6 Habits of a Healthy Group Leader

I was talking to a renown expert on what it takes to be a healthy group leader.

“How could this man multiply his cell group six times? He lacks the enthusiasm and bubbly excitement so necessary for small group multiplication.”

Then in my interview, Carl Everett, the man they call “Mr. Multiplication,” confirmed my suspicion and told me that he was a very shy person. “How did you multiply your group so many times?” I inquired.

“Prayer, prayer and prayer,” he asserted.

Carl and his wife, Gaynel, lead a cell at Bethany World Prayer Center in Louisiana. Their cell preparation includes fasting and prayer the day of the cell meeting. Before the meeting, they anoint the food, the sidewalks, the yard, every room in the house, even each seat to be used that night. They wait until after the meeting (during the refreshment time) to eat. The Everetts’ example is not unusual at Bethany.

Is a day of fasting and prayer the only reason why some cell leaders succeed at evangelizing and giving birth to new groups while others stagnate? I visited eight prominent cell churches in search of the answer. More than 700 cell leaders completed my 29-question survey that explored such areas as the cell leader’s training, social status, devotions, education, preparation of material, age, spiritual gifts and gender. This statistical analysis helped me discover common patterns across eight diverse cultures.

For example, I discovered that healthy cell leaders come in all shapes and sizes, and the anointing for successful cell leadership doesn’t reside with a mysterious few. Some believe that healthy cell leaders are specially gifted, more educated and own more vibrant personalities than other leaders. Not so. The educated and uneducated, married and single, shy and outgoing, those gifted as teachers and those gifted as evangelists equally multiply their small groups.

However, several characteristics do distinguish successful cell leaders. These differentiating factors relate to what a person does as a part of his or her typical weekly lifestyle. It has nothing to do with personality, background or how long one has been a Christian. Instead, healthy cell leaders have incorporated certain habits into their lives. You can join them. Read More