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 LEADERSHIP ISSUSES OF CELL BASED MINISTRIES

Joel Comiskey

A Ph.D. Tutorial

Presented to Dr. C. Peter Wagner

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy In Intercultural Studies

The School of World Mission

FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

September 1996

Chapter 1: Introduction

Many believe that leadership is the key element behind successful cell-based ministry. My conviction is heading in that same direction. In fact, a major part of my research in Latin America will be attempting to discover those characteristics that distinguish effective cell leaders from non-effective ones. That is, those cell leaders who are able to multiply their group versus those who cannot.

From the outset of this tutorial, it is wise to point out that I will be focusing on church growth leadership. Therefore, as much as possible, this study will be pragmatic. In other words, my focus is on those leadership traits that get results. Perhaps Carl George sums it up best when he talks about leadership that gets results,

...It means the willingness to put the inspiring of your people, getting them into action,...In short, take responsibility for meeting the goals you set.... True leadership commits to results. Leaders pour their energy, excitement, prayer, blood, and sweat into solving the obstacles between them and the vision God has given for that church (1994:86).

Why am I concerned with church growth leadership as it relates to cell-based ministry? Primarily because it is my conviction that cell-based ministry represents one methodology in the broader field of church growth. In other words, my interest in cell-based ministry stems from my enthusiasm for church growth. Although cell-based ministry only one method among many that God is using today, it is a method that God is using mightily throughout the world today.

How the Tutorial Fits into the Dissertation

Chapter 6- Issues Of Latin American Leadership And Cell-Based Ministry (25 Pages)

Chapter 9- Leadership Patterns In The Case Study Churches (30 Pages)

Purpose

The purpose for this tutorial is to analyze leadership in the cell church. It will primarily focus on the training of effective leadership from the new Christian to the head pastor. At the same time, this tutorial will try to contextualize leadership training and theory to the Latin American context (especially chapter 7).

Goals

I have at least three broad goals in this tutorial:

Problem Statement for this Tutorial

The central research issue of this tutorial is an analysis of cell-based leadership in the Latin American context.

Research Questions

Delimitations

The material on leadership is vast—both from a Christian as well as a secular point of view. I have attempted to sift through a selected portion of that literature in order to apply it to the topic of cell-based ministry, and more specifically, in a Latin context.

However, I am the first to admit that I have not covered all of the relevant literature. Much more could be said and studied. My only excuse is that tutorials such as this one must have a stopping point. I also felt that my contextualization of Latin leadership fell short due to the limited amount of literature that I was able to find on the subject (note 1).

In this tutorial, especially, I felt like I needed to use inclusive language (taking into consideration both male and female). Since so many cell leaders are women, I felt that it simply was not right to constantly use he, his, and him when describing cell leadership. On the other hand, I did not want to blow up every sentence with two pronouns. Therefore, when referring to cell leadership, I decided to randomly choose to use she and her, while at other times using he, his, and him. I hope that this style is not too “rough” and bothersome to the reader.

Definitions

Throughout this tutorial, I will be describing characteristics of effective leadership, so at this point I will only offer a few generalized definitions which will be more clearly defined by the end of this tutorial. Actually, the study of leadership is a very complicated and at times fuzzy science. This is due to the variety of factors that must be taken into account when considering leadership effectiveness. For example, Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus write,

Literally thousands of empirical investigations of leaders have been conducted in the last seventy-five years alone, but no clear and unequivocal understanding exists as to what distinguishes leaders from non-leaders, and perhaps more important, what distinguishes effective leaders from ineffective leaders and effective organizations from ineffective organizations (1985:4).

However, perhaps it is in order to attempt to define leadership here. Dr. Bobby Clinton defines leadership like this, “A leader, as defined from a study of Biblical leadership,…is a person, with God-given capacity and with God-given responsibility who is influencing a specific group of God’s people toward God’s purposes for the group” ( Leadership 1993:14). This idea of influencing a group of people towards God’s purpose is also taken up by Dr. Peter Wagner while defining the leadership gift in the New Testament ( Rom. 12:8),

The gift of leadership is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to set goals in accordance with God’s purpose for the future and to communicate these goals to others in such a way that they voluntarily and harmoniously work together to accomplish those goals for the glory of God” (1994:149).

From the above definitions, we can safely say that leaders both set goals and successfully influence people towards those goals. Since church growth thinking forms the underlying philosophy of this tutorial, we will specifically be analyzing effective leadership from this standpoint.

Assumptions

These are some of the assumptions that will play a large role in this tutorial:

Overview of this Tutorial

In this tutorial I will:


Chapter 2: The Need for Leadership in the Cell Church

In order for a cell church to experience dynamic growth, it must rapidly raise up new leaders. If a cell church is going to fulfill the Jethro principle, a multiple layer of leadership is needed. There must also be leadership progression. In other words, as successful cell leaders demonstrate their talent for leading others, new, more challenging roles must be made available to them. The cells must never become self-serving, inward-looking enclaves of Christians seeking to be “discipled”.

Rapid Multiplication Makes New Leadership Essential

The rallying cry of the cell church is “born to multiply”. Successful leaders all seem to have one thing in common. They are able to translate intention into reality and to sustain it (Bennis and Nanus 1985:226). Eddie Gibbs says, “By multiplying cell groups the growing church creates leadership positions and an ideal training ground for future leadership. Wasdell describes cell groups as ‘leader-breeders’ (1981:260). I like that term “Leader breeders” because this is exactly what must happen in a rapidly growing cell church.

I recently heard about a cell church in Medan, Indonesia that was established in the mid 1980s. It now has almost 10,000 members due to the fact that the cells never go over 15 in number. The goal of each group is to give birth every year. If it does not, the cell is absorbed into the other cell groups. The goal is crystal clear in this cell church: Evangelism first, then discipleship ( Davis 1996) (note 2). In this church, there is a constant need to raise up cell leadership to serve the new cells. In fact, a 700 member "in house" Bible School to was formed to train cell leaders, as well as church planters and missionaries.

If we are going to release leadership rapidly to serve the needs of growing church, we need to use every potential leader. Paul Cho is an example of someone who has done that. Under his leadership, the church has grown to more than 625,000 members along with 22,000 cell groups. Neighbour points out that because Cho’s church adds 140 new members per day, the church has found it necessary to plant churches of 5,000 members (Neighbor 1990:24). One of the chief reasons that Cho has been able to maintain such rapid growth is that in his church there is a ratio of one lay leader to every ten to sixteen church members (Hurtson 1995:68). For example, in 1988 alone, 10,000 new lay leaders were appointed for ministry (Hurton 1995:194). It is this type of rapid deployment of leadership that is needed in the cell church today. Yet, how is this accomplished?

 

Mindset for Rapid Deployment of Leadership

From my experience in cell ministry, in order to have a constant pool of leadership available to lead the new groups, a new mentality must penetrate both the leadership philosophy and the church philosophy.

Reliance on the Holy Spirit

In many churches, there is an underlying, if not stated, assumption that if a lay person is going to assume leadership responsibility, he or she must be formally trained.

And yes, formal training can be very beneficial. Yet, a philosophy that relies on formal training for new leadership oftentimes minimizes the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul the apostle is a case in point. During the first century, when Paul established churches throughout the Mediterranean world, he trusted in the Holy Spirit to work through the young believers who he left behind to lead the new churches (Allen 1962:84-94). Speaking of Paul’s method, Allen writes,

…the moment converts were made in any place ministers were appointed from among themselves, presbyter Bishops, or Bishops, who in turn could organize and bring into the unity of the visible Church and new group of Christian in their neighborhood (1956:9).

Unlike the apostle Paul, we often hang educational nooses around the necks of our potential leaders. No wonder, we can’t find enough to lead our cell groups! I’m personally convinced that we should be risky when it comes to raising up cell leadership. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit to work through those who show enthusiasm, clear testimony, and desire to serve Jesus (Kreider 1995:41-53).

Deployment of Young Christians

Like Paul the apostle, Paul Cho uses young Christians in cell leadership. When he was asked where he got his leadership for his 22,000+ cell groups, without even hesitating he said, “We get them from our new Christians” (Galloway 1995:105). I do not believe that this quote means that Cho immediately places these new Christians into leadership, but it does mean that Cho understands that tomorrow’s cell leaders will come from the ranks of today’s new believers, and he plans accordingly.

In fact, it is a well-known truth that new Christians are oftentimes the most effective evangelists. Wagner notes that the potential for evangelism is much higher in new Christians that mature ones (1976:91). This is primarily due to the fact that new Christians still have contacts with non-Christians. Mike Berg & Paul Pretiz in their excellent book, Spontaneous Combustion: Grass-Roots Christianity, Latin American Style, note that many of Latin American’s grass roots churches are alive with new Christians. They say,

There is a quality of pristine faith in a believer’s first love that should emulated. With this is the need to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s illumination of the simple believer. We can be grateful for new found perspectives by believers in the GR church (1996:127).

It is probably for this reason that Pete Scazzero, the pastor of a growing C&MA cell church in New York, uses new Christians in cell leadership. Carl George dedicates six pages to Pete’s church in his book Prepare Your Church for the Future. Here is what Pete says about leadership in cell ministry,

Our future is limited by our leadership…Give me ten solid cell-group leaders, and our attendance will grow by another 100, because we’ll have provided an environment where the Holy Spirit is gifts can be released to do the work of the ministry…Several of the cell-group leaders (X’s) and apprentices (Xa’s) are new Christians. ‘Young Christians who lead cell groups grow like crazy…especially as they learn to base their identity in Christ instead of in their ministries or on their egos (1992:203,204).

Personally, I’ve never placed brand new Christians into cell leadership positions. However, I have utilized younger Christians that demonstrate purity and zeal in their Christian life. Brand new Christians should be steered into a training track and then encouraged to become interns in a cell group.

 

Deployment of Facilitators as Opposed to Bible Teachers

Perhaps, there would be more willingness to release leaders if we would remember that cell leaders and interns are not Bible teachers but facilitators. A facilitator’s job description focuses more on guiding the communication process, praying for cell members, calls, visitation, and reaching the lost for Christ. George wisely adds, “…in the church of the future a leader won’t be known for his or her ability to handle a quarterly or written study guide so much as for a skill in relating to people in such a way that they allow access into their lives (1994:68).

Because cell ministry focuses on raising up facilitators as opposed to Bible teachers, I do not believe that it is essential that a potential leader be required to know large amounts of Bible doctrine, be a gifted teacher, or even a recognized leader in the church in order to lead a cell group. If a person has demonstrated his or her love for Jesus Christ and if that person is walking in holiness, cell leadership is a distinct possibility.

Deployment of Women

Most of the most rapidly growing cell churches make extensive use of women in ministry. This is not a new phenomenon. Back in the days when Wesley turned England upside down through a powerful small group ministry, the majority of his cell lay leaders were women (Brown 1992:39).

Today, Paul Cho is the prime example of a cell ministry that was launched by women and that now uses women as the vast majority of cell leaders (1982:21-32). The women who lead the cell groups in Cho’s church are not considered authoritative Bible teachers. Rather, their authority is derived from their submission to pastor Cho’s leadership. George wisely observes, “If a church focuses its groups as teaching ministries, some people will have problems sitting under women. But if the groups are to encourage the “one anothers” of spiritual life, the gender of the person facilitating the meetings or leading the groups won’t matter (1991:135).

In fact, I have discovered that women can oftentimes guide the group into deeper communication than men can. Generally speaking, women are better communicators than men. Since participation that results in more in-depth sharing is one of the major goals in the cell meeting, women should be called upon to lead groups as much as possible.

Willingness to Face Failure

Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda Motor, wrote,

Many people dream of success. To me success can only be achieved through repeated failure and introspection. Im fact, success represents the 1 percent of your work which results only from the 99 percent that is called failure (quoted in Peters 1987:315).

Bennis and Nanus have noticed that successful leaders learn from their failures and become stronger as a result. They say, “…for the successful leader, failure is a beginning, the springboard of hope” (1985:71). Peters believes that a company should promote failure. He counsels executives to hold “Hall of Shame” parties, to give rewards to those who have fouled up recently, to share freely (top executives) about their own failures, etc. (1987:316-317). Peters promotes fast failure; “Fail and get on with it” is the motto. The reasoning is clear. Without the freedom to make mistakes, there will be little innovation, little progress, data will be faked, those at the top will be kept in the dark, little learning will take place, and the fun will be drained from the company (1987: 320).

These principles from the business world have huge implications for the cell church. The ever expanding needs of the cell church means that new, untested leadership will be placed in leadership roles. After all, every leader starts somewhere. Some leaders will fail and choose to withdraw. This is to be expected, and it is not the end of the world when it happens. Some groups will be dissolved (note 3). However, the majority will learn from their mistakes, correct them, and press on.

An over cautious, perfectionist attitude toward leadership must not be allowed to dominate the cell church today. Although some groups will fail, with the proper control and administration over the cell groups, we have found that the vast majority of groups succeed.

Leadership Giftedness

Even though there is an attitude of risk and willingness to trust the Holy Spirit to raise up new cell leadership, relatively few will ultimately serve in cell leadership positions. During the Church Growth Lectures at Fuller Seminary in 1984, I was surprised to hear Paul Cho himself say that only ten percent of his congregation have the proper gifts to be a cell leader.

He believes that the gift of evangelism is the most important gift for a successful cell leader to possess. For Cho, only those with the gift of evangelism will ultimately succeed, and he has come to the conclusion that ten percent of the congregation has this particular gift. To understand what the gift of evangelism is, Wagner’s definition is helpful,

the gift of evangelist is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to share the gospel with unbelievers in such a way that men and women become Jesus’ disciples and responsible members of the Body of Christ (1994:157).

After defining the gift, Wagner, like Cho, contends that approximately five to ten percent of a church’s active members have this gift (1994:160).

Pastor Cho tried for a long time to stir up lay people with the enthusiasm to lead cell groups, only to discover that after the initial pumped up excitement faded away, many of the cell leaders became discouraged and could did muster up enough internal vision to successfully multiply their groups. It wasn’t clear to me how he now finds those with the gift of evangelism, but he does believe that the successful cell leaders will have that gift (Cho 1984: lecture).

Although I highly respect Pastor Cho’s opinion, I disagree with his statement that only those with the gift of evangelism can successfully lead a cell group. In my opinion, this would be true only if the cell leader was personally responsible to bring the new members to the cell group. However, the effective cell churches that I have studied emphasize team evangelism rather than personal evangelism, net fishing versus hook fishing.

From my analysis of cell churches, I would be more inclined to suggest that a successful cell leader must excel at mobilization and leadership in order to motivate others to invite their relatives and close friends. With this in mind, perhaps an effective cell leader might have the gift of leader, apostle, prophet, pastor, or possibly even one of the serving gifts (note 4).

Although I disagree with Cho’s contention that cell leadership must have the gift of evangelism, he might be right about the percentage of lay people that will ultimately serve in a cell leadership position. This fact, should liberate top leadership in the cell church from demanding that everyone serve in a cell leadership position. Some lay people are simply not called, nor gifted for the task. At the same time, like the issue of God’s sovereignty and our need to evangelize, (note 5) oftentimes it is not initially clear who will be a successful cell leader. Most of the time, the verdict must wait until the person actually leads the group (note 6). It is my opinion that since it is not clear which gifts (and I would add talents and acquired skills) are needed to successfully lead a cell group, it seems logical to open the door for all lay people who are willing to try. Perhaps future research (including my own) will provide information that will give greater specificity to cell leadership selection (note 7).

 

 

Chapter 3: Training Models for Cell Leadership

Dale Galloway says it well, “The most important job of the pastor and the pastoral staff is leadership development, training lay leaders who will build small groups. Leadership development is essential, and it must be top priority. It cannot be left to chance” (1995:118). George adds, "Since the whole system depends on trained leaders being available, the number of groups cannot grow if you are not multiplying the number of Xs”[cell leader] (1994: 61)..

My interest in leadership development and cell groups is intimately linked with my passion for church growth. As Wagner so clearly brings out in his landmark book Leading Your Church To Growth, “In every growing, dynamic church I have studied, I have found a key person whom God is using to make it happen” (1984:61). This is also true in cell ministry. Behind a successful cell group is an effective leader (note 8).

In this chapter, my focus turns to leadership training models in the cell church , that is, how a cell church can effectively, yet rapidly, train leadership to meet the burgeoning needs of a growing church. I will cover leadership training for new Christians all the way to cell apprenticeship and internship.

 

Models for Training New Christians on the Path to Cell Leadership

We have already discussed the urgent need in the cell church to identify potential leaders in the cell church. Under this section, I will suggest some models for preparing new believers to become cell leaders.

I will be using the word “training” in this section as opposed to “discipleship”. To me, the word “training” speaks of movement and direction toward a goal. On the other hand, the word “discipleship” often provokes images of inward growth and personal sanctification that is purely qualitative in nature. The training that I’m describing in this paper is goal oriented and seeks to take the new believer from his present position to a practical, hands on ministry which contributes to the natural process of church growth.

Under this section, I will analyze two models that are becoming increasingly well known and probably the most widely promoted at this time. This is largely due to the fact that Ralph Neighbour has his own publishing house and Bethany World Prayer Center has become one of the most well attended cell conferences in the world (note 9).

Ralph Neighbour ’s Training Process

Ralph Neighbour has probably done more than anyone to connect new believer training with cell group ministry. In industry terms, Dr. Neighbour has set the standard. Many cell churches are either using his material or have adapted it in their own context.

General Training

I recently bought the Track Pack from Touch Publications, Ralph Neighbour’s publishing house. This pack includes seven discipleship books (booklets) written by Ralph Neighbour (note 10). These booklets take the new believer from rethinking his value system to learning to penetrate his own “oikoses” (friends, neighbors, and family) through leading small groups.

The main characteristic that separates these training manuals from the “garden variety” discipleship booklets (i.e., Navigator—Campus Crusade variety) is that they are so intimately linked with the cell group. In the cornerstone booklet, The Arrival Kit, Week one, Day one informs the new believer,

Your Cell Group will be served in a special way. Some day, when you have matured, you may also shepherd others as a Cell Leader. There will never be more than fifteen in your family cell, and you will soon discover that each member is on a spiritual journey with you (1993:11).

In the above quote, not only does Dr. Neighbour introduce new believer training and cell group involvement simultaneously, he also plants the seed that someday the new believer might become a cell group leader.

Most of the material for new believers in the Track Pack is foundational Biblical teaching designed to disciple new believers. However, Neighbour takes those teachings and gives them new meaning in the light of the cell group. Take, for example, the Biblical teaching on fellowship. A quote out of the booklet, Welcome To Your Changed Life, says,

There’s an event unbelievers look forward to, often called the ‘Happy Hour.’ It’s a time when friends get together for an hour or so and drink alcoholic spirits to ‘get happy.’ Perhaps you have shared in such events? Christians have the only TRUE ‘Happy Hour!’ It’s a special time, called a ‘Cell Group,’ when they get together to be with their Lord” (1995:14).

When talking about baptism, he urges the new Christian to talk with his cell leader as soon as possible (1993:41). When touching the Lord’s Supper, he says, “In your oikos, you will observe a special meal called ‘The Lord’s Supper’” (1993:41).

The new believer is guided upon a track (a literal railroad track) that attempts to take him from his worldly value system all the way to conducting small groups and winning his non-Christians neighbors. With each new stage of ministry, Neighbour emphasizes a corresponding book or books of the Bible. The following diagram explains the process better.

TABLE 1

NEIGHBOUR'S DISCIPLESHIP TRACK

(Neighbour 1995:4

YOUR JOURNEY INTO A LIFETIME OF MINISTRY

1. Rethinking my value system

Pentateuch

2. Learning to be a sponsor

History/Poetry

3. Learning to use the john 3:16 diagram

Major Prophets/Minor Prophets

4. Bringing “Type A” unbelievers to Christ

Gospels

5. Being equipped for ministry and spiritual warfare

Acts

6. Learning to conduct share/interest groups

Pauline Epistles/Regular epistles

7. Learning to penetrate new oikoses

Revelation

In my opinion, the strength of Neighbour’s training system does not reside in the doctrinal/Scriptural teaching of his training material. The Navigators and other like-minded groups probably have an edge on the market in this area. Rather, the importance of these materials lie in the fact that Dr. Neighbour is the first one to link new believer training so intimately with cell group ministry.

Sponsorship

I believe that the most unique, workable contribution of Dr. Neighbour to new believer training is the concept of sponsorship within the cell group. Sponsorship is much like one on one discipleship. However, the main difference is that the sponsor (or discipler) comes from within the cell group and sponsors (disciples) someone who has been assigned to the same group. However, Neighbour does not only believe that a Sponsor should disciple a new Christian. Rather, he believes that every newcomer to the group should have a sponsor ( Sponsor’s 1995:5) (note 11).

The Sponsor-Sponsee relationship lasts from three to four months. Then the relationship changes to partnership. It’s during this transitional time that the Sponsor trains the Sponsee to become a Sponsor of others ( Sponsor’s 1995:5). The Sponsor is supposed to do at least six things with the Sponsee ( Sponsor’s 1995:22-32). They are:

As far as I am concerned, the sponsorship idea should be implemented in every cell group. Cell group leaders cannot do everything. Trying to lead and shepherd the group, as well as care for the new converts is not only draining but ineffective. This idea, steals the wealth of Navigator/Campus Crusade knowledge on discipleship, but takes it one step further. It envelops the new believer in a close knit cell group.

Training for Outreach

Four booklets of the Track Pack focus on teaching the new believer to reach out to non-Christians. Neighbour believes that the most effective outreach involves reaching friends, neighbors, and family members which he labels our “oikos”. This is the Greek word for house or household in the New Testament (1992:60-65). He also distinguishes between “type A” unbelievers who are familiar with religious customs from “type B” unbelievers who are “…are not searching for Jesus Christ, and show no interest in Bible study or other Christian activities (1992:27).

For the “type B” unbelievers, Dr. Neighbour has designed a “non-Christian type” cell group called Share Groups. These Share Groups do not replace the normal cell groups but rather serve as an extension or outreach from the regular cell group. Those believers who start or participate in Share Groups have the dual responsibility of attending their normal cell group as well as a separate Share Group. Concerning these Share Groups, Neighbour says, “This group should be free, informal, and spontaneous….It’s important for all Share Group members to feel they can be themselves” (1991:60).

The idea of Share Groups is a sound one and obviously has been used by Dr. Neighbour and others very effectively. However, I have personally discovered very few people have time to be involved in a regular cell group, a celebration service, some type of cell training activity, and then commit themselves to another activity—in this case, a Share Group. In other words, I have found this concept more idealistic than practical in the life of a cell church.

Bethany World Prayer Center

Bethany World Prayer Center holds the most promise for promoting and modeling the cell church model in the United States (note 12). They have successfully adapted Neighbour’s training methods for new believers to their own context and situation. First, it should be noted that from the moment that the new convert enters the church, there is cell group involvement. The process is best described in the following table format: 

TABLE 2 

STEPS FROM NEW BELIEVER TO CELL LEADER

(Adapted from Bethany Cell Conference Manual 1996:17)

LEADERSHIP DISCIPLESHIP TRACK

1. New Believer Orientation
  • First, the cell leaders are praying in back throughout the altar call
  • Second, the cell leaders hear when the altar call is taking place. They then stand behind the new believers
  • Third, within 24 hours of the person accepting Christ a zone pastor and the cell pastor visit the new convert.

2. Discipleship Track
  • This step begins the moment the new believer enters a cell group. It involves nine steps as outlined in the below table

3. Foundation Class
  • It involves attending a class on doctrine that is offered on Wednesday night at Bethany World Prayer Center. It is my understanding that this class covers essential Bible doctrine.
  • After taking the course, the person is ready to be an apprentice in the cell group (step six).

4. Apprentice in Touch Group
  • A cell apprentice is simply one who attends the cell group on a regular basis and has been given a small ministry assignment within the cell group.

5. Leadership Track

  • This track has not yet been developed

6. Intern in Touch Group
  • The intern and the leader work as a team.

7. Leadership Seminar
  • An event in which section leaders, section pastors, and district pastors train potential cell leaders.

8. Touch Group Leader
  • The person is now an official cell leader

 

As of June, 1996, Bethany had not yet developed their Leadership Track (Step five). The most developed part of their new believer training is step two, the Discipleship Track that begins the moment the new believer arrives at the cell group. The following table better describe the process that step:

TABLE 3 

BETHANY'S INITIAL TRAINING MODEL

(Adapted from Hornsby 1995:25)

THE BETHANY DISCIPLESHIP TRACK

Step Two

1. Assign Sponsor

Bethany tries to match the right sponsor with the person. Men sponsor men and women sponsor women.

2. Follow-up and Road to Maturity

This is an actual visit to the sponsee’s house to determine the spiritual condition of the sponsee. An interview is given.

3. Are You Going to Heaven tract

This is a generic tract (from Christian Equippers) that is much like the four spiritual laws or any other four step track that leads the non-Christian to make a profession of faith.

4. Water Baptism tract

A very good tract from Christian Equippers that emphasizes baptism as an act of obedience rather than part of our salvation.

5. Follow-up tract

This tract ( Christian Equippers) emphasizes the basic disciplines of Chrisitian growth: Word, Prayer, Fellowship, Witnessing, Spiritual Warfare, and the Victorious life.

6. Baptism in the Holy Spirit tract

This tract teaches a person that to be baptized in the Spirit, one must speak in tongues. It is also designed by Christian Equippers.

7. Bethany Touch Group tract

This tract is just about the touch groups at Bethany and how they function

8. “Two Question” test

This is a training time. The Sponsor trains the Sponsee how to ask the two salvation questions (very much like the E.E. questions).

9. Evangelize with the new believer

Here the Sponsee goes with the Sponsor to penetrate the “oikos” of the Sponsee.

Like most things at Bethany World Prayer Center, I really like their new believer to cell leadership training model. Although it is still “under construction”, it seems to be practical, thorough, and doable. I actually like the idea of using four simple tracts to cover important Biblical truth rather than paying more money for an in-depth booklet (Neighbour). It also seems a lot easier to train Sponsors with something as simple as a tract.

Bethany should be commended for their creativity in combining personal cell group training with classroom instruction (something that would be unacceptable to some cell group purists--- Ralph Neighbour). Bethany is also the model for effectiveness when it comes to making immediate contact with the new believer and utilizing the cell leaders immediately after the altar call.

Although I like their model and do not have any criticisms of it, I believe that it is not wise for any cell church to follow verbatim someone else’s model of training. Every cell model has to be adapted to fit the situation, the followers, and the leaders.

Models for Training Cell Leaders and Interns

In this section, I will primarily deal with the latter stages of cell leader training. That is, I will be describing the various training models for cell leaders. My starting point will be three of the four training model categories that Lyman Coleman uses in his 1993 manual on small group ministry (note 13). However, I hope to expand on Coleman’s categories, offer major corrections, (note 14) and add one more model. I believe that it is useful to start with Coleman’s categories since most cell leader training will fall under one of them.

Serendipity Model

Serendipity has established itself as being a first class producer of small group material for both cell leaders and cell group members. I have also found that Lyman Coleman’s knowledge of small dynamics is the foremost in the field.

Balance between Up-Front and On-Going Training

The Serendipity Model of leadership training requires six sessions of up-front training with periodic on-going training. That is, the potential leaders are required to take six seminar type classes before they can lead a small group. Afterwards, they are required to attend a monthly on-going leadership training meeting. Coleman takes pride in the fact that his model takes into account the various types of groups in the church. For example, support groups might receive more training than other groups (Coleman 1993: 5:19). The requirements in themselves are sound and the once a month ongoing training takes into account the busy life of the cell leader (note 15). It is my understanding that Coleman does not promote the Jethro system in his model of small group ministry (notes 16).

Difficulty in Training Such Diverse Leadership

However, I have noticed one major difficulty. Serendipity encourages churches to initiate a variety of small groups in the church (e.g., sports groups, choir groups, care groups, etc.). For example, Dr. Coleman says, “It is not easy to categorize small groups. Often, they have several different goals which cross the lines of categorization” (1993: 11).

Because the groups are so diverse, it is extremely difficult to offer unified training that will meet the needs of each leader. For example, the leader of a sports team or a choir group will not need to learn about lesson preparation or how to lead worship in the group. Those issues are simply not relevant to them. Therefore, I have discovered that ongoing leadership training in a church that promotes a wide variety of small groups is very difficult to maintain and make relevant.

Meta Model

In the US the Meta Model of small group ministry seems to have the highest profile due to the fact that two of the largest churches in the US are using it (WillowCreek and Saddleback Community Church.

Less Up-Front Training

The Meta model requires less up-front training than the Serendipity approach. Coleman says, “The up-front training of the Meta model is called an -apprenticeship, and it is basically the associate, assistant, or co-leader who is ‘mentored’ while they are in the group” (1993:5:19). George, the philosophical thinker behind the Meta Model, sets forth his reasoning behind less up-front training in his recent book, The Coming Church Revolution,

Those who plan training and leadership development in churches tend to overdo orientation training and under do supervision. Why? Their own educational upbringing has made them comfortable with orientation training but relatively unfamiliar with the notion of supervision....any growing Christian...will be able to put together lots of the pieces on a common-sense basis with only a small amount of instruction (1994: 83).

As a pragmatist, George realizes that no one model is laid in concrete. In other words, although George would prefer to use an effective model of apprenticeship, he is willing to change if the apprenticeship is not working. He says,

The poorer the supervision, the richer the orientation has to be. The thicker the supervision, the thinner the orientation has to be. Adult learning that is rooted in behavior change opts increasingly in favor of supervision and on the job training rather than on orientation (1994:84).

More Ongoing Training

To compensate for the lack of up-front training, each cell leader and intern in the Meta model must attend on-going bimonthly leadership training (note 17). In other words, the Meta Model requires that the cell leaders spend more time fulfilling on the job training. Ideally, every other week, they are required to meet in a general leadership training event called the VHS (Vision, Huddle, and Skill Training).

Cell leaders (both the leader and the intern) learn best through experience and reflection. George rightly says, …the best possible context anyone has ever discovered for developing leadership occurs because of a small group” (1994:48). If the small group is the best context for a leader to gain experience, the bimonthly leadership training session is the best place for leaders to reflect on their experiences. It is during these leadership training meetings that the top leadership of the church can help in the training process (George 1992: 119-152).

Change of Emphasis

In his book, Prepare Your Church for the Future, George strongly emphasizes the bimonthly leadership gatherings (Vision, Huddle, and Skill Training) He dedicates some thirty pages to describe these events in detail and how the Jethro system of care (D’s, L’s, X’s, etc.) ties into these bimonthly leadership training meetings (1992:121-148). In that book, George is very dogmatic about the necessity of having those bimonthly meetings. On the other hand, there was very little said about the apprentice system of training leaders.

However, in George’s most recent book, The Coming Church Revolution, he reverses gears. Very little is said about the VHS . He even implies that an official VHS gathering is not even necessary if you are providing the same type of training in another manner (1994:128). He recommends that a church does not launch the VHS right away as a program , but rather tries to identify the VHS functions already present in the church (1994:203). On the other hand, lots of space is dedicated to raising up leadership from among the lay people in the church. One example will suffice, “…the limiting resource for most churches’ part of the harvest is usually the lack of trained leaders. The model we increasingly find in healthy, growing churches is one of apprentice that leads to leadership (1994:61).

Personal Observations

I personally believe that the change of emphasis from on-going training to apprenticeship is the result of the difficulty in gathering together leaders from such diverse groups and trying to offer them something relevant. This was the same criticism that I offered concerning the Serendipity Model (note 18). As I have studied the Meta Model in five flagship churches around the US, I have discovered that ongoing training has become increasingly difficult, if not irrelevant (note 19).

However, it must be added that the Meta Model promotes a strong Jethro system of leadership (see footnote under Serendipity Model). In my study of Meta Churches in the US, I noticed an increasing reliance on the Jethro system, due to the difficulty of gathering the small group leaders together for ongoing training.

Cho Model

According to Lyman Coleman, the Cho model requires no up-front training. Once the cell group is formed, Coleman says that the leaders are required to attend a weekly training event where they are given the notes to the pastors and discussion questions for Bible application (Coleman 1993: 5:19). Coleman then proceeds to talk about what Dale Galloway does, who Coleman labels as the major as the major advocate of the Cho model in the US (Coleman 1993: 5:19).

Mistaken Analysis of the Cho Model

I am not sure how Coleman arrived at these conclusions, but it does not appear that they are true. First, in Dale Galloway’s recent book on his small group ministry called, The Small Group Book, he talks about offering an initial training time for cell leaders and interns that lasts three day event (1995:93). Second, the evidence seems to point to Galloway being more of an advocate of the Meta Model than the Cho Model (note 20).

If by calling this training system the ‘Cho model’, Coleman is referring to the what Paul Yonggi Cho actually does in Korea, he is also mistaken.

The Training Cho Actually Offers

Contrary to what Coleman implies, Cho does offer up-front training. Potential cell leaders must attend an eight-week leadership training course that is taught on Sunday afternoon in one of Yoida Full Gospel Churches’ small auditoriums (Hurtson 1995:75). Topics covered in this eight-week course include: cell leader responsibilities, home cell-group growth, Bible lesson preparation, etc. (Hurtson 1995:215). Cho believes that “…the success of home cell groups depends on the guidance of the pastor, a trained lay leadership and continual fellowship with the Holy Spirit” (1981:135).

Neither does Cho offer a weekly training session to his cell leaders at the church (since 1988 this has been discontinued due to the rapid growth). Rather, printed supplemental materials are available before and after the Wednesday night services (Hurtson 1995:214).

The ongoing training now consists of semiannual cell leader conferences in which pastor Cho personally addresses the cell leaders. Due to their large number, half of the cell leaders attend the conference one day, while the other half attend the next day. Practical tips and vision casting seem to be the main agenda for these conferences (Hurtson 1995: 75). However, the main ongoing training takes place as section leaders spend time with group leaders both during ministry visits and during the actual group meetings (Hurtson 1995:75).

In summary, the original Cho Model (before it became impractical to train the cell leaders on a weekly basis) consisted of:

The Cho Model Today

This original Cho model is followed precisely by Bethany World Prayer Center today. The cell leaders and interns are required to meet every Wednesday night with their section pastors and district pastors who train them in the cell lessons. Pastor Larry, after delivering exegetical teaching to the congregation, meets with the cell leaders to pray for them and stir them up with fresh vision. There is also a required cell leadership training before one can lead a group. Like in Cho’s church, there is also a healthy Jethro system in place.

Neighbour’s Training Model

Neighbour’s model of pre-training and ongoing training is unique. From my understanding of Neighbour, there is no ongoing training after one has begun leading a cell group. He believes that potential leaders must be trained from within their existing cell groups through a combination of modeling and personal training (note 21). I believe that Neighbour does promote a leadership training retreat in which potential cell leaders are invited. However, my point here is that after the cell leader begins ministering, there are no ongoing training meetings. Neighbour believes that the only way a cell church can keep up with the constant need for new cell leadership is if each leader trains new leaders (1990: 221).

Personal Journey in Cell Training

After describing the four training models, Lyman Coleman refers to the fifth model, that is, the model that best describes your own personal situation. When my wife and I began the cell system in Ecuador, I followed a small manual that we received from a fellow missionary who was the head pastor of a C&MA church in Colombia. As I look back on it, this manual promoted a very similar approach to the VHS (Vision, Huddle, and Skill Training) model that is now promoted by Carl George (note 22). Apart from many helpful hints in the manual, the core principle was holding bimonthly training session with all the cell leadership present. We followed the general tenor of that model throughout our time in Ecuador.

Before leaving Ecuador, a key co-worker (a fellow missionary with whom I had worked side by side in the cell ministry) and I reflected back on our three and one half years s of cell ministry. Both of us agreed that the bimonthly training sessions were the backbone of our cell ministry and the key to our success. In my own cell manual, I call this bimonthly meeting, the motor of the cell group ministry.

Our other ongoing system of training took place through the Jethro model. This idea was unashamedly stolen from Carl George through his book, Prepare Your Church for the Future. Following George’s teaching, we appointed D’s (myself), L’s (at one point we had eleven), X’s (at one time 50 ), and Xa’s (at one time 50). This system offered mixed results. It really depended on the commitment of the L (overseer of five cell groups), as to whether or not the cell leaders received proper care.

Our pre-training developed in two stages. In the initial stages of the cell ministry, I taught a taught a Sunday School course entitled “How To Lead A Cell Group.” That was my first attempt to put together a cell manual. Later, when the manual was more fully developed, I offered a one day seminar for new leaders.

Conclusion on Cell Leadership Training Models

Among the five models discussed under this section, there seems to be more similarity than dissimilarity, more agreement than disagreement. The following table gives an overview of the four cell leader training models:

TABLE 4

SUMMARY OF CELL LEADER TRAINING MODELS

SERENDIPITY MODEL

META MODEL

CHO MODEL

NEIGHBOUR MODEL

  • Formal 8 week pre-training
  • No apprentice-ship in the cell
  • Monthly ongoing training
  • No Jethro system
  • No formal pre-training
  • Apprenticeship within the cell
  • Bimonthly ongoing training
  • Well established Jethro system
  • Formal 8 week pre-training
  • Apprenticeship within the cell
  • Weekly ongoing training (note 23)
  • Well established Jethro system
  • No formal pre-training
  • Apprenticeship within the cell
  • No ongoing training
  • Well established Jethro system

The Serendipity Model appears to be the weakest in that there is not an emphasis on apprenticeship within the cell group nor on the Jethro system. I also found Neighbour’s model to be deficient, due to the lack of formal leadership training and ongoing training, which I believe are both very important.

The Meta Model and the Cho Model have the most in common. However, the Cho model includes both formal pre-training as apprenticeship training within the cell group, while the Meta Model only offers apprenticeship training. With this in mind, it would appear that the Cho Model offers the most complete system of cell training. It is also true that the Cho Model has produced the most rapid church growth, which is another factor in its favor.

Therefore, in summary, an effective cell leader training model should have:

 

Chapter 4: Foundational Principles for Cell Leaders

In the last chapter, we discussed various cell leader training models which describe both the pre-cell leader training as well as post-cell leader training. Now we turn to the content of the training. What are the essential leadership principles that a cell leader or potential cell leader needs to know in order to be effective?

Difficulty in Identifying Leadership Characteristics

Before I present some important cell leadership principles, it is important to remember that lists of effective leadership characteristics abound. I did a comparison of leadership characteristics listed in five popular leadership books and found a lot of variation. The following table demonstrates what I am saying: 

TABLE 5

LISTS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP TRAITS BY FIVE AUTHORS

Spiritual Leadership

by J. Oswald Sanders

Leadership that Endures in a World That Changes

by John Haggai

Leadership Style of Jesus

by Michael Youssef

Learn to be a Leader

by G.S. Dobbins

Leaders Are Made; Not Born

by Ted Engstrom
  • Discipline
  • Vision
  • Wisdom
  • Decisiveness
  • Courage
  • Humility
  • Integrity
  • Humor
  • Patience
  • Friendship
  • Prudence
  • Inspirational
  • Decision Maker
  • Listener
  • Prayer warrior
  • Reader
  • Organizer
  • Vision
  • Goal setter
  • Lover
  • Humility
  • Self control
  • Risk taker
  • High energy
  • Perseve-rance
  • Authority
  • Knowledge
  • Courage
  • Friendliness
  • Tradition breaker
  • Generous
  • Truthful
  • Forgiving
  • Good health
  • Physically attractive
  • Intelligent
  • Superior education
  • Clear ideals
  • Enthusiastic
  • Perseve-rance
  • Capacity to learn
  • Integrity
  • Good reputation
  • Faithful
  • Integrity
  • Visionary
  • Willingness to deal with obstacles
  • Ability to receive correction
  • Flexible
  • Committed to people

From my study of what other authors had to say about leadership characteristics, I came up with a wide varieties of answers. I am not saying that such lists are useless, but I am saying that they are certainly not conclusive. They seem to give validity to what Bennis and Nanus say, “…leadership is the most studied and least understood topic of any in the social sciences,…Leadership is like the Abominable Snowman, whose footprints are everywhere but who is nowhere to be seen” (1985:20).

Actually, I think that one needs to be careful when promoting lists of leadership characteristics because scholars like Stogdill (1948) and Fielder (1967) have already demonstrated that leadership effectiveness is not only determined by a series of traits or characteristics. It is much more complex. The followers, the situation, and the leader must be studied as a unit to arrive at an accurate picture of effective leadership. Finney’s comments are instructive here, “A leader emerges from within a certain set of circumstances at a particular time. The context is all important. A small group can often be instructive in providing a useful microcosm of a church or other larger assembly of people” (1989:38).

Biblical Leadership

When considering the content of cell leadership training, I believe that the best place to start is the authoritative Word of God. In order to avoid simply giving my own opinion about what made a Bible character effective, I decided to do a study on those passages which specifically declare God’s requirements for leadership.

Old Testament Principles

The following table presents various principles drawn from the Old Testament where the text gives clear requirements to leaders:

TABLE 6

LEADERSHIP REQUIREMENTS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

Exodus 18:25

Deuteronomy 17:15-20

I Samuel 16:7

II Samuel 23:3 &

Leviticus 25:43-53

  • Leaders of virtue
  • Delegation of responsibility

 

  • God’s election (v.15)
  • Committed believer (15)
  • Dependent on God (16-17)
  • An obedient student of the Bible (18,19)
  • Humility (v.20)
  • A dedicated heart to God

 

  • A reverence for God

 

When I do cell training, I know that I need to share the above leadership requirements because God has explicitly directed them to potential or existing leaders. It seems that the one requirement that stands out more than any other one is the necessity of dependence upon God. A cell leader must be continually dependent upon God to give wisdom, direction, love for the people, and power.

Anyone studying leadership in the Old Testament is obliged to take note of the life of Nehemiah. The principles derived from the study of Nehemiah’s life can be very

very instructive for cell leadership. With this mind, I studied the man Nehemiah with the hope of deriving various principles that might be helpful in my training of cell leadership. Here are the principles that I wrote down:    

TABLE 7 

PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP FROM NEHEMIAH

A passion for the glory of God (1:4)

A dynamic life of prayer (1:5-11)

A willingness to fulfill his own prayer (1:11; 4:8,9)

A sacrificial life (2:1-7)

Wise plans (2:4-7)

A contagious vision ( 2:17, 18 & 4:1-14)

A just life ( 5:1-13)

A ministry of teaching ( 8:9, 18)

A hatred of sin (13:25)

Nehemiah is an example of someone who got the job done—from beginning to end. He possessed God’s passion, was willing to get involved, knew what to get done, how to get it done, and was able to motivate people toward the fulfillment of his goal. His vision was so utterly contagious to complete his God-given task, he never allowed obstacles and difficulties to deter him. Nehemiah’s first class leadership speaks to the cell church today.

New Testament Principles

Using the same technique for the New Testament, I simply included those references which specifically are directed toward leaders and how they should behave. The following table explains those passages: 

TABLE 8

LEADERSHIP REQUIREMENTS FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

Mark 10:42-45

Acts 6:3

Romans 12:8

Timothy 3:1-13 (Titus 1: 5-10)

  • Domination is the world’s leadership style
  • Servanthood is the leadership style of the disciple
  • Service through the cell ministry
  • A good testimony
  • Filled with the Spirit
  • Filled with wisdom

 

  • Diligence

 

  • Social qualities
  • A pure life (3:2,3)
  • A good reputation (3:7)
  • Moral qualities
  • 'husband of one wife' (3:2)
  • 'not given to wine’ (3:3)
  • . Mental qualities
  • 'respectable' (3:2)
  • 'self controlled' (3:2)
  • ‘Able to teach’ (3:2)
  • Personal qualities
  • Gentle (3:3)
  • Hospitable (3:2)
  • Not a lover of money (3:3)
  • Domestic qualities
  • house in order (3:2,4,5)

 

One characteristic of leadership that is unique to the New Testament is the concept of servanthood. Jesus modeled this attitude so perfectly when he washed the feet of His disciples (John 13). This characteristic is also highly desirable in the cell leadership.

Steve Barker points out,

To begin a cell group requires lots of service. Someone must decide who, when, where, why and how. This means that someone has to make the calls, find the house, set up the chairs, make the coffee, remind the people of the meeting, and introduce everyone. Oftentimes it is a job without appreciation- but absolutely necessary. The service required before the actual cell meeting begins often makes the difference between the success or failure of the group (1985:44).

Effective leadership in the cell group requires a huge amount of service. Although it is always good to delegate, ultimately the cell leader is responsible for the activities in the group, the order of the meeting, where the group will meet, the refreshments, follow-up on the newcomers, etc.

Essential Church Growth Qualities

As I stated at the beginning, this present study is biased toward church growth leadership. It is my conviction that the best type of cell leadership is church growth oriented. Bishop George Carey says,

You show me a growing church, where people are being added o the faith and growing in it, and you will be showing me effective leadership…Churches and fellowships grow because of visionary leadership. Conversely, when churches loses heart and fade away, often, although not always, it is connected with ‘leaders’ who cannot lead (forward in Finney 1989:ix).

As part of the larger church growth movement, much of the success within the cell-based structure is due to church growth leadership. Normally, the top leadership has implemented the cell ministry because they are interested in ever expanding church growth. The most effective cell leaders are those who earnestly desire that their cell multiply. The following are some of the foundational church growth qualities that I have embraced and urge cell leadership to internalize and practice.

Goal Setting

I am a strong believer in goal setting. I will even be so bold to say that effective goal setting is the primary catalyst behind successful church growth leadership. I believe that in order for cell groups to multiply rapidly, the cell leader must set bold, clear goals for the group. It is my strong suspicion that those cell leaders who have specific goals will multiply more rapidly than those who do not.

Donald McGavran, the father of church growth, states, Nothing focuses effort like setting a goal (1990: 265). In his study on leadership, Ted Engstrom concurs, "The best leaders always had a planned course, specific goals, and written objectives. They had in mind the direction in which they wanted to go…”(1976:106).

This confirms two significant research projects that measured church growth and direction in leadership. First, John Wesley Hall Jr., who received his Ph.D. from Fuller Seminary, studied urban church leadership in Latin American. John performed an in-depth statistical analysis of pastors from both large and small urban churches throughout Latin America. The statistics showed clearly that pastors of larger churches were directive and future oriented in their leadership approach (1992:171-172). Second, Kirk Hadaway performed a survey in which he discovered that sixty-nine percent of growing churches set membership goals, as compared to forty-two percent of plateaued churches and thirty-two percent for declining churches. He concludes,

Growing churches are goal-directed. They set measurable goals for attendance, Sunday School classes, revivals, and for many other areas….Setting goals helps churches to grow….Goals provide direction and ensure that priorities (which flow out of purpose) are acted upon….Challenging goals have the potential for producing motivation and enthusiasm. Big plans create a sense of excitement if they are consistent with the mission and vision of a congregation and are not see as totally impossible” (1994:120-121).

This decisiveness that characterizes effective leadership must be connected with clear, reachable goals. Engstrom supports this conclusion. He discovered that the most effective goals were very reachable. Referring to a leader’s goals, he goes on to say, “They [goals] must be reachable within a particular time frame… “(1976:139). Hocking advises leaders to, “Set deadlines for your goals. When is a project completed? Most leaders find that they are more productive when they have deadlines” (1991:248). I would also add that goals should be visible (note 25). Tom Peter gives this same advise in his book, Thriving On Chaos (1987:91).

However, many leaders refuse to make goals. They behave like the person who shot the arrow and then drew the bulls eye around the place where the arrow landed. In other words, there is no goal, no bulls eye out in front. These leaders meander aimlessly and accept whatever happens--often very little. Talking about goal less leadership in plateaued churches, Hadaway writes,

…the pastor and laity in these churches may be working just as hard as their counterparts in growing congregations. Yet there is something lacking. The organization is not going anywhere, it is only seeking to maintain itself, rather than striving to become something better and to reach even more person with the gospel. Goals, when they exist at all, tend to be maintenance oriented rather than dealing with membership, attendance, and outreach (1991:111-112)

One thing that I have noticed about Paul Yonggi Cho is that he is extremely focused. He knows where his church is going and how it will get there. He is also very committed to setting church growth goals. In fact he believes that it is essential for a church growth leader to set clear, measurable goals (1984:144-204). Cho says, “The number-one requirement for having real growth—unlimited church growth—is to set goals” (1982:162). He recommends four principles for setting goals:

In training cell leadership these four basic steps are a good place to start. Each cell leader should know when (it is preferable to have the exact date) the group is going to give birth to another group (note 26). The cell leader should then dream about that goal, proclaim the goal to the cell members and top leadership, and make all the needed preparations (as if the goal was definitely going to become a reality).

Cho believes so much in this principle that he requires that his cell leaders practice it as well. Referring to the cell leaders in Cho’s church, Karen Hurtson writes, “Each cell leader is to pray that God will give him a specific number he and his group are to win to Jesus Christ that year” (1995:101).

John Mallison, the Australian small group expert, recommends that goal setting can be aided by the group claiming the verse, ‘Unless the grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit’ (John 12:24). Of course, by that verse, he is referring to a group dying (not staying together) in order to give birth to a new one. He writes,

Let the goal be to grow to 10 or 12 members by the end of the first year….This becomes the group’s motivation for their life together—to grow to the point where they lose their original identity by dividing at the end of twelve months, to become the basis for two more groups with the same goal. As this process is repeated, so the redemptive fellowship of the original small group is multiplied (1989:22).

Church Growth Attitudes

Along with goal setting, church growth teaches that there are three essential attitudes for leaders to possess. They are:

There were twelve leaders who went to spy out the promised land (Numbers 13, 14). All of them saw the giants and were faced with the same reality. However, only two of them saw beyond the problem to the power of God. It was Joshua and Caleb who maintained an attitude of optimism and urged the Israelites to trust God to defeat the giants (Numbers 13:30-33).

Optimistic cell leaders are able to see beyond the many obstacles that confront them week after week. They have the faith to lay hold on the God who “…calls things that are not as though they were” (Romans 4:17). George Barna did a survey among leadership in rapidly growing churches. He noticed this pattern,

In the churches that have grown rapidly, the leaders have learned to dream and have the faith that the obstacles are opportunities. Negative attitudes are not permitted to influence these leaders…They believe that God can do anything and for this reason they make great plans and goals (1991:32,38).

On the other hand, cell leaders do get discouraged. Oftentimes, they are ready to throw in the towel. For this reason, the ongoing training sessions are exceedingly important (note 27).

It was while reading Donald McGavran’s foundational work, Understanding Church Growth that I became a church growth enthusiast. McGavran’s heartbeat for a lost world won me over. I became convinced that church growth was a legitimate discipline that was committed to evangelizing a lost world.

In my opinion, if there is one value that stands out about Donald McGavran, it was his commitment to pragmatism. He writes,

Nothing hurts missions overseas so much as continuing methods, institutions, and policies which ought to bring men to Christ--but don't; which ought to multiply churches--but don't; which ought to improve society--but don't. We teach men to be ruthless in regard to method. If it does not work to the glory of God and the extension of Christ's church, throw it away and get something which does. As to methods, we are fiercely pragmatic--doctrine is something entirely different (quoted in Wagner 1973:146, 147).

I do not believe that there is one “right way” to lead a cell group. The “right way” is the one that edifies the saints and attracts non-Christians to the group. If the cell leader has managed to multiply his group, he or she has done it the “right way”. This pragmatic attitude characterized the life and ministry of John Wesley. Wilke notes,

John Wesley changed his structures and methods, almost against his will, in order to save souls. He didn’t want to use women, but he did in exceptional circumstances. The ‘exceptional’ became normal. He didn’t want to use lay pastors, but he did. They were able to reach the unbelievers. He didn’t want to preach in the open air, but he did so that more might hear the Word of God (Wilke 1986:59).

Tom Peters takes pragmatism one step farther when he says, “The best leaders…are the best ‘note-takers’, the best ‘askers,’ the best learners. They are shameless thieves” (1987:284). Instead of inventing something on your own, Peters recommends the title, “Swiped from the Best with Pride” (1987:284). Cell leaders do well to take this advice by stealing any information, methodology, or leadership style that will ultimately lead to the multiplication of the cell group.

Visionary Leadership

Vision is one of those qualities that everyone want to have, but no one really understands. Due to my lack of clarity on the subject, I often talk about vision, goal setting, optimism, and faith interchangeably. And yes, there are many similarities. Yet, there does seem to be one thing about vision which everyone agrees upon---it is the one characteristic that all church growth leaders possess (Barna 1992:12). If this is true, it behooves us to understand what vision is and then to pass it on to cell leadership.

Toward a Definition of Vision

When George Barna studied User Friendly Churches (1992), he became so impressed by the relationship between church growth and visionary leadership that he wrote a book on the subject entitled, The Power of Vision. In it, he describes vision this way,

Vision is a picture held in your mind’s eye of the way things could or should be in the days ahead. Vision connotes a visual reality, a portrait of conditions that do not exist currently. This picture is internalized and personal (1992:29).

The “picture in your mind’s eye” sounds strangely like what Paul Cho promotes in his landmark book, The Fourth Dimension. Vision lies in the realm of the future and involves our dreams and aspirations. Bennis and Nanus state,

To choose a direction, a leader must first have developed a mental image of a possible and desirable future state of the organization. This image, which we call a vision, may be as vague as a dream or as precise as a goal or mission statement. The critical point is that a vision articulates a view of a realistic, credible, attractive future for the organization, a condition that is better in some important ways than what now exists

God-inspired Visions

These dreams and visions are not concocted by our own human whims and emotions; rather they come from God. William Beckham writes,

Vision in a Kingdom sense means passion, calling, a compulsion from God, an oughtness. This kind of vision is not something I catch but something that catches me. I do not act upon this vision, it acts upon me….A vision is something working in our lives, not something we are working on (1995:223).

If God is the one who imparts dreams and vision, we must remember that His dreams are oftentimes much larger than our own. He has the means to accomplish any dream that He initiates. Barna says,

…His dreams are bigger than yours and that they call for you to expand the size of your mental playing field to accommodate His vision…Dreaming big, through God’s enablement, is also one means of allowing the church to see and to reflect God’s power and majesty (1992:107).

Perhaps vision can be best described best in terms of the architect and the construction workers. Before the actual construction can begin, there must be a blueprint. The blueprint comes first; then the construction. This is the lesson that Stephen Covey would have us to capture. He refers to vision as the first creation, the blueprint that must first appear before reality comes into being. Covey believes that it is the leader’s first task to nurture this first creation in the mind (1989:101ff).

Vision Separates Leaders from Managers

It is this distinction between the initial dream and the actual fulfillment that, perhaps more than any other trait, separates leaders from managers. The leader spends his time with the first creation, the vision. He meditates on the vision, he broadens it, he clarifies it, he synthesizes it, and he communicates it. The manager on the other hand is like the construction worker who follows the blueprint, who manages the existing direction. Bennis and Nanus state,

We have here [vision] one of the clearest distinctions between the leader and the manager. By focusing attention on a vision, the leader operates on the emotional and spiritual resources of the organization, on its values, commitment, and aspirations. The manager by contrast, operates on the physical resources of the organization,…(1985:92).

Cell leaders should be encouraged to dream about their cell groups, to ask God to show them His desired direction for the group. This dreaming should cover the raising up of future cell leaders, the multiplication of the cell group, and the spiritual communion among members of the group. The cell leader should not spend all of his time doing the work of the ministry, at the expense spending time before the Lord. Perhaps, this is why leaders who pray often seem to be more effective in cell multiplication---they’ve spent more time receiving God’s vision for their cell group (note 28). Barna says, “…the vision-capturing process may be an ordeal. Hours and hours will be spent in prayer, in study,….Some leaders find this period very lonely” (1994:148).

Communicating Vision

Effective leaders not only meditate on their vision, they also clarify it so that the followers will respond. Bennis and Nanus say, “Leaders are only as powerful as the ideas they can communicate” (1985:107). This is not an easy task. Followers are bombarded with a wide array of images, signals, forecasts, and alternatives. However, this is where the genius of leadership lies. The effective leaders are able to take from the wide array of ideas and clarify a vision for the future which is easy to understand, desirable, and energizing (Bennis and Nanus 1985:103).

This clarification might be in the form of pithy phrases or pictures. Bennis and Nanus call it the ability of a leader to “position” the vision in the hearts and minds of the followers. For example, Ray Kroc the driving force behind McDonald’s Hamburgers requires every executive office to carry this sign,

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence

Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with great talent

Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb

Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts

Persistence, determination alone are omnipotent

(Bennis & Nanus 1985:45).

Rick Warren says, “The #1 task of leadership is to continually clarify and communicate the purpose of the organization (Warren 1995:10). He understands that great leaders use symbols and slogans to communicate their vision. In his popular church growth seminars, he makes a strong plea for pastors to clearly communicate their vision through slogans, symbols, stories, and Scriptures (note 29). After the vision has been clarified and made simple enough so that the followers can comprehend it, effective leaders use every opportunity to communicate it. Barna says, “Those leaders who have been most successful contend that you must take advantage of all opportunities, at all times, to share the vision (1994:143).

The Practical Side of Vision

Vision should not be considered only some esoteric, spiritual experience. There are some very practical considerations as well. First, a vision must be realistic and not overly idealistic or the followers will become disinterested (Nanus 1992:168) (note 30). Second, a vision must change to adapt to an ever-changing context. In his book, Visionary Leadership, Burt Nanus talks about vision and change (1992:162-163). He believes that a vision which is not adjusted to reality will probably fizzle out. To avoid this, the vision should be monitored and tracked (1992:159-161). Peters notes, “The vision must act as a compass in a wild and stormy sea and, like a compass, it loses its value if it’s not adjusted to take account of its surroundings” (1987:488).

Finally, dreaming or having a vision is never an end in itself. Successful leaders all seem to have this one thing in common. They are able to translate intention into reality and to sustain it (Bennis and Nanus 1985:226). They are not content with merely dreaming. They must see their dreams turn into reality.

Vision and Cell Multiplication

Multiplication does not naturally happen. Just the opposite. The actual tendency is for cell groups to look inward. Close relationships have developed; fun times have been shared. Why even think about forming a new group? It is precisely at this point that without a vision the people perish (Proverbs 28:19). It is here that the vision for cell multiplication is absolutely necessary. This vision can only come from one place: Leadership. I’m referring to top leadership, section leaders (L’s), cell leaders, and intern leaders.

Cells will not multiply in the church unless the top leadership (pastoral team) intentionally motivate the cells leaders to make cell multiplication the chief priority. This primarily takes place in the ongoing training times, but it also should be heard in the announcements, the sermon, and the award ceremonies (in honor of cell groups that have given birth) Again, the goal of the top leadership is to instill this vision for cell multiplication into the thinking of the cell leaders. Ultimately, the cell leaders are the ground troops who make it happen.

How do the cell leaders actually make it happen? I’m sure there are many factors. My field research will largely be dedicated to isolating some of those variables. However, I suspect that much of it has to do with expectation that come from the God-given vision. By faith, the cell leader expects that his group will multiply and constantly communicates this expectation with the members of the cell. It is not enough to dream and pray. The dreaming and praying must lead to expectation that results in practical step by step planning (Cho 1982:166). In commenting on the miracle of Paul Cho’s church and how it grew from twenty small groups to fifty thousand small groups, Hadaway says, “…the numbers continued to grow because a growth strategy was built into each cell group” (1987:19).

It is this type of ‘built in strategy’ or ‘ genetic code’ that is placed into the each cell group through the leader’s vision and dreams. Karen Hurtson talks about one cell leader named Pablo, who shares with the group his vision for multiplication before every meeting. The people in Pablo’s group have a very positive idea about cell group multiplication. They see the multiplication of their group as a sign of success (Hurtson 1995:12). Karen Hurtson writes about another group in Shreveport, Louisiana, that baked a cake and had a party before giving birth to a daughter cell. Hurtson comments, “…they understood that multiplying was a sign that their group had been effective, an event worth celebrating” (Hurtson 1995:12) (note 31).

The Devotional Life of a Leader

If there was one discipline that I could instill in the life of every cell leader, it would be the discipline of having regular, daily devotions. I personally believe that this is the most important discipline of the Christian life. I believe that all of my “successes” (family, ministry, and life in general) can be traced back to my daily devotional life. It is during my time with Jesus that he transforms me, feeds me, directs me, and shows me new revelation. ChuaWeeHian writes, “Leadership is exciting and exacting, and spiritual leaders have to give themselves unstintingly to meet the needs of their people. Unless our inner lives are renewed and replenished, there will be little depth to our ministry” (1987:94).

As the cell leader spends daily time with the King of Kings, he or she will be renewed with optimism, filled with fresh vision, enabled to plan more effectively, and receive new guidance for the cell group. One of the questions that I will be asking cell leaders in Latin America is about their daily quiet times in order to see if there is a connection between this time and cell multiplication. I suspect that there is.

The Pastoral Role of the Cell Leader

Some people have trouble calling cell leaders “pastors”. I do not. It is my conviction that cell group are mini-churches within the larger local church structure, and that the pastors of these mini-churches are the cell leaders (note 32). After all, the cell leaders truly do the work of a pastor. The cell pastor fulfills every Biblical principle required of a pastor: