Reap the Harvest

Reap the Harvest is now the book that I recommend first to people who want to talk with me about the cell church movement. In my opinion, it is the Where Do We Go From Here? (The classic cell church work by Dr. Ralph Neighbour) for the next decade! In this book, Joel emphasizes the need for developing a strong cell system in your church -- not merely beginning cells. "Strong cell systems produce effective cells. Churches that quickly launch cells often see them diminish over time. The difference lies in the system you develop, not in the cell model itself. This is why some cell churches succeed while others wither away" (p. 19). Catching the vision for cells means more than merely starting cells in your church. Rather, it means building a system where cells are the church's backbone. "The message passed down from the senior pastors to leaders to members is that a person must belong to a cell group in order to receive any type of pastoral care" (p. 51). One element you can't miss from this book is that to truly be a cell church, the senior pastor must lead the charge. It is his job to constantly present the vision of the church as doing its ministry through cells -- not as one option, but as the only option. "The senior pastor's direct involvement is one of the key distinctions between a church with cells and a cell church. In the cell church, the senior pastor is the cell minister. That's his main job" (p. 122). Cell churches are led by strong, vision-carrying senior pastors. "Senior pastors must create the environment for success in the cell church by constantly launching and reiterating the vision" (p. 129). Because a cell basis is the means whereby cell churches do the ministry, you have to think through all the aspects of what it really means to be a cell church and what it takes to get there. In this book, Joel does a good job of helping pastors and other church leaders think through all the details of everything from what message your lobby sends to how your emphasis upon cells will show up in your Sunday bulletin. "'Don't keep talking about cell ministry,' one pastor said. 'The people will get tired of it.' Don't believe these arguments or allow such negativism to influence your commitment to proclaim, publicize, and market the cell-church philosophy. Those who understand the place of vision in the church state that a church can't proclaim its vision enough" (p. 160). Comiskey also talks about the importance of having a discipleship plan that serves as the equipping track for how you are going to mature your people, making sure that a relational, cell understanding is a t the heart of it. In the end Joel challenges churches to take the deliberate steps to become a cell church and then gives seven wise steps to take before launching into the cell movement: 1. Make sure the senior pastor is in agreement 2. Analyze your church 3. Analyze other cell churches 4. Envision what you want to become 5. Win support through relationship building (I li