Church Leadership
2012
by Joel Comiskey
I like to use the phrase “cell driven church,” to describe cell church ministry. A cell driven pastor prioritizes the care of leaders, training new leaders, and bringing the cell members together to celebrate to hear God’s Word. The cells gather to celebrate and then scatter in house churches to live out the message during the week. This is how I envision the two-winged church.
While I greatly respect the house church movement, I don’t agree with the idea that house churches are independent entities that have no leadership structure outside the house church leader. I don’t see this in the New Testament. On the other hand, many churches use small groups as one program among many. They position their small groups as an optional ministry that might be good for some and not appropriate for others. In this scenario, the real church comes togetgher on Sunday.
The cell driven church (or the two-winged church) believes that cell leaders must be coached and trained to function properly. Cell church ministry also believes in the importance of congregating those cells to celebrate (normally Sunday) to worship and hear God’s Word. After all, meeting together in cell and celebration has a lot of biblical precedence (e.g., Acts 2:42-46, etc.).
What about you? Do you believe that both wings of the cell church are necessary? Why or why not?