Cell Church Reading List and Bibliography
By Joel Comiskey
April 2007
If you want to know what cell church books I recommend, just look at the books I ask the pastors to read in preparation for our monthly coaching gathering. Part of their coaching commitment, in fact, is to read the book and come prepared each month to report on it.
I’ve tried to give these pastors the total cell church picture, so the first books I’ve picked cover broad cell church principles (and there are many big picture cell church books to choose from!). I try to bring in more specificity with each passing month. The monthly reading list was completed over a three year period and the pastors read 33 books!. Even through I stopped meeting with this partiular group of pastors in October 2006, I've been periodically updating the list.
READING ORDER
- January: Church without Walls, Michael Green, editor, (Paternoster Press)
- February: Making Cell Groups Work, Scott Boren (Touch)
- March: Making Cell Groups Work Navigation Guide Boren, Comiskey, Neighbour, Beckham (Touch)
- April: The Cell Church, Stockstill (Regal)
- May: Successful Home Cell Groups, David Cho ( Logos)
- June : Where Do We Go from Here, Neighbour (Touch)
- July: Reap the Harvest Joel Comiskey (Touch)
- August: The Apostolic Cell Church, Lawrence Khong (Touch Singapore)
- September: The Second Reformation, Bill Beckham (Touch)
- October: The Cell-Driven Church, Billy Hornsby (Fire-Wind)
- November: Prepare Your Church for the Future, Carl George (Revell)
- December: Passion and Persistence, Joel Comiskey (Touch)
- January: House to House, Larry Kreider (House to House)
- February: The 8 Habits of Highly Effective Leaders, Dave Earley (Touch Publications)
- March: The Church that Multiplies, Joel Comiskey (CCS Publishing)
- April: Where are We Now? The Small Group Movement and its Models Beckham, Bill (Touch Glocal Publications)
- May: Redefining Revival, Bill Beckham (Touch Publications)
- June: The Church in Many Houses, Steve Cordle (Abingdon Press)
- July: The Challenge of the Cell Church, Philip Potter (The Bible Reading Fellowship)
- August: Biblical Foundations for Small Groups, Gareth Icenogle (InterVarsity Press)
- September: Groups of Twelve, Joel Comiskey (Touch Publications)
- October: From Twelve to Three, Joel Comiskey (Touch Publications)
- November: Leadership Explosion, Joel Comiskey(Touch Publications)
- December: Home Cell Group Explosion, Joel Comiskey (Touch Publications)
- January: How to Lead a Great Cell Group, Joel Comiskey (Touch Publications)
- February: The Spirit-filled Small Group, Joel Comiskey (Chosen Books)
- March: Home Groups for Urban Cultures, Mikel Neuman (William Carey Library)
- April: Revolution, George Barna (Tyndale House Publishers). Read my review first
- May: Reconnecting the Generations, Daphne Kirk (Kevin Mayhew Ltd )
- June: Heirs Together, Daphne Kirk (Kevin Mayhew Ltd )
- July: How to be a Great Cell Group Coach, Joel Comiskey (Touch Publications)
- August: Dance with Me, Daddy, Rob Campbell (Xulon Press)
- September: The Connecting Church, Randy Frazee (Zondervan)
- October: Church Planting Movements, David Garrison (WIGTake Resources)
- November: Houses that Changed the World, Wolfgang, Simson (Paternoster Publishing)
- December: Organic Church, Neil Cole (Jossey Bass)
- January: House Church and Mission, Roger Gehring (Hendrickson Publishers)
- February: Coaching Life-Changing Small Group Leaders, Bill Donahue and Greg Bowman (Zondervan Publishers)
- March: House Church Networks, Larry Kreider (House to House)
- April: Making Room for Life, Randy Frazee (Zondervan)
- May: The Relational Way, Scott Boren (Touch Publications)
- June: Community that is Christian, Julie A. Gorman (Baker Books)
- July: Recovery Cells, Dr. Michael Erickson (Tate Publishing)
- August: The Forgotten Ways, Alan Hirsch (Brazos Press)
- September: Home Cell Groups and House Churches, C. Kirk Hadaway, Stuart A. Wright, Francis M. Dubose (Broadman Press)
- October: Church without Walls, Jim Peterson (NavPress)
When we come together, I ask the pastors to review the book in the following way:
- What was the author trying to say in the book? What was his or her objective in writing the book? (sympathetic to the author)
- What were the strong points?
- What were the weak points?
- What lessons did you learn? How were you changed as a result of reading the book? What will you now do differently as a result of reading the book?
The following list is what I include in the syllabus that I hand out in my cell church seminary courses.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST
PRIORITY BOOKS
- Boren, Scott.
- How Do We Get There from Here? Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 2007. Pp 410. ISBN: 0-9788779-1-8
- Comiskey, Joel.
- The Church that Multiplies. Moreno Valley, CA: CCS Publishing, 2007. Pp. 183. ISBN: 978-0979067938.
- Leadership Explosion. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 2000. Pp. 188. ISBN: 1-880828-23-5.
- How to Lead a Great Cell Meeting. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 2001. Pp.130. ISBN: 1-880828-27-8.
- Cordle, Steve.
- The Church in Many Houses. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2005. Pp. 136.
- Earley, Dave
- Eight Habits of Highly Effective Leaders. Houston, TX: Touch Publications 2001. Pp. 135. ISBN: 1-880828-34-0.
- Green, Michael, editor
- Church without Walls. Carlisle, United Kingdom, Paternoster Press, 2002, Pp.133. ISBN: 1-84227-139-3.
- Stockstill, Larry
- The Cell Church. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1998. Pp. 136. ISBN: 0 8307-2072-3.
VERY IMPORTANT BOOKS
- Beckham, William
- The Second Reformation. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 1995. Pp. 253. ISBN: 1-880828-90-1.
- Cho, David
- Successful Home Cell Groups. Gainesville, Florida: Bridge- Logos Publishers, 1981. Pp.171. ISBN: 0-88270-513-X.
- Comiskey, Joel
- Home Cell Group Explosion. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 2002. Pp. 178. ISBN: 1-880828-42-1.
- How to be a Great Cell Group Coach. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 2003. Pp. 139. ISBN: 1-880828-47-2.
- Reap the Harvest . Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 1999. Pp. 226. ISBN: 1-880828-13-8.
- Donahue, Bill
- Leading Life-Changing Small Groups. Grand Rapids, MI: ZondervanPublishingHouse, 1996. Pp. 191. ISBN: 0310-20595-6.
- Frazee, Randy
- The Connecting Church. Grand Rapids, Michigan: ZondervanPublishingHouse, 2001. Pp. 253. ISBN: 0-310-23308-9.
- Garrison, David
- Church Planting Movements. Bangalore, India: WIGTake Resources, 2004. Pp. 362. ISBN: 0-9747562-0-2.
- Gehring, Roger
- House Church and Mission. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publisher, 2004. Pp. 408. ISBN: 1-56563-812-3.
- Gorman, Julie
- Community that is Christian. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 2002. Pp. 262. ISBN: 0-8010-9145-4.
- Icenogle, Gareth
- Biblical Foundations for Small Group Ministry. Downers Grove, Illinois, 1994. Pp. 396. ISBN: 0-8308-1771-9.
- Khong, Lawrence
- The Apostolic Cell Church. Singapore, Touch Ministries International, 2000. Pp. 221. ISBN: 981-04-1259-2.
- Kreider, Larry
- House to House. Ephrata, PA: House to House Publications, 1995. Pp. 184. ISBN: 1-880828-81-2
- Neighbour, Ralph.
- Where Do We Go from Here. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 2001. Pp. 397. ISBN: 1-880828-17-0.
HAVE IN YOUR LIBRARY BOOKS
- Astin, Howard
- Body and Cell. Mill Hill, London: Monarch Press, 2002. Pp. 174. ISBN: 1-85424-577-5.
- Beckham, William
- Redefining Revival. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 2000. Pp. 254. ISBN: 1-880828-26-X.
- Where are We Now? The Small Group Movement and its Models ( Houston, TX: Touch Glocal Publications, 2005), pp. 193.
- Boren, Scott
- The Relational Way. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 2007, Pp. 277. ISBN: 0-9788779-0-X.
- Bunton, Peter
- Cell Groups and House Churches. Ephrata, PA: House to House Publications, 2001. Pp. 114. ISBN: 1-886973-45-8.
- Campbell, Rob
- Dance with Me, Daddy. Xulon Press, 2003. Pp. 220. ISBN: 1-591604-95-8.
- Cole, Neil
- Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2005. Pp. 237. ISBN: 0-7879-8129X.
- Comiskey, Joel
- Appointment with the King. Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 2002. Pp. 175. ISBN: 0-8007-9304-8.
- From Twelve to Three. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 2003. Pp. 139. ISBN: 1-880828-41-3.
- Groups of Twelve. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 1999. Pp. 182. ISBN: 1-880828-15-4.
- Making Cell Groups Work Navigation Guide. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 2003. Pp. 617. ISBN: 1-880828-48-0. (William Beckham, Scott Boren, and Randall and Ralph Neighbour also contributed to this book).
- Passion and Persistence. Houston, TX: Touch Publications. Pp. 158. ISBN: 0-9752896-1-6
- Donahue, Bill and Greg Bowman
- Coaching Life-Changing Small Group Leaders. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Pp. 135.
- Finnel, David
- Life in His Body. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 1995, Pp. 160. ISBN: 1-880828-87-1
- Frazee, Randy
- Making Room for Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003. Pp. 191. ISBN: 0-310-25016-1
- Galloway, Dale
- 20/20 Vision. Portland, OR: Scott Publishing, 1986. NO ISBN.
- George, Carl.
- Prepare Your Church for the Future. Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell, 1992. Pp. 220. ISBN: 0-8007-5365-8.
- Hadaway, C. Kirk, Stuary A. Wright, and Francis DuBose
- Home Cell Groups and House Churches. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1987. ISBN: 0-8054-6944-3.
- Hamlin, Judy
- The Small Group Leaders Training Course. Colorado Springs, CO: Navpress, 1990. ISBN: 0-89109-308-7.
- Hornsby, Billy
- The Cell-Driven Church. Mansfield, PA: Fire Wind, 2000. Pp. 214. ISBN: 1-883906-47-4.
- Hull, Bill
- The Disciple Making Pastor. Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell, 1988. ISBN: 0-8007 1608-6.
- The Disciple Making Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell, 1988. ISBN: 0-8007-1641-8.
- Kreider, Larry
- House Church Networks. Ephrata, PA: House to House Publications, 2001. Pp. 120. ISBN: 1886973-48-2
- McBride, Neal
- How to Build a Small Groups Ministry. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1995. Pp. 204. ISBN:0891097694.
- Neumann, Mikel
- Home Groups for Urban Cultures. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1999. Pp. 197. ISBN: 0-87808-281-6.
- Potter, Phil
- The Challenge of the Cell Church. Oxford, UK: The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2001. Pp. 175. ISBN: 9-781841-012186.
- Putnam, Robert.
- Bowling Alone. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2000. Pp. 541. ISBN: 0-684-83283-6.
- Simson, Wolfgang
- Houses that Change the World. Emmelsbull, Germany: C & P Publishing, 2002. Pp. 303. ISBN: 1-85078-356-X.
- Zdero, Rad
- The Global House Church Movement. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2004. Pp. 147. ISBN: 087808-342-1.


