We have examined the benefits of cell ministry for the kingdom of God and also for church members. Now, let’s look at how cells benefit the church pastor. Cells have significant advantages for the local pastor.

1. The burden of the pastor in ministering to church members is shared.

“Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.” Exodus 18:22

Ministry is heavy. Dr. Cho says if you want to see him, you must book an appointment three months in advance.

For the pastor, visiting and counseling eight hundred thousand members would break the back of any normal person. Counseling, praying, and visiting people is a lot of work. So pastor, you need a lot of people to help you in your work. Through cells, you can mobilize many people to assist you in doing the work. Thus, the advantage of cells for the pastor is that they put many people at his disposal to help him, and therefore the burden of carrying out the ministry is shared.

“The Lord therefore said to Moses, ‘Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone.'” Numbers 11:16-17

Pastors do not bear the burden alone! When you read the first chapter of “Lay People and the Ministry” (now known as “What it means to become a shepherd”) by Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, he explains why some pastors bear the burden alone. According to him, they feel the ministry and the call of God is reserved for them. They want to do almost everything and solve all problems because they are the only ones called! Pastor, you will soon perish with such a mindset. You will simply exhaust yourself and break down. This is exactly what Jethro, the father-in-law of Pastor Moses, warned him about. Read it for yourself.

“The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, ‘What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?’ Moses said to his father-in-law, ‘Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.’ Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘The thing that you are doing is not good.‘” Exodus 18:13-17

You must train people and equip them. This is one of my greatest blessings in ministry. Do you want to know one of my secrets in ministry? Many years ago, the Lord showed me the importance of training and working with people. I have several levels of shepherds or leaders. I have my three just as Jesus had Peter, James, and John. These are my very close associates.

I also have my twelve, and they are called the dodeka. Dodeka is a Greek word meaning twelve. These are my twelve most effective leaders who are pastors in the church. Then I have the seventy; I even have my one hundred and twenty leaders.

They all have different levels of leadership skills. Some are already very good, others are still in development. But they all help me to be effective in building a mega church.

The work is laborious. There are many people to visit, many people to pray for and care for. One of the greatest keys of wisdom that the Lord gave to Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, my pastor, from the beginning of our ministry at Lighthouse Chapel International, is the training of shepherds. He held countless camp meetings, retreats, conferences, and…

This text is an excerpt from the book “The Cell System” written by Emmanuel Louis Nterful.

We invite you to read the following article “What Causes Chaos in Church Cells“.

Local Pastor. Local Pastor.