by Joel Comiskey
I’m writing from Winnipeg, Canada. I’ve been here for the past four days holding a cell conference at the International Worship Centre, an exciting cell church of 80 cells and 800 people (pastor Junie Josue). I spoke to pastors and leaders during the first two days, but the third day pastor Junie wanted me to speak into his life and the life of his leaders.
One of the key things I told Junie was to concentrate on his core leadership team, which consists of five cell network couples who oversee the eighty cells (with the help of supervisors under each network). I told Junie to spend the majority of his time with these core leaders, building relationships with them and overseeing the cell system through them.
I encourage lead pastors, like Junie, to meet as frequently as possible with the core leadership team (weekly is best but every other week also works). As far as the order of the leadership team meeting, I recommend the following:
1. The lead pastor speaks into the lives of his core leaders. He shares what God is showing him through the Scripture and then asks the core team to respond. It’s also great to pray for one another and minister to each other’s needs.
2. Review the progress of the cells. I think it’s best if each core leader has statistics that show:
- A list of each cell with the attendance in the cell from the previous week and any other pertinent information
- Those who are in the training track and what stage they are in the training track
- The cell goal for the end of the year.
I encourage each core leader to go around and talk about the network under his or her care, highlighting cells that are struggling, those ready to multiply, spiritual victories of cell leaders, and urgent needs. The beauty of this approach is that the leadership team is able to pastor the entire church through the cell structure.
After discussing the cell groups, the team can then move to the large wing of the church, such as celebration service (s), various ministries, and calendar items. In my experience, a normal leadership team lasts about two hours.
But what about you? Perhaps you run your core leadership meetings differently. We’d love to hear. . . .
Joel