The Relational Mission

Yesterday, I wrote a review of Joel Comiskey's new book Myths and Truths of the Cell Church where I stated that it might be the best book on the cell church ever published. This got me to thinking about the top five books on the cell church. Well, I came up with six. I'm not sure if these are the best, but these are the six that I feel are the most essential to a leader who wants to start or lead his church into cells: Where Do We Go From Here?: A Guidebook for the Cell Group Church by Ralph W. Neighbour Jr. I assume that if you know about the cell church that you have this book already. It is the book that started the stir around the globe when it was published in 1990.  Myths and Truths of the Cell Church by Joel Comiskey. See my review . How To Lead a Great Cell Group Meeting by Joel Comiskey. This book is for the small group leader. You will be hard-pressed to find a group leadership book that has more practical insight than this one. Small Groups Big Impact by Ji...

In 1993, I started working for Ralph Neighbour Jr., the man whom some have dubbed the Father of the Cell Church. His 1990 book Where Do We Go From Here? sold over 120,000 copies domestically and was translated into numerous languages. In the 1990s the cell church was a huge hit. It was hard for us to keep up with all the work of helping churches develop cell groups. Now in the US, the cell church is viewed as a fad that has passed. Sadly, during the 1990s, cell church got associated with the mega-church/church growth focus and now it has been written off as passe. Overseas, it is a different story. My former colleague, Jim Egli, spent three years writing training modules for church leaders who wanted to transition to the cell church approach. Recently we learned that Robert Lay, the leader of the cell church movement in Brazil is still using that training and will lead 1000s of pastors through it over the next year. While the tendency in America for fad hopping has led church lead...