Cell church plants come in different varieties: mother-daughter cell church plants, satellite cell church plants, or just starting a cell from scratch.



The simplicity of cell church planting makes it exciting. Even without a supporting mother church, a church planter can simply open the first cell in a home and begin reaching non-Christians. The cell at this stage is more like a house church. The goal is to see non-Christians come to Christ, be trained through the training track, and then be sent out to lead their own cell groups.

I recommend, however, that the church planter seek to find a team of core members. Each core member should be prepared to eventually start a cell group (or perhaps start one in partnership with another core team member). Where will these core members come from? A few possibilities are the mother church, the denomination, a plea for "missionaries," or help from another church.

The core group meets together in a pilot cell for six months to one year. During that period, the pilot cell of core members practice cell life, using the four Ws as the guide for the cell (welcome, worship, Word, witness). Each core member is encouraged to get to know non-Christians in the neighborhood. During this same time, the church planter teaches the training track to the core team members apart from the cell itself (see Chapter 10). In our church plant, we found it effective to set apart a Saturday or Sunday for concentrated training. As the time gets closer to multiplication, the pilot group practices group evangelism (see Chapter 8 of Cell Church Solutions). When the cell multiplies into several new cells, the church planter concentrates on coaching the new cell leaders (see Chapter 11 of Cell Church Solutions) while continuing to lead a regular cell group.

I recommend starting monthly celebration services when there are four new cells. Those monthly gatherings might take place in a park, a large house, a school, or church building. When there are eight cells, I recommend a weekly celebration service. A key part of the DNA from the very beginning is to plant new cell churches.

I've just painted a very brief description of cell church planting. I'm currently writing a new book on cell church planting, which will go into far more detail about the various types of cell church planting and how to do it.

More and more leaders around the world are attracted to a simple form of church life, one that doesn't require huge budgets and super-talented preachers but follows the pattern of the New Testament church. I now find myself desiring a simple, reproducible, New Testament model. And I believe North America needs the same thing.

Tomorrow's cell church won't depend on large buildings or technology to make it work. It will go back to the New Testament rhythm of meeting in celebration and cell. One reason the mega churches appear so complicated is that they are. One influential mega church in the suburbs of Los Angeles, for example, is embarking on a ten-year expansion project with a 4000-seat worship center, an artificial lake, food court, coffee house, and recreational attractions including a rock-climbing wall and jumbo video screens. The list of activities sounds like the offerings at a Club Med or a small liberal arts college: poetry workshops, creative writing, singles groups, job fairs, vocational training, musical lessons, and even auto repair clinics.

The beauty of a simple cell church is that it's reproducible. A person who has led a cell, multiplied it, and coached the daughter-cell leader(s) has completed the core basics of cell church planting. Such a person is a prime candidate for future church planting-anywhere in the world.

Undoubtedly, this same person will seek out biblical education and grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Fruitfulness on the cell level builds confidence for future church planting and allows the candidate to then make it happen. The order is clear cut:

* Attend a cell. * Receive training. * Plant a cell. * Multiply the cell several times. * Coach the leaders who have multiplied out. * Receive higher-level biblical training. * Plant a church in the U.S. or overseas using the same strategy.

Cell churches don't require a huge budget, a large plot of land, modern buildings, or super-talented pastors. The cell strategy uses the houses of people all over the city as the primary meeting locations. Instead of laboring to get people out of their houses once a week for an hour-long service, it seeks to utilize those same houses to penetrate an entire city and nation.

In May 2002 I spoke to denominational executives who were highly influenced by the house church movement. They resisted the idea of the mega church because of the mega problems associated with this phenomenon: mega buildings, mega land space, and bureaucratic nightmare of mega proportions.

I encouraged these leaders not to reject large cell churches altogether. "After all," I told them, "if God calls a pastor who can lead a cell church to mega church status as a flagship church, such a church could have a powerful influence." Bethany World Prayer Center is one of those examples. Mega cell churches, however, shouldn't be the norm or the goal. In my list of successful cell churches (see Chapter 5 of Cell Church Solutions), only two of the forty-four churches grew to mega status. The vast majority of cell church pastors will have smaller, more nimble churches that focus on church planting.

Joel Comiskey (Ph.D. Fuller Seminary) is an internationally recognized church consultant and speaker. He has served as a missionary with the C&MA in Quito, Ecuador and is now founding pastor of a cell-based church in Southern California. Joel's books have sold 132,000 copies in English and 332,000 copies worldwide. His titles include: Home Cell Group Explosion (Touch Publications, 1998), How to Lead a Great Cell Group Meeting (Touch Publications, 2001), and An Appointment with the King (Chosen Books, 2002) and Planting Churches that Reproduce (2008). Joel teaches as an adjunct professor at several theological seminaries. Joel and his wife, Celyce, have three daughters and live in Moreno Valley, California.