We were hoping to have more pastors from different churches attend last week's Bethel International Cell Conference, but only a handful of pastors from other churches attended. I was pleasantly surprised,  however, to see 800 leaders and supervisors from Bethel International Church attend the entire conference--and even arrive early for each session!        

Byron Straube, the founder and senior pastor,  had asked me to share the deeper, more in-depthtruths of the cell church to pastors, so I wrestled with how to communicate these truths to cell leaders and supervisors in the audience. 

God broke through the first night. He showed me to challenge each one of the leaders present to consider the possibility of planting a cell church, whether here in the U.S. or another country.     

I told them that if they could multiply their current cell group and then supervise the new leader, they could eventually become church planters in another context. "After all," I told them, "most church planters begin with a single cell, multiply it, care for the new leaders, and eventually start celebration services." 

In my book, Planting Churches that Reproduce, I emphasize that a person who has led a cell, multiplied it, and coached the daughter-cell leader(s) has completed the core basics of cell church planting. Such a person is a prime candidate for future church planting-anywhere in the world. 

Undoubtedly, this same person will seek out biblical education and grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The calling of God, of course, is also essential. Yet, fruitfulness on the cell level builds confidence for future church planting and allows the candidate to then make it happen.

Cell churches don't require a huge budget, a large plot of land, modern buildings, or super-talented pastors. The cell strategy uses the houses of people all over the city as the primary meeting locations. Instead of laboring to get people out of their houses once a week for an hour-long service, it seeks to utilize those same houses to penetrate an entire city and nation.

As I spoke about church planting,  Pastor Byron confided in me that his primary role is sending out church planters all over the world. He believes that Bethel International will become a church planting movement, and he has good reason to be confident. The church has already planted some twenty cell churches worldwide, even though the church only started in a home in 2001.   

I believe that the Lord of the harvest is looking to raise up more church planting pastors and missionaries today. Cell church ministry offers an exciting platform to raise up cell leaders AND church planting pastors and missionaries.

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Joel Comiskey