THE CHURCH -COMPONENT AND MAJOR BENEFITS OF CELL GROUPS
Readings: Romans 12 v 15, 10 v 17, 1 Thessalonians 5 v 17, 1
Corinthians 12 - 25, Isaiah 43 v 1 - 2, Psalm 133 v 1
PRAYER is the first component of Home Cell groups. Home Cell
Groups are a natural network and sometimes the groups are divided based on
geographical boundaries and according to John Wesley, the Methodist cell groups
must not exceed the number of the disciples of Jesus per group. One of the
consistent purposes is to find a need and meet it, find a problem and solve it,
find a sick person and pray in faith for his/her healing. The group commits to
pray for the person until God's miracle power is released on his/her behalf.
Prayer must permeate each meeting in order for the group to experience God's
miracle power. The prayer for the concerns or needs of any non-Christians is of
paramount importance and the Holy Spirit will add the numbers.
The WORD of God is another component and so the focus on the
Word of God must remain central to both church worship services and cell group
meetings. Faith comes from hearing the Word and so members should synchronize
their minds and thoughts in the Word of God - flooded in it submerged into
the Word with relevant Biblical truth. Let us also remember that our
bitterness, anger, un-forgiveness, prayerlessness, double standard lives and
negative attitudes that affect us, will block new members from coming to Jesus.
When any of these are dealt with, the way for salvation is paved.
FELLOWSHIP is the other component. A time of refreshments is
very important because it gives opportunity for believers to share their
personal testimonies with any visitors. When the believers experience time
together, is called fellowship, and real fellowship is being as committed to
each other as we are to Jesus. Members of the Body of Christ mingle together
knowing that while your relationship to God is personal, it is not private.
Fellowship brings out the concept of the family because the Christian life is
not just a matter of believing, but also belonging to God’s family. In his
book, A Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren writes; "Biblical Fellowship is
built on:-
i) honesty
ii) humility
iii) courtesy
iv) confidentiality
v) frequency"
Authenticity, mercy and unity are biblical marks of real
fellowship, and so how do you rate your fellowship?
The major benefits of Home Cell groups also are as follows:
PENETRATION - because of their low profile are able to find
their way to communities where the Gospel has not gone.
NURTURE - the level of personal interaction has an impact
that it can bring effective growth to the church.
EVANGELISM - an opportunity to evangelize by new believers
sharing their faith and also bring their friends to cell and eventually to the
church.
TRAINING - are an easy training ground for new leaders
because of the "show and tell" environment.
RESOURCE MOBILIZATION - low cost evangelism is seen here,
while huge sums of money are required for mass evangelism. - John Wesley used
cells for resource mobilization as opposed to fundraising in the church.
Commitments were done and pledges were made making it easy for church projects
to move smoothly through sacrificial giving.
PREPARATORY PLATFORM FOR ADVERSITY AND PERSECUTION - Enemies of faith may be able to destroy buildings, believers
in cell groups will be impossible to destroy because of their resilience in
such times. Together as one solid unit they will stand and fight these
spiritual warfares.
NOT AN EVENT -this is continuous evangelism and this is a
major advantage of the cell groups. When cells are evangelism oriented, the
spreading of the Gospel does not have to wait for particular events or dates on
the church calendar.
So be a dedicated and committed member of a Home Cell or
House group today.
Prayerful Thought: Alleluia to the King because as we will
be ministering to each other in cell groups by studying the word of God and by
prayer we are gaining spiritual maturity.
Day 14
THE CHURCH -HOME CELL GROUPS AS CHURCH PLANTING TOOLS
Readings: Mark 1 v 15, 6 v 7, 13, Matthew 28 v 16 - 20
Growing denominations plant churches, because Church
planting is the single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven.
The more harvest God gives us, the more barns, silos and grain elevators we
need. Yes, in any given geographical area, the Christian community will grow or
decline according to the degree of effort given to planting new churches. The
Methodist Church in Zimbabwe is one such denomination, that has had the vision
for growth, and this is why the church embarked on a programme of evangelism in
1982 when the late Revd Caspen Makuzwa had become President. The Ministers were
trained and there was need for spiritual revival especially after the war.
Class meetings, as cells are known in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe were
emphasized.
Church planting is the ultimate sign of successful
evangelism in a community. A home cell group can be used as an extension centre
being sent to another location to hold meetings under the supervision of the
mother church. The seed family system has also been used with success, where a
church encourages a core group of families to relocate for church-planting
purposes. However Home Cell Groups are especially effective where there is
strong resistance to the gospel, because a cell is like a seed, which can grow
in the right environment.
Home cell groups have the greatest potential for success
when they are led by ordinary church members, who must be adequately equipped
and given the opportunity. In these small groups, as the number of individuals
who are evangelized increases, so also must the number of churches and the
variety of churches. This is congregational development not by crisis but by
careful planning. There is no more practical or cost effective way of bringing
unbelievers to Christ in a given geographical area than reproducing or planting
new churches.
In the Great Commission, the Lord did not command us just to
teach all people, but to teach them "to obey all things" (Matthew
28:20). There is a difference between mere teaching and "teaching to
obey." When we teach to obey we also simultaneously challenge people to
respond to the call for mobilization in God's army, and to be spiritually,
mentally and physically prepared to serve. However, hierarchies facilitate
mobilization.
Organizationally, the maximum number of persons can be
mobilized when there is a hierarchy of leadership, creating mobilization of
various levels. In this way, recruitment can take place at the lowest level of
potential leaders. These potential leaders indeed can lead the new planted
churches.
Cells are able to penetrate resistant new areas. This
happens when, through the network of friends and relations, new people come to
faith in Christ and indicate willingness to open their homes for cells. When
people begin to share their faith with their web of relatives and friends,
there is a potential for a new cell to be opened. Clearly this does not have to
happen in close proximity to the church and this is a major benefit of cell-led
growth. If the idea is simply to grow the church within its own town or suburb
a great opportunity to extend the church's ministry to new areas could be
missed. Cells will flow and find pockets of responsiveness, but they will not
do so without a positive intention to expand.
Prayerful thought: As a member of a cell group, I thank thee
Lord that I am discovering the real me.