Wesley placed major emphasis on evangelism and social concern, yet made no dichotomy of the two. Wesley embarked on many radical paths, but I am most inspired by his emphasis on the lay ministry. With the exception of a few ordained clergymen, most of the lay preachers, class leaders, and those responsible for ministries like visitation and social needs in the Methodist Revival of the 18th century were all lay people. Wesley learned to harness the God-given spiritual gifts of each individual Christian instead of allowing pew sitters and spectators in the church. He went to extensive lengths to make sure that his leaders were properly trained and prepared for their task.
Many churches have cell groups, where members have optional participation.
In a cell church, however, everything a member does starts with the cells. No ministry in the cell church competes with the cell ministry. In fact, the human resource for every ministry in the cell church comes from the cells. There is a great deal of excitement about the cell concept at the church I pastorDamansara Utama Methodist Church in Malaysiaparticularly because many of its philosophies of ministry are analogous to the vision of John Wesley. We are, in fact, re-emphasizing the aspiration of our forefather.