pennsylvania and was in the process of growing from one cell to 2300 believers meeting in cells during its first few years.

Ibrahim watched and listened. He observed how cell group ministry was a place where everyone had the opportunity to experience and demonstrate Christianity built on relationships rather than meetings. He saw how our evangelism-focused small groups reproduced themselves while reaching out to the lost in their communities.

One day, my African brother opened his heart. Weeping, he unburdened, “Western evangelists come to my nation and hold massive crusades. The TV cameras are rolling. When the evangelist asks my brothers to raise their hands to receive Christ, many respond. The next week, another evangelist comes to town, and many of my same brothers come to the crusade and raise their hands again. My people need a sense of dignity, where every individual believer understands he is important to God and to His purposes. We need a new model of church life.”

Ibrahim returned to Kenya, led his neighbors to Christ and started a cell group in his home. Cells were soon birthed throughout Nairobi, and a new cell church was born. Before long, cells were started in neighboring areas of the city, multiplying into dozens of cells and cell-based churches throughout Kenya and into Uganda. Today, Ibrahim has a vision to train leaders to start cells and celebrations throughout Africa. Ibrahim’s people have received a new sense of dignity!

When I shared the vision of New Testament cell ministry in Auckland, New Zealand, I met Robert. He listened intently as I spoke about Jesus spending most of His time with the twelve disciples—His cell. I discussed God’s call on every saint to be a minister as stated in Ephesians 4:11-12. I also looked at Acts 2 reflecting the New Testament model church meeting and spoke a vision for effective cell-based ministry in today’s church. After thirty minutes, Robert spoke, filled with emotion. “When I was 13 years old, the Lord called me to be a minister. For more than 20 years, I tried to find doors that would open for me to fulfill this call. As I understood it, the only way to be a minister was to be ordained after completing years of theological training. Sometime back, I led a man to the Lord, discipled him and watched him grow. It was so fulfilling. I realize tonight, I am a minister!”

A heavy load dropped off Robert’s back. Robert realized he could fulfill the Lord’s call to minister by discipling new believers in a small group. He did not need a title or a degree to be a minister. He was one!

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, believed one out of every five persons was a potential leader. Through his exhortation, the Wesleyan movement spread throughout the nations. God’s people worked out their calling as ministers and opened their homes for class meetings, similar to cells. Each person had a sense of fulfillment and dignity.

This is a universal problem! Christians are not living up to their potential as ministers and becoming spiritually rusted and paralyzed because they do not strive to fulfill their calling. Ministry confined to a few in a church building leaves limited opportunity for true ministry. That’s why cell ministry is exploding throughout the world today. Healthy cell ministry makes room for every person to complete the mission of our Lord Jesus.

Powerful Principles

Scriptural values: more important than the cell program

After two decades of being involved in cell ministry, I am convinced that cell groups provide an ideal setting for believers to live in basic Christian community and reach out to others. However, incorporating a cell program is no guarantee that a church will be healthy and growing. Cell ministry must be based on relationships and biblical values, not on a good cell program.

The cell is intended to be a place where a spiritual family is grown—where spiritual fathers and mothers train and release their spiritual children to start their own families (I John 2:12-14). Otherwise cell ministry becomes a fad or the latest church program. In order to reach the world through relational cell ministry, we must focus more on scriptural values than methods. Since core values in our lives determine what we really believe, they will direct our actions and attitudes. Unless these values are based in the scriptures, we find ourselves just trying another good idea.

At the start of our fledgling cell-based church twenty years ago, we often picked up methods from others without understanding the values behind the methods. Each time this caused a problem. If we understand the values being taught, the methods will follow.

I believe the following scriptural values will help to give us a foundation for a healthy relationship-centered cell-based church. A thriving cell ministry is simply a “wineskin” for these scriptural values to be encouraged and experienced.

1. Understand that you are preparing for the harvest. The Lord promises to pour out His Spirit in the last days. A harvest is coming when the Lord will draw multitudes into His kingdom. He is calling the church to prepare new wineskins (new cell groups) to contain the new wine of His harvest (Matthew 9:37; Matthew 9:17; John 4:35).

2. Know your purpose is to reach the lost (evangelism). Genuine fellowship occurs when we focus on reaching the lost together as a group. Cells that focus only inward become stagnant. Focusing outward brings life (Mark 1:17; II Timothy 4:5).

3. Practice the Great Commission (discipleship). The mandate from our Master is to make disciples, not just converts. Cell groups provide the opportunity for every believer to be actively involved in making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). Built in leadership training occurs in cell groups. As assistant leaders are trained, their spiritual gifts are developed, and they start to train others.

4. Raise up spiritual parents. There are thousands of teachers today, but few spiritual fathers and mothers to nurture young Christians. Cell groups are hot beds for spiritual families to grow in. With a spiritual father or mother by their side, a spiritual son or daughter will grow spiritually strong and learn quickly and naturally by example. Just like natural families, healthy spiritual families expect their children to eventually become parents themselves, then be released to start their own cell groups and churches (I Corinthians 4:15-17; I John 2:12-14).

5. We must see the church as people, not a building. I call this resisting the “holy building myth.” The church is people (called out ones). Every person is important and chosen by the Lord. Jesus tells us He will build His church. He was not talking about a physical building but a company of people. The New Testament church met both from house to house and publicly (Matthew 16:18; Acts 20:20).

6. The saints are called to do the work of ministry. We must also resist the “holy man myth.” Thinking that the “holy man” (pastor) should do all the work of ministry is a myth. God has given each of His children gifts, talents and ministries to be used to build His church. Many of these gifts and ministries can only be effectively nurtured in a small group setting. In this way, believers are released to train others. When all members are functioning properly in their gifts and ministries, the church will grow and prosper. The pastors and elders will not have to do all of the ministry, but instead, be released to train each believer to be a minister (Ephesians 4:11-12).

7. Build trust and relationships. The New Testament church is built on trust and relationships, not on meetings and programs. First and foremost, we need to trust in God. Then we need to trust others with whom we serve. When relationships are strong “underground” in cell groups, relationships will be strong in the entire church. God builds living stones together through the mortar of healthy relationships (I Peter 2:5; Ephesians 4:16).

8. Expect spiritual multiplication. We are commanded to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. Everything with life will multiply. Believers who lead others to Christ multiply. Cells multiply. Churches multiply. A key to experiencing spiritual multiplication is to expect it to happen (Genesis 1:28; Acts 6:1,7; 9:31). Cell ministry should train as many assistant leaders as possible to prepare for future cell group multiplication.

9. Be flexible and creative. God values flexibility and creativity, and we need to do the same. No two snowflakes are alike, and no two cells are the same. We all use the same biblical principles, but the way they work out varies from culture to culture, church to church, and cell group to cell group. Expect the Lord to give wisdom to stay creative in cell ministry. Beware of having a “cookie cutter” mentality. Sameness produces boredom. Creativity releases life! (II Corinthians 3:17-18). For a season at our church, we had only family cells, with no homogeneous groups. This was a mistake. Today we have youth cells, businessmen’s cells, family cells, single cells, etc.—whatever wineskin is needed for the new wine to give freedom for growth and maturity.

10. Empower God’s people. Jesus promised His disciples they would do greater works than He did, and we are included in that promise. He has empowered us to do the works of God in our generation. Wise church leaders empower cell leaders as ministers of our Lord Jesus Christ, and wise cell leaders empower cell members (John 14:12; II Timothy 2:2). A cell leader will work himself out of a job. As a leader, do nothing someone else can do. Allow others to serve. Enjoy seeing the Lord using others to minister by His Spirit as you coach and mentor them.

Perceptive Portraits

Snapshots of healthy cell ministries of all sizes

Most would agree that today's church must get ready for the great harvest of souls to come into God's kingdom in the last days. At the heart of cell group ministry is the purpose to mobilize and empower God's people (individuals, families, cells and congregations), at the grass roots level, to reach the lost and make disciples. Let's take a look at three churches of varying sizes that have cell ministry as their infrastructure to help us discover why they are successful and what we can learn from them.

In the early 1990's, Bethany World Prayer Center realized they were not ready for the coming harvest. After a performance of the evangelistic drama "Heaven's Gates, Hell's Flames," at their church, over 18,000 people came to Christ in 21 days. However, only a handful ever got involved in the church. Pastor Larry Stockstill stated: "The Holy Spirit spoke to me that there are two things coming to the church in America—hostility and harvest. I knew our church was ready for neither. The cell structure addresses both of these needs. It decentralizes the church in such a way that open hostility cannot affect it as radically—as illustrated by the thriving house church movement in China. Also, it provides assimilation points where the church can bring new converts into a relational environment."

Today, Bethany World Prayer Center in Baker, Louisiana, is a dominant cell church in the United States with 7,000 worshippers and over 500 cell groups. When they transitioned to a cell church in 1993, they concentrated on reaching new converts and visitors. A high percentage of the existing congregation, seeing the benefits of a cell relationship, also became involved in cell groups.

Cell group evangelism is seen as a group effort. Everyone is encouraged to invite his or her friends. About 90 percent of the cell groups are based on relationships already established through family, the workplace, school or sports. Those who receive Christ or visit the church's celebration service are immediately met by a cell leader who invites them to a cell and visits their home.

My friend, Jim Pesce, started Harvest Family Community Church in Keswick, Ontario in 1996 as a cell-based church. His personal insights here show us how he started from scratch and trained new believers for cell ministry.

“Before we started cell ministry, my wife Deb and I were involved in ministry for fifteen years and saw hundreds come to Christ. But we’ve discovered that it is those people we fathered that are the ones going on with the Lord in devotion and ministry as we multiplied ourselves through them. So, at the start of our cell ministry, Deb and I spent most of our time with about six newly saved couples. We not only ministered as a team but chose to spend free time together having fun. This is important. Most new Christians need more care and support than instruction. We’ve also discovered that the ones we brought to Christ are the closest to us. They have our “spiritual DNA,” they share our vision and our hearts.

“In the last two years, as more families came to Christ, we multiplied our cells and kept mentoring more couples. Today, Harvest is made up of 84 % newly saved believers. After three and one half years of mentoring ministry, we now have 105 people involved in cells with 22 people capable of leading and growing cells. This shows the power of mentoring considering the fact that we started from scratch with almost all new Christians.”

ELANCO DOVE Christian Fellowship, one of the eleven cell-based DOVE partner churches in south-central Pennsylvania, is an example of a smaller cell church that has learned the importance of being flexible in cell ministry. After a few years as a cell-based church, they realized that the delicate balance between maintaining the intimacy of the cell groups while attempting to evangelize had broken down. Their cell groups lacked life and were not multiplying.

Rather than continue with sickly cells, they took the radical route and decided to disband the cells completely. They went back to square one and decided to rebuild. They have now started over with two new cells led by the two church leaders, and very soon plan to multiply into four cells. Valuing relationships is now a priority as cell members spend informal time with each other and invite new people to join them. “It was a learning experience, but we have a renewed love for each other and passion for the lost,” said Nelson Martin, pastor of ELANCO DOVE. Sometimes the old must die to make room for the new to come.

I believe these churches and many other cell-based churches across the world will agree that there is no magic formula for healthy cell group ministry. It requires coming face to face with people’s problems and pain, not being afraid of change, and learning to be flexible in the process.

It works because people in authentic relationships with each other with a goal to reach their world for Jesus are a powerful combination.

Personal Perspectives

Don’t make these mistakes!

Learning to train, empower and release people through cell ministry is a challenge. During the past two decades of cell-based ministry, we have made many mistakes and have often had to stop and make course corrections. Although not a comprehensive list, by far, we want to share some of the major blunders we made in hopes that you will learn from them.

Lack of clear training for cell leaders and assistant leaders. A healthy cell ministry needs: 1) to have a training track for new cell leaders. 2) to have church leaders meet with cell leaders monthly for training. 3) to have on-the-job-training as cell leaders mentor assistant cell leaders for future leadership. Whenever we became lax in training, we paid the price.

Compromising the God-given vision

Galatians 1:10 tells us that if we are a slave to men (seeking to please men), we cannot be a servant of Christ. Beware of the migratory flock that migrates from church to church. These people will pressure you to return to old ways of doing things. It is easy to go back to a “meeting mentality.” Cell ministry takes a lot of hard work! Vision must be spoken and communicated publicly at least 20 times per year. Habakkuk 2:2 tells us to write the vision down.

Forgetting the purpose of the cell is outreach

Allowing cells to lose vision for outreach and evangelism and only concentrating on their needs is a major mistake! The Dead Sea is stagnant because all the rivers run into it and none flow out. Ingrown toenails cause pain to the body because they focus inward. The church is not a hospital but an army. Armies have medical units for people to get healed, but they are then sent back out to battle. We are called to be fishers of men (Mark 1:17). In the book of Acts, each day those being saved were added to the church (Acts 2:47).

Unhealthy control

In the beginning of our cell adventure, we told people to attend the closest cell to their house, mostly because it made practical sense. But we discovered that people often prefer to attend a cell where they have relationships, and this will not always be the cell in closest proximity to their house. The kingdom of God is not built by geography, but by relationship! Cells must be built by relationship.

We used to take the stance that even when people are uncomfortable with their cell, they should learn to work it out within the cell group rather than go to another cell. But this can create a lot of unnecessary problems. We learned that it is best to allow cell members to go to a cell where they feel called of the Lord to attend. People are like pieces to a puzzle. They need to find where they fit. Cell leaders, too, must have a sense of faith that the pieces of the puzzle fit. Whatever is not from faith is sin (Rom. 14:23).

Lack of pastoral care and regular contact with cell leaders

Who pastors the cell leaders? Cell leaders cannot be taken for granted. They need regular encouragement and prayer support. Cell leaders must be pastored. The relationship between pastors and/or elders and cell leadership is crucial. I Thessalonians 5:12 tells us to “recognize” (respect) those who labor among us and are over us in the Lord.

Too much emphasis on the cell meeting and not enough emphasis on the relationships

In Acts 2:42-47, The New Testament church was filled with life and fellowship, not just cell meetings. The key is not so much what happens in cell meetings, but what happens after the meeting and during the week. Build relationships with people outside of the meetings. Cell leaders who say, “People don’t come to our cell meetings,” usually are not building relationships with the people outside the cell group meetings. Here are some quick ideas to develop cell relationships:

Keep the meetings short (between an hour and an hour and a half).
What happens after meetings is usually the most important. After the meeting, people often share intimately and pray for each other informally as they relate one-to-one.
Cell retreats are excellent times of building relationships in a casual atmosphere away from life’s distractions.
Cell members should visit each other and get into each other’s homes.
And remember, the cell meeting should not be a miniature Sunday morning celebration meeting!
Spend time praying for the lost and reaching the unchurched together as a group.

Practical Proposals

Tips for those transitioning to or starting cell ministry

For churches wishing to transition to cell groups, here are some valuable keys to open the doors to moving into healthy cell ministry.

Prayer is the master key, unlocking the rest. As a senior pastor, pray with your leadership until the scriptural values of cell ministry are settled in your heart and theirs. Otherwise, people will not have faith for the change. Everyone in leadership must make the paradigm shift or there will eventually be frustration. If the elders are not all at the same place, do not “go public” until they are. Otherwise you open the door for the devil to cause a church split and division.

Lead the way and speak the vision over and over again. After you have made your decision to transition, refuse to look back! Most pastors who begin the process of transitioning to become a church with cell ministry are tempted to quit midway through the process. Trust the Lord for grace to complete that which He has started. Taking the key leaders to a conference or seminar on cell ministry can help others in leadership to “catch the vision.” Everyone must be in unity and willing to move ahead with the vision God has given.

Don't move too fast. Allow the Holy Spirit the time He needs to change people's values. Communicate where you are going and how you plan to get there. Do not abruptly stop all programs. (Some may be good!) Discontinue any programs that you can without causing the believers in the church to overly react. Move slowly and prayerfully!

Choose key people and start a prototype cell where they can experience the dynamics of small group ministry. Watch over the cell leaders as they grow spiritually and begin their own cells.

Stay flexible and encourage many kinds of cells Provide whatever new wineskins are needed for everyone to “connect” to a small group of people. Have cell groups for those who have common interests. If you are a small church, meet in a home rather than at the church building for your weeknight meeting. This meeting can become a cell group that will multiply into two cells.

Be teachable and learn from others. No one has all the truth. You must find and apply what God wants you to do in your particular local area and listen closely to His voice.

After pastoring a cell church for 15 years, the Lord led us to decentralize one cell-based church to become a family of eight cell-based churches in Pennsylvania in 1996. Today, as cells and cell churches continue to be birthed and multiply, I have the privilege of serving with a team of leaders who train and oversee cell-based pastors and church planters in more than 60 cell-based churches throughout the world.

As I travel nearly every weekend giving training to the body of Christ in cell ministry, I am more convinced than ever that the harvest is upon us! Every saint must capture the revelation of the call to minister. Healthy cell ministry grows as believers serve one another and encourage each other toward maturity while they reach the world. Cell ministry sets the stage for each person to have a sense of fulfillment and dignity!

Printed in Ministries Today Magazine