Customer Reviews

Planting Churches that Reproduce: Starting a Network of Simple Churches

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I'm not a church planter, and I'm not familiar with the world of model-based church planting approaches. However, when Planting Churches that Reproduce showed up unexpectedly in my review pile I decided to read it in any case. Some of the terms appealed to me - simple church, house church etc. Having been a part of fulfilling fellowships that operated in homes I was eager to hear what the author had to say about these approaches to body-life.

So, while Comiskey is writing to an audience somewhat different than what I represent, I still found his book to be interesting and inspiring in terms of the potential for small, cell and home based methods of fellowship. Sometimes the language was more model-heavy and aptitude-heavy than it was Christ-centric, but Comiskey does make it clear that without Christ nothing is going to go well, and there are always exceptions to models and aptitude tests.

Comiskey draws upon his personal experiences as a church planter, as well as the successes and mistakes of others to explore some best practices for establishing reproducing fellowships. This is a very well referenced title that - while brief - covers all of the basics and provides a great deal of material for further study in the appendixes and bibliography for further research.

Anyone called to plant smaller churches that aren't so much program based, as they are people based will find much here to help them get a solid start. The cell and celebration model (or networked house churches) is one that my husband has expressed when envisioning an ideal church, so I was excited to read that this model is actually being practiced elsewhere.

The book comes with praxis authority that combines practice, theory, and reflection from a veteran church planter with a wealth of experience, knowledge and a humble heart for the Lord. We are using the book in our church in Spain to cast a vision for the multiplication of cell groups and a church planting movement of Jesus communities that are networked together. The book points not to a fad or simply a model, but what I believe is a contextual and practical application for our day of timeless truths of Christ and His word. I am a church planter, pastor and help coordinate publications for Alpha Spain.

Joel Comiskey has come up with a book that is based upon transferable, universal principles that will allow you to grow a healthy church organically and naturally. This is a must read book for anyone who is interested in how a cell-driven church can not only survive but thrive in a North American Western context. His advice in this book comes from field experience both internationally as well as his experience putting these principles into practice in the United States. I would highly recommend this book to those who are interested in how to plant a church from scratch with nobody to help, no budget and no building. You'll be amazed at how simple it is to reproduce disciples, small groups and churches through the reproducible cross-cultural principles outlined this this book.

What I love the most is how I envisioned planting a church as I read through this book. Comiskey makes it easy to understand how to plant a simple church that grows organically and reproduces itself instead of becoming large and unmanageable. I highly recommend this to anyone who wonders if they have what it takes to plant a church.

I would also recommend this to any existing pastor who wants to plant a new church out of his congregation. It has lots of great info for this strategy too!

This is a great book. It covers themes, that other simple church literature left out. It helps to see the church broader than most do and gives Vision beyond the own church.

Here we can read, what the cell church movement can learn from the house churches; and what the house church movement can learn from the cell churches. Very practically!

Oliver Lutz, Pastor

Joel Comiskey delivers another solid book that folks involved in church planting at any level will refer to again and again. Joel has a well developed skill for doing scholarly research and to then crafting his research findings into a practical book with specific principles and applications. I also value the real life illustrations that Joel incorporates into the book. Knowing that the author is a seasoned church planter adds tremendous credibility to the book. I found the appendices to be valuable as well. Especially helpful is the appendix where Joel lists the common patterns that he discovered among the 8 largest worldwide cell churches.

Joel Comiskey's book "Planting Churches that Reproduce: Staring a Network of Simple Churches" is 204 pages long and is divided into 10 chapters and 6 appendices. Its main focus is on giving practical guidelines for starting a network of cells or house churches.

It has several strengths. First, it is written by an experienced missionary, pastor, and church planter with a doctoral degree and an international cell church coaching ministry. He knows what he is talking about from first-hand experience. Second, it is written in a lively and easy-to-read style that makes it accessible to a wider audience. Third, it is immensely practical, dealing with such issues like church planter finances, qualifications, husband and wife teams, mentors for church planters, etc. Fourth, it sprinkles stories throughout the book which brings into reality some of the principles being discussed. Fifth, a differentiation is made between cell churches and house church networks, which is important to note, since some people confuse the two. Finally, plenty of footnotes are offered for the diligent reader who wants to follow up on some of the themes in more detail.

A few drawbacks should be noted. I found the writing style a bit choppy at times, with subheadings given for topics that are only very briefly discussed. It almost felt like the author was jumping from one topic to the next without any thought given to flow. Although a chapter was dedicated to laying some biblical foundations for the form and function of the early church and Scriptures are sprinkled here and there throughout the book, nothing like a comprehensive biblical ecclesiology or biblical missiology is offered in the book. I realize this was not the main purpose of the book, therefore, readers should refer to other works and make sure their church planting efforts are solidly biblical rather than merely pragmatic or simply "the way things have always been done."

Overall, this is a wonderful resource that touches on many practical issues that church planters will be sure to face.

RAD ZDERO, author of LETTERS TO THE HOUSE CHURCH MOVEMENT and THE GLOBAL HOUSE CHURCH MOVEMENT

As a microchurch planter I have found this book to be right on target. Our ability to connect with people has been much easier by keeping our churches simple and relationship oriented. Joel's book has become an operation manual for our leaders. This book is ranks with the best on the topic of simple or organic church planting.

I am a missionary church planter involved in planting simple churches. Joel's book, Planting Churches that Reproduce, has clarified a number of issues and has given me invaluable insights. It helped me see what we do right and things we need to correct. The book emphasizes the importance of building a network of strong cells before starting celebration services, one of the lessons we need to correct. Basic principles Joel shares will guide us in our current church plants and in future efforts.

Joel Comiskey has added an outstanding resource to the literature on church planting. I wish it would have been around when I was a church planter in 1986. It would have helped solidify my vision and given me some instructive direction coming out of seminary. The American church could benefit a great deal by thinking about a simpler approach. This is well worth the time reading.

John Reith, pastor and church planter