User:Ralph Neighbour

RALPH WEBSTER NEIGHBOUR, JR
Born April 1, 1929 to Ralph Webster Neighbour Sr. and Ruth May (Zimmerman) Neighbour in Paw Paw, Michigan. His father then pastored the First Baptist Church. At age two the family moved to Northumberland, Pennsylvania where his father pastored the First Baptist Church. At age three, his grandmother, Carrie Zimmerman, asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up. He responded, "I'se gonna be a Peecher. I'se a percher now, but I just can't peech!"

He earned the B.A. at Northwestern College, the B.D. at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and the D. Min. at Luther Rice Seminary and received the Doctor of Sacred Theology degree from Southwest Baptist University. He chairs a Doctor of Ministries Cell Church major for Golden Gate Theological Seminary (www.cellsymposium.com). He is the author of over 30 books and equipping modules related to the Cell Church movement.

Ministry Journey:
After planting 12 traditional churches in the Northeast U.S., he withdrew from Baptist life in 1969 and began to search for the "Last Days" expression of the church. He established a relationship with David Yonggi Cho in 1971 and served on his Church Growth board for over 20 years.

Pioneering in Houston, "The People Who Care" became his first cell church plant in 1970 and led to the formation of TOUCH Outreach Ministries (www.touchusa.org), which has served the global cell church movement for 50 years. His many books and cell equipping tools are available in South Africa, China, Brazil, Korea, Switzerland, Philippines, Russia, Mainland China, etc.

Through the 700 Club ministries in Russia and the Ukraine, over 25,000 home cell groups were established. The Shepherd's Guidebook in Russian was published by them and distributed through direct mail.

He has lived twice in Singapore, the second time serving as Senior Associate Pastor as Faith Community Baptist Church, where a pioneer cell church model was developed, growing from 600 to over 5,000 cell members (1990-1995). Through the TOUCH Equipping Stations System he formed as a training centre, many pastors were prepared to plant cell churches in China, Kazakestan, Mongolia, Russia, Taiwan, Indonesia, etc.

He then spent 3 years in South Africa (1996-1998) equipping pastors of the Independent Fellowship of Charismatic Churches and the Apostolic Faith Mission, coaching their pastors to transition into cell churches.

His "Year of Equipping" course to train pastors, developed there, was then used in Brazil and has now transitioned over 17,000 churches over the last 12 years, In his 83rd year, he still writes and is passionate about his last book, Christ's Basic Bodies, which speaks to the need for the cell group to be recognized as the most sacred community on earth, the expression of the Presence and Power of Christ, empowered by the Godhead for the harvest in this generation.