Book Review appeared in CMA Cell Net, 1998

The Cell Church

Author: Larry Stockstill

Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1998,  pp. 136

“No, not another book on cell church theory,” you say. Maybe you’re tired of all the books about what you “SHOULD DO” in the cell church. Or worse, yet, books about what you “MUST DO” in order to “really” be a Cell Church.  Stockstill’s book, The Cell Church, in contrast, will tell you what you “CAN DO” to build a vibrant, relevant, and workable cell church. In this book, Larry Stockstill, the senior pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center, identifies the key principles that have catapulted B.W.P.C. from a respectable church of twenty-five ingrown “fellowship” groups to a dynamic church of 800 multiplying cell groups. And in just 6 years! Bethany World Prayer Center, with more than 8,000 Sunday worshippers and 2 million-dollar annual mission’s budget, dispels the myth that “cell churches just don’t work in America.”

            But perhaps you’re hesitant to buy another book on “Here’s-how-we-do-it-in-our church.”  Don’t worry. In this book you’ll discover how the largest cell churches in the world have shaped and molded B.W.P.C. In the first chapter Stockstill relates his own pilgrimage:

ü      1992 read Neighbour’s book Where Do We Go From Here (derived principles)

ü      1993 visited Faith Community Baptist in Singapore (copied the cell office structure)

ü      1993 visited Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea (understood care/growth structure)

ü      1993 visited Elim Church in El Salvador (understood the importance of evangelism  in cells)

Bethany is on the cutting edge because it listens well and has applied the motto:  “Stolen from the Best with Pride.”

The first section deals with Bethany’s cell system. Stockstill explains the difference between a church with cells and a cell church. For years Stockstill juggled numerous church programs. He says on pp. 29-30:

As the pastor of a church with cells, I was like the juggler who performed on the Ed Sullivan show years ago. He could spin a plate and put it on a stick, repeating that process 15 to 20 times. The catch was, however, that the juggler had to constantly run back and forth to spin each plate or it would fall. His personal momentum was necessary to keep all the plates aloft.  

            Stockstill relates how the cell system at Bethany has now replaced the “awkward, competing” environment of former days with an “Early Church Feeling.” This book will show you how to build a cell system that will fulfill the purpose behind the well-meaning programs—without having to spin 15-20 plates!

Do you want to discover more about how cells evangelize, grow, and multiply? Learn from the pros. Stockstill explains the cell multiplication process. The key? Leadership development. This is Bethany’s speciality, so it’s no wonder that three chapters are dedicated to leadership training and development in the cell church. 

            Are you interested in the  “Bogota Model” or “G-12 Model”? Chapter eight delineates seven key principles of this model. I  know of no other  English resource on this subject [I distributed this chapter to pastors at the Republic Church as a resource to guide us in our G-12 transition]

Stockstill speaks from his heart in the chapter called “Dangers and Challenges” (chapter 10). He covers financial impropriety in cell meetings, unapproved teaching, backsliding and burnout, children in cells, and other important themes. 

            In my mind, the question is not “Should you buy this book?” but rather,  “How  and when can you buy this book? It’s a MUST resource in the library of all those interested in cell church ministry.