Spring 2009
I’ve had an interesting craving lately. It’s a cell church book craving. I’ve had the desire to go back and skim through some of the foundational cell church books of bygone eras. Why? I’m not really sure. Perhaps, I was stirred last Wednesday after hearing that the G12 conference in Bogota, Colombia in January 2009 and the many people who were present. A North American pastor who was present gave me a blow-by-blow account. My conversation with this pastor brought back a certain nostalgia to re-live or at least re-think past cell adventures.
With G12 thoughts ringing in my head, I skimmed my own G12 book called Groups of Twelve. Then to chart my own progression in the G12 movement, I reread From Twelve to Three (yes, authors can forget from whence they came. . . ).
Then I devoured a truly revolutionary book called Where Do We Go From Here? Wow. Neighbour started a revolution in 1990 with this book. 1000s of people have been transformed through it, and the principles ring loud and clear today. I then meandered through Neighbour’s latest book Christ’s Basic Bodies to see how his philosophy has changed. Yet, there was another revolutionary author back in the early 90s named Carl George. His two books, Prepare Your Church for the Future and The Coming Church Revolution were catalysmic. While I don’t buy into George’s META MODEL, I was encouraged at how much I agreed with George on his vision to raise up leaders through small groups (which I believe is the essence of cell ministry).
I then skimmed through my books Reap the Harvest and The Church that Multiplies. Two books within two totally different environments. I wrote RTH at the height of my research on growing cell churches primarily in receptive cultures. CTM was written for a more resistant culture, that is, North America.
I wanted to continue my reading reflections but pressing tasks demanded that I stop. I’ll continue to satisfy this craving later. But what about you? What are some of those cell church books that you reread. What are the books that have impacted your life and are worth another glance? Why? If you'd like to comment CLICK HERE.
p.s.: if you want to establish a cell church reading plan and would like to know my recommendations, CLICK HERE.
Joel Comiskey
Appeared in CMA Cell Net, 1998
Reviewed by Joel Comiskey
The Cell Church
Author: Larry Stockstill
Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1998, pp. 136
“No, not another book on cell church theory,” you say. Maybe you’re tired of all the books about what you “SHOULD DO” in the cell church. Or worse, yet, books about what you “MUST DO” in order to “really” be a Cell Church. Stockstill’s book, The Cell Church, in contrast, will tell you what you “CAN DO” to build a vibrant, relevant, and workable cell church. In this book, Larry Stockstill, the senior pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center, identifies the key principles that have catapulted B.W.P.C. from a respectable church of twenty-five ingrown “fellowship” groups to a dynamic church of 800 multiplying cell groups. And in just 6 years! Bethany World Prayer Center, with more than 8,000 Sunday worshippers and 2 million-dollar annual mission’s budget, dispels the myth that “cell churches just don’t work in America.”
But perhaps you’re hesitant to buy another book on “Here’s-how-we-do-it-in-our church.” Don’t worry. In this book you’ll discover how the largest cell churches in the world have shaped and molded B.W.P.C. In the first chapter Stockstill relates his own pilgrimage:
- 1992 read Neighbour’s book Where Do We Go From Here (derived principles)
- 1993 visited Faith Community Baptist in Singapore (copied the cell office structure)
- 1993 visited Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea (understood care/growth structure)
- 1993 visited Elim Church in El Salvador (understood the importance of evangelism in cells)
Bethany is on the cutting edge because it listens well and has applied the motto: “Stolen from the Best with Pride.” The first section deals with Bethany’s cell system. Stockstill explains the difference between a church with cells and a cell church. For years Stockstill juggled numerous church programs. He says on pp. 29-30: As the pastor of a church with cells, I was like the juggler who performed on the Ed Sullivan show years ago. He could spin a plate and put it on a stick, repeating that process 15 to 20 times. The catch was, however, that the juggler had to constantly run back and forth to spin each plate or it would fall. His personal momentum was necessary to keep all the plates aloft.
Stockstill relates how the cell system at Bethany has now replaced the “awkward, competing” environment of former days with an “Early Church Feeling.” This book will show you how to build a cell system that will fulfill the purpose behind the well-meaning programs—without having to spin 15-20 plates! Do you want to discover more about how cells evangelize, grow, and multiply? Learn from the pros. Stockstill explains the cell multiplication process. The key? Leadership development. This is Bethany’s speciality, so it’s no wonder that three chapters are dedicated to leadership training and development in the cell church. Are you interested in the “Bogota Model” or “G-12 Model”? Chapter eight delineates seven key principles of this model. I know of no other English resource on this subject [I distributed this chapter to pastors at the Republic Church as a resource to guide us in our G-12 transition]Stockstill speaks from his heart in the chapter called “Dangers and Challenges” (chapter 10). He covers financial impropriety in cell meetings, unapproved teaching, backsliding and burnout, children in cells, and other important themes.
In my mind, the question is not “Should you buy this book?” but rather, “How and when can you buy this book? It’s a MUST resource in the library of all those interested in cell church ministry.
