CELL LEADERS NEED TO KNOW

1. SIXHABITS OF A HEALTHY CELL LEADER
"How couldthismanmultiplyhiscell groupsix times?
He lacksthe enthusiasmandbubblyexcitementsonecessaryforsmall groupmultiplication."Theninmy
interview,Carl Everett,the mantheycall
"Mr. Multiplication,"confirmedmysuspicionandtoldme thathe was a veryshyperson."How didyou
multiplyyourgroupsomanytimes?"Iinquired.
"Prayer,prayer,andprayer,"he asserted.
Carl andhis wife,Gaynel,leadacell atBethanyWorldPrayer CenterinLouisiana.Theircell preparation
includesfastingandprayerthe dayof the cell meeting.Before the meeting,theyanointthe food,the
sidewalks,the yard,everyroominthe house,eveneachseattobe usedthat night.Theywaituntil after
the meeting(duringthe refreshmenttime) toeat.The Everetts'example isnotunusual atBethany.
Is a day of fastingandprayerthe onlyreasonwhysome cell leaderssucceedatevangelizingandgiving
birthto newgroupswhile othersstagnate?Ivisited eightprominentcell churchesinsearchof the
answer.More than 700 cell leaderscompletedmy29-questionsurveythatexploredsuchareasas the
cell leader'straining,social status,devotions,education,preparationof material,age,spiritualgiftsand
gender.Thisstatistical analysishelpedme discovercommonpatternsacrosseightdiverse cultures.
For example,Idiscoveredthathealthycellleaderscome inall shapesandsizes,andthe anointingfor
successful cell leadershipdoesn'tresidewitha mysteriousfew.Some believe thathealthycell leaders
are speciallygifted,more educatedandownmore vibrantpersonalitiesthanotherleaders.Notso.The
educatedanduneducated,marriedandsingle,shyandoutgoing,those giftedasteachersandthose
giftedasevangelistsequallymultiplytheirsmall groups.
However,several characteristicsdodistinguishsuccessful cellleaders.These differentiatingfactors
relate towhat a persondoesas a part of hisor hertypical weeklylifestyle.Ithasnothingto dowith
personality,backgroundorhowlongone has beenaChristian.Instead,healthycell leadershave
incorporatedcertainhabitsintotheirlife.Youcanjointhem.
1. ConsistentDevotional Life
"I couldn'tbelieve thatthe Presidentof the United Stateswantedtomeetwithme!Youbetterbelieve
that I preparedforthat special meeting.Iwantedtohonorhim.I arrivedatthe White House hoursearly
justto be ready.How awesome tobe inthe presence of the President!".

2. This scenarioillustrates the excitementandanticipationof animportantmeeting.Inevermetwiththe
President,butsomeone fargreaterdesirestomeetandtalkwithme and youeveryday—JesusChrist.
He's the Kingof kingsand the Lord of lords.
The life of a healthycell leaderbeginsandendswithGod.OnlyGodcan give success.My surveyof cell
leadersclearlyshowedthattime spentwithGodisthe single mostimportantprinciple behindsuccessful
cell leadership.A cell leaderfilledwiththe powerandlove of JesusChrist knowshow toministertoa
hurtingmemberof the group,howto deal withthe constanttalkeror how to waitfor a replyto a
question.
Why,then,don't cell leadersproperlyprioritizethistime?There are atleastthree hindrances.Firstand
foremostisdrowsiness.We've all battledsleepinessduringpersonal devotions.I'll never forgetDavid
Cho's advice aboutearlymorningdevotions:"Getoutof bed!"Inbed,deepprayercan too easily
become deepsleep.Instead,getup,washyourface,drinksome coffee orgofor a jog if necessary.Get
the bloodflowing.
Anotherimpedimentisourmind.HowoftenIhave approachedthe throne of God onlyto battle my
thoughts—whatthatpersonthoughtof mycommentslastnight,orwhenI shouldwashmycar. "Your
thoughts,Lord,not mine"isthe battle of devotions.AskHimtotake overyourthoughtsinthe "listening
room.
" Lack of time isanotherproblem.Leave the fast-foodmentalityatMcDonald's.Inorderto drinkdeeply
fromthe Divine,youmustspendtime indeepmeditation.Asthe Psalmistsays,deepcallstodeep
(Psalm42:7). Don't leave yourdevotional time withouttouchingGod,feelingthe glow of Hisglory.71 is
demandsextendedperiodsbefore God'sthrone.One ortwoshort visitswon'tsuffice.
2. Balanced FamilyLife
Everythingsmelledof success.The cellswere multiplying.The churchwasgrowingandexperiencing
salvationandhealing.Butasstaff memberstalked,itbecame evidentthatmanycell leaderswere
sufferingintheirpersonallives.Theywere busyeverynightof the week.One pastorasked,"Isn'tita
contradictiontosucceedincell ministrybutfail withourfamilies?"Of course itis!In the:Life r of a
healthycell leader,familyisparamount.Goddesirestomaximize oureffectivenessascell leaders,but
not at the expense of ourfamilylife.
Cell ministryisafamilyaffairandismeantto draw yourfamilyclosertogether.It'sbesttoplace your
familyinsideyourcell ministry.Forexample,yourteenagercandirectthe children'scell orleadworship.
Your childcan leadthe ice breaker.My wife,Celyce,andIministertogetherasa teamin our cell.She
plansthe icebreakerandpreparesthe refreshments.Iprepare the worshipandthe lesson.Whenshe's
leadingthe group,Icare for our 2-year-old.Likewise,she coversforme whenI'mministering.
Aftercell meetings,we analyzetogetherwhathappened.Once Celyce toldme,"Joel,youshouldhave
beenmore graciouswithInez.Iknowshe talkedtoomuch,but youcouldhave handleditbetter.'!
".That's notwhat I wantedtohear,"I thought.But it'swhat I neededtohear.Ourintimacygrowsas we

3. pastor ourgroup togetherandopenlydiscussthe detailsof eachmeeting,sharingourobservationsand
learningtogether.Thishonestfeedbackalsohelpsusmature ascell leaders.
3.LeadershipDevelopment
George WhitefieldandJohnWesleywerecontemporariesinseventeenth-centuryEngland.Both
dedicatedthemselvestoGod'sworkinthe same small groupat OxfordUniversity.Bothwere excellent
inopen-airpreaching.Bothwitnessedthousandsof conversions throughtheirministries.YetJohn
Wesleyleftbehinda100,000-memberchurch, while George Whitefieldcouldpointtolittle tangiblefruit
towardthe endof hisministry.Why?Wesleydedicatedhimself totrainingandreleasingsmall-group
leaders,while Whitefieldwastoobusypreachinganddoingthe workof the ministry.
Yes,it's excitingtoleadacell group.But whatwill yourgrouplooklike whenyouleave itinthe handsof
your currentintern?Will itcontinue tomeetorwill itfold?Will youlook backat yourleadershipwith
joyas you recall the cell groupsthatyou leftbehind,orwill youwonderhow somucheffortcouldresult
inso little?
We all knowaboutthe tyrannyof the urgent.The cell lessonneedsfine-tuning,someone mustbringthe
refreshments,Johnneedsaride,andon andon the listgoes.Cell leaderscanbe overwhelmedwith
worshipchoruses,Ice-breakers,calls,visits,etc.Everythingdemandsimmediate attention.Ordoesit?In
the midstof a fast-pacedlife,are there priorities?Cana cell leaderconfidentlysay,"Thisone thingI
do"?
Yes.Successful cell leaderslookbeyondthe urgencyof the presenttothe importance of future daughter
cells.Because of that,theyspendprioritytime trainingnew leaders.Thispassiontoraise upnew
leadershipdrivessuccessfulcell leaderstospendqualitytime withpotential leadership.Asaresult,
commoncell membersbecome visionaryleaders.
Leadershipsuccessinthe cell churchisclear: How many leadershave beenspotted,trained,and
deployed?Raisingupfuture leadersisaBiblical wayof life.MosestutoredJoshua,andElijahtrained
Elisha.The Apostleswere recruitedandtrainedbyJesus.BarnabasdiscipledPaul,whointurndeveloped
Timothy.The Lord has broughtfuture leaders toyourgroup.Are youdevelopingthem?
4. InvitingNewPeople
The wayto add future leaderstoyourgroupis to invite people toyourcell—andkeepInviting.Mostcell
leadershave heardthe well-intentionedpromisesof those whofailedtofollow through."Steve
promisedtocome.""Iplanneddessertforfourpeople whodidn'tshow."Have youheardthese
commentsbefore?Have youmade themyourself?Welcometocell leadership!
Experiencedgroupleadersunderstandthatyouhave topersonallyInvite25 people for15 to say they
will attend.Of those 15, eighttotenactuallywill show up.Of those,onlyfive tosevenwill attend
regularlyafteramonthor so.Don't letrejectiondiscourage you.Successfulcell leadersdon'tdependon
one or two verbal commitments.Theycontinuallyinvite new people.

4. One group at BethanyWorldPrayerCenterfaithfullymeteachweekbutexperiencedlittle growth.One
memberpreviouslyattendedagroupthathad multiplied.Afteranalyzingbothgroups,he said,"Inthe
othercell group,we receivedaconstantflow of visitors."
Anothercell wascelebratingthe birthof a new group.The cell leadertestifiedthatthe groupwent
througha dry, difficultperiod.Withonlysix people,the groupdidall of the "rightthings"towin non-
Christiansandreceive visitors,butfewvisitedandfewerstayed.Yettheykeptontrying,praying-and
invitinguntil theybrokethrough.Several visitorsstartedattendingandinvitedtheirfriends.Because
thiscell resisteddiscouragement,the mix came together.
Cell leader,youpersonallymustbe vigilantaboutinvitingnew people.The rightmix foryourgroup is
rightaround the corner.Newbloodinyourcell will bringnew life.Newcomersinvigorate yourgroup
withtheirfreshinsight.Keepinvitinganddon'tgive up.
5. Visitation
Luis Salashas a large,well-wornmaphanginginthe entrywayof hisBogotaapartment.This"warmap"
isoverflowingwithnamesof potential cell members."I'malwaysdreamingandprayingaboutnew
people toinvite tomycell groups,"he said."All daylongIthinkaboutthemand eventuallymake
personal contactwiththem."
In just18 months,Luismultipliedhisoriginal cell to250 cellsbecause he goesafterpotential members.
More Importantly,he followsupwith themaftertheyvisit.Some of thembecomecell membersand
thencell leaders.
If youwant yourcell to growand multiply,one vital keytoeffective cellevangelismisImmediate
contact of visitors.Whensomeone new attendsyourgroup,plananimmediate visit,sendacardand/or
pickup the telephone andcall.The sayingIstrue;"People don'tcare how muchyou know until they
knowhowmuch youcare."
6. Natural Evangelism
Newmemberssense afreedomtoshare deeplyInthe warmatmosphere of anaccepting,lovinggroup.
The "cell atmosphere"isthe mosteffective waytoexpose non-Christianstothe truthof the Gospel.
Duringone cell meeting,leaderRene Naranjoof Ecuadorbeganalessononhow Jesusclearedoutthe
temple (John2).Discussionflowedfromthe Jewishtemple,toourownbodiesasGod's temple,tohome
cellsasGod's temple today.Rene guidedthe discussionwhennecessary,butthe conversationflowed
naturallyandorderly,One couple saidlittle,buttheywere askedtoshare theirthoughts. Thiscouple
lackeda personal relationshipwithJesusChrist,yetnoone pouncedonthemwiththe GoodNews.They
feltlibertytoexpressthemselves.Rene closedthe cell byaskingthose whowantedtoreceive Jesus
Christto pray a simple prayerwithhim andvisitwithhimafterthe meetingconcluded.
In the last six months,Rene Naranjohasplantedthree daughtercells.lie personallysupervisesthese
newcellsanddisciplesthe leaders,Inhiscell group,now Christiansfeel comfortable toexpresstheir
opinions,ashe graciouslypointsthemtothe Savior.
Are youtargetingnon-ChristiansInyourgroupandincludingthemInthe lesson?Cell evangelismIsnot
a programmatic,cannedapproach.Rather,It's a personal processof sharingGoodNewsabout

5. forgivenessof sinandnewlife inJesus.Because of the Intimate,caringatmosphereof small groups,
evangelismhappensnaturally.