I (we) failed miserably in trying to transition the El Batán Church to the cell church strategy back in 1993. I was beaten and bruised in the process but in hindsite, we went about it all wrong. We thought we could make the change very quickly but we didn’t give the key lay leaders enough time to process the new cell church ideas. I came to understand the oft-repeated adage: “Everything takes longer than you expect; even when you expect it to take longer than you expect.”

People need time to process ideas and reach their own conclusions. Their heads might nod with enthusiasm when hearing about the idea of cell ministry, but often they haven’t digested the implications. Remember that different people respond to change at different rates and that it is not necessarily based on spiritual maturity. Innovation often diffuses slowly. Many factors–often unexplainable–contribute to this resistance. Churches are composed of countless and often invisible interactions between people, beliefs and external forces. The implications of these components upon one another may take years to fully play out. The linkage between cause and effect are not obvious.

Remember to deal tenderly with those in your church as you present your cell church vision. Give people time to process the new ideas as you carefully explain how the cell church will benefit their lives. The adoption of new ideas takes time and there is always potential for conflict. Learning how to manage change dynamics will help you to work through the conflict and establish the cell church philosophy.