PLANNING to Evangelism through Cell Ministry

by Ken Brown

[I, Joel Comiskey, have been coaching Ken Brown for about 1.5 years. Ken is the lead pastor of a cell church in Dover, Delaware, and as you can see below, Ken has a fervent passion to evangelize through cell ministry. I asked Ken to share his excitement about holding a cell planning meeting to better complete the great commission]

A passion for winning people to Christ is the single most important factor for growth and multiplication of cell groups. Methods, strategies, and techniques all pale in comparison to members with a God-given and God-directed passion for evangelism. After all, it was this passion that drove the ministry of Jesus from Cana to Calvary. It is the ultimate expression of Calvary love poured through the heart and life of a cell member. It comes from the Holy Spirit who is called the Spirit of Christ in Roman 8, and I believe this God-granted passion resides in every Spirit filled believer.

I, like you, long to see the cells become a hotbed of evangelistic activity that will infuse our cell system with zealous new believers, growing and developing until they take their place in ministry for the Kingdom. So, after finishing Joel’s book, “Passion and Persistence” I asked myself, ” What can I do to create an atmosphere in my cell where this Spirit-born drive can be expressed by all of the members?”

As I reviewed what I had read, I realized that Elim’s requirement of a second cell meeting per week was a great way to prioritize evangelism in the busy lives of my cell members. So, in our next Sunday evening cell meeting I asked those who were willing to meet with me briefly on Thursday evening to plan the next cell meeting. We divided the four parts of the cell among those present, encouraged each other to complete the training track, and most importantly, decided who we were going to invite to the cell from among our unsaved friends and family. The scheduling of this meeting of my core became a filter that allowed those really interested in winning others to express it by attending.

Will it work? Will this be the key that unlocks the potential in my cell members? There are no guarantees, but coupled with my determination to never let another meeting pass without giving the gospel in some form, I have high hopes. And the following cell meeting was attended by two who had not met Jesus and who, although they did not respond, at least heard the good news. Does this idea intrigue you as it did me?

Ken Brown

[This will be the last blog on JCG until January 10, 2011. Merry Christmas and happy new year!]