In 2007, I met with my cell pastor and asked what kind of group I should start, after taking a short leadership hiatus. He encouraged me to begin a women’s group for 30-somethings. At the time, we had no groups for that age group. That day I left our meeting with a mission; I was going to follow all the cell principles and begin this explosive cell group that was desperately needed. It was time to prove whether this cell group idea was really going to work. I picked my day and time and spoke to a couple of church friends. We met and after one month, it was me and one other young lady. I had done everything that was taught in Cell Leader Training by Joel Comiskey. Yet, after four months, it was me and one other young lady. (Sometimes just me!) I was ready to throw in the towel!
We are taught all our lives that failure is not an option. When we fail, we tend to beat ourselves up and often want to give up or quit. This is certainly true in cell ministry. Failure takes place on every level of cell ministry. Leaders fall, ministries go under and people walk away, but when God has called us, we can fail, but we must not quit. Cell ministry is a marathon, not a sprint, and there are no overnight solutions. Jesus spent three years with the disciples to raise them up to be who He had designed them to be. Look at your cell ministry in the same way: Disciple, build and equip your congregation to pioneer cell ministry in your church and community.
Whatever you do, don’t compare your failures to someone else’s success. We can’t imagine what one church has gone through to have the large numbers of cells that they have and what it took for them to reach that amount. Rejoice with them and continue with the vision and mission God has given to you. After all, comparison is the killer of contentment!
Going back to how this started. God pushed me not to quit and to push through to the other side. After four lonely months, my group exploded! We had 12 ladies coming each week. The group multiplied in a matter of months and then again within the next year. After three years, we were 12 groups strong! God did it, and reminded me that we may fail at times, but we must not quit.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. – II Timothy 4:7
This article originally appeared here.
