PUTTING AN END TO WORSHIP WARS - Elmer Towns

Church. This includes ministries such as Sunday School, Vacation Bible School,
Outreach Visitation, Nursing Home services, Children's Club Ministries, large evangelistic youth
rallies, crusade evangelism, etc. Advocates of the cell group approach to ministry argue they
accomplish more ministry through cells than would be accomplished through these other ministry
options. Outside observers are not always convinced.
One of the reasons people outside the Body Life Church remain skeptical is the tendency
of many Body Life leaders to assume conclusions without verifying them with documentation.
This movement was born out of an anti-institutionalism era and many leaders responded to the
mood of the times by refusing to keep records of institutional growth. It is often difficult to
document the growth of Body Life Churches because attendance is not counted. Also, church
leaders describe their people as maturing faster than Christians in other churches, but again these
claims are made without research support. Indeed, it may be very difficult to find a tool to
measure Christian maturity and then demonstrate that Christians in one church mature faster than
in others. Also, it would be difficult to identify all the causal factors that resulted in the faster
maturing rate even if such a phenomena could be demonstrated.
TAPPING INTO THE STRENGTH OF THE BODY LIFE CHURCH
If the strength of the Body Life Church is its cell group ministry, one of the ways other
churches can tap into the strength of this worship style is to develop small group ministries as
part of their broader ministry strategy. The primary analogy for the church in the New Testament
is that of the body (1 Cor. 12:27, 28). Just as the body grows by the division of cells, so the
church grows through the division of cells. One key to ongoing church growth is adding
ministries, adding ministers, and adding places of ministry. Small group ministries enable
churches to add new ministries at minimal costs to the church, develop new lay ministers
engaged in using their gifts in significant ministry, and provide new places of ministry both
within the body and the broader community.
Various approaches to establishing small group ministries have adopted by different
churches. Some cell groups are arranged loosely by age, i.e., twenties, thirties, etc. Other
churches group people by marital and/or family status, i.e., single adults, parents of teens, etc.
Other cell groups are arranged according to unique needs of group members, i.e., single parents,
military wives, etc. In some regional churches, people are assigned to cell groups in the
communities in which they live. Many churches adopt an open policy and end up with cell
groups which may fit any of the above patterns.
Cell groups are most effective when they are established for a purpose. Some groups
begin as an evangelistic home Bible study. As group members are converted, the group becomes
a discipleship group. Later, that group may be divided into several evangelistic groups, or the
purpose of the group will change again. In many larger groups, cell groups are organized for a
fellowship purpose. People are encouraged to get to know one another better in a small group
setting. Teaching is another purpose around which cell groups commonly meet.