|
In The Eye of the Storm
|
|
Part I Chapter 4 How to Start a House Church House fellowships, house churches, cell groups, home group: family groups—whatever you may wish to call them—all have the purpose of making disciples. As we learned in the previous chapter small groups are an ideal way to intensively train and equip disciples. They provide a place where close personal relationships can be formed and where people can be accountable to God for their lives as they seek to help one another be all they can be in Chris Jesus. Home fellowships may be organized within an already existing church group (becoming a church with cells), or they may begin with house fellowships and remain as clusters of house fellowship networking together (a cell-based church). You don't need to be a rocket scientist to be qualified to start a cell group. You don't even need a Bible College degree. In fact, all you need to be is a regular, generic salt-of-the-earth Christian (disciple of Jesus) who is interested in making more disciples. Christians are simply those who have had an encounter with Jest Christ. They are people who have detached themselves from the world and attached themselves to Jesus. The early Christians called themselves "servants of Christ." They knew that a Christian was person who no longer served sin—he now served Jesus. All disciples are learners. They are hungering and thirsting to knot Jesus and grow in their spiritual lives. They know that as true followers of Jesus, they must have a will that is yielded to God and they want to serve others. This should be the prerequisite for a person wanting to start a cell group. Sometimes, in America especially, we think a person must be highly trained before he can lead out in church life. In well-meaning church systems that attempt to prepare people to minister, often they process a person to death before allowing someone to be in church leadership. Sadly, in this process, the person may lose his first zeal, and vision to win the world and make disciples for Jesus. Every Christian is called to minister, and we must release people to do it. The new Christian who truly surrenders his life to God will soon begin to exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-22 He will probably make mistakes as he serves in the cell, but that’s okay. He doesn't have to be experienced. A cell is a place to learn. It is where a person begins to prophesy, heal the sick, minister in evangelism, and much more. I have seen scores of young leaders released and raised up in Russia. Often these leaders are young in age and new Christians. After they are saved, they immediately start witnessing to family members and friends in their home town. People come to the Lord and need to be nurtured in their new found faith. The young cell leader begins to serve this family cell group, and we supply information how to start a cell group along with regular Bible lessons. Seldom have any groups gotten off course. We have found that as we release people to make disciples, the Holy Spirit is faithful to keep His church pure. Leading the Cell Meetings We encourage a leader to hold cell meetings as often as he feels they are needed. This often translates to once a week. In Russia, a cell meeting may last for 3-4 hours. In some cultures, we would not recommend cell meetings to be quite so lengthy. Our attention spans would rarely last for that amount of time in America! Each cell meeting needs to be prayerfully orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. Every meeting may be different, because we serve a God who moves according to the need of the hour. It's important that we, too, are flexible and willing to flow with what the Holy Spirit is doing. A recommendation for a typical cell meeting may include worship, Bible study and discussion, prayer (including the sharing of needs and problems), and fellowship. Worship Starting out a cell meeting with worship awakens people to the power of God's presence. Worship is one of God's vehicles for communicating with His people. God wants to hear our praises! Psalm 66:2 says, "Make His praise glorious." That means there is a responsibility on everyone's part. Worship is not just going to happen. We must put on the garment of praise and make His praise glorious. The worship leader sets the example in worship. Cell members can learn to worship by observing the leader. His attitude should be, "Let's go together and allow the Lord to teach us to worship." When a worship leader is in tune to the Lord, he can direct the people where God wants them to go in the Spirit. A sensitive worship leader will watch as the cell members come into the cell meeting. Are they tired, depressed, or exuberant? He can meet them where they are and nudge them to greater heights of worship. A worship leader can be an example and inspire the people to worship, but in the end, the real essence of worship is generated in and through the heart of each person. Bible Study and Discussion Jesus told His disciples one day, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32). The Bible not only shows us the way, it shows us how to live life at its best. We need guidance from God's Word because we do not know how to live well. When we read and obey God's Word, we will find real life. Bible study is an important part of cell meetings. New and older Christians alike will always learn through the teaching and discussion of God's Word. A good teacher will be prepared and keep the Bible lesson focused and brief. This allows time for cell members to discuss what was learned and raise questions about something they did not understand. It's important that the teacher keeps the conversations on the topic and allows all those to enter in the discussion who want to. Effective group discussion will involve every member's participation. One person should never be allowed to monopolize the others' time by doing all of the talking. On the other hand, a shy person needs to be encouraged to participate. A wise cell leader will speak in private to these persons. He will firmly admonish those who talk too much to give others a chance to speak and gently encourage a shy person to participate in small ways—maybe by reading their personal Bible study answers to the lesson being discussed. A good way to handle discussion problems is for the teacher to use questioning as a tool to direct the discussion. Questions spark interest and allow others to "put on their thinking caps." The teacher can then channel the discussion in the right direction, because he has been well-prepared for the Bible lesson being taught. Of course, a teacher does not have to know all the answers. Some questions may be raised that require further research into God's Word. A good teacher will be interested in what cell members have to say. Maintaining an open, positive, sensitive attitude will go a long way in getting people to participate. It will create a loving atmosphere where people will not be afraid to make mistakes or "say something dumb." The cell group becomes a safe place—a place to succeed and fail; a place where people can mutually share what God has taught them from the Scriptures so they can find their place in the Body as they continue to make disciples. Prayer and Ministry Conversational prayer is a good place to start in order to get people to participate in cell group prayer. Take one prayer request at a time and allow many to pray short prayers. For example, Judy requests prayer for her mother, who is sick. Several pray for that need. Bill requests prayer for his marriage. Several again pray, sometimes more than once, as they earnestly seek God's face. Conversational prayer is an easy, nonthreatening way to encourage people to pray. People should be encouraged to tell the Lord exactly how they feel, with their hearts wide open to Him. This paves the way for true ministry to happen among God's people. As people share their deepest needs with each other in the cell group, others can minister to the needs by praying with the laying on of hands for the physical or emotional healing, exhorting and counseling, and exercising the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. Confidentiality must be kept when deep needs are shared in the cell group. Gossip has no place in the Body of Christ. Trust needs to be built with people within a cell group so that everyone will be free to share openly and have no fear that their problems will be discussed outside the cell group. Fellowship The very first account of the New Testament church mentions the importance of fellowship. The early Christians were described as people who "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship ... " They devoted themselves to it, giving it priority. Today, many churches have fellowship halls where they serve coffee and doughnuts after a service. Youth groups describe their events as being a time of "food, fun and fellowship." Is this the fellowship we should be so eager to devote our time to? Although there is nothing wrong with this kind of Christian social activity, it is not fellowship as described in the New Testament. The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia. It involves a sense of common participation and partnership. Our fellowship is the shared relationship we have with fellow believers in Christ as we participate together as members of God's family. It's a relationship, not an activity. The early Christians knew they had entered into a relationship with Christ, and this brought them into relationship with one another. We are also partners together—we are partners in the business of making disciples! God is glorified when Christians grow in Christ likeness and unbelievers are brought into His kingdom. This is true fellowship! Ministry in the Cell Groups
Building
Relationships In order for effective ministry to occur in cell groups there must be a building of close personal relationships. It's impossible to build relationships with a large amount of people. That's why small groups are so effective. A cell leader and assistant can easily assume spiritual responsibility for a cell of 8-10 people. Spiritual needs in each cell group vary. Each member, however, needs to have someone praying for him, spending time with him, listening to him, helping him to apply God's Word, encouraging him and loving him. If a cell member is absent from the group, get in touch with him soon. Tell him he was missed. He may be discouraged, sick, hurt, the list goes on. Make sure you listen to him and demonstrate your love and concern. Try to help him solve the problem and let him know you are available to help him. Sometimes past experiences make it difficult for believers to involve themselves meaningfully with others. They may refuse to open up or attempt to hide their needs from others. A cell leader needs to continually rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit as he seeks to minister to cell members. He must be sensitive to people's needs—even those unspoken ones. A cell leader also sets the example by being transparent about his own life and willing to share personal needs and problems. When cell members see that their leader also deals with weaknesses in his life, they will not fear to share their own problems with the group. Close relationships within the cell group spiritual families allow people to feel connected and secure. Significant friendships are grown and people get to know each other and feel like family. God wants us to be wise about our relationships and realize that biblical standards of purity must be applied to all relationships. A wise rule of thumb is for men to minister to men and women to women as much as possible. In this way members of the opposite sex avoid suspicion or temptation by not spending time alone together.
Gifts of the Spirit in the Cell Group These gifts could be called the "senses of the spiritual body—the Church." Just as the natural man possesses five senses through which he contacts the world around him, so the Church has been given these nine spiritual senses to contact the spiritual world. The senses are vitally important to human life. The same is true in the spiritual man. The gifts of the Spirit are just as essential for the growth and protection of the Body of Christ as the five senses are to the human body. A child without his senses will not be able to grow and develop as a normal child. This is the condition of churches which try to grow without the gifts. They are spiritually handicapped and stunted. They often struggle along with "professional evangelism" and "professional ministers," and endeavor to compete with the world through theatrical entertainment, administrative proficiency, or organizational program; but the real growth comes as these gifts function in the lives of Christians. 7 How can these gifts function and be made manifest in the lives of Christians within the cell group? First of all, when a new cell group starts with mostly new Christians, I believe it should begin as a time of Bible study and prayer for some time. As new believers begin to mature and grow spiritually, many will begin to yield themselves to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit when they come face to face with a need. Each person will grow as he begins to function according to his faith. Chronological age or how long one has been saved will not measure whether or not gifts of the Spirit will operate in the cell group. The key is how a person yields to the Holy Spirit in the operation of the gifts. Sometimes a fairly new Christian yields and obeys the promptings of the Spirit before a more mature Christian ever learns to yield to the ways of the Spirit. Making mistakes is part and parcel of operating in the gifts, because there is no other way to grow. A cell group is the perfect place for a believer to begin practicing the gifts of the Spirit because as "family" everyone cares for each other and the "father/leader" is there to discern if the message being given is on target. A leader, especially should exercise the discerning of spirits in the cell group setting so that he can know if a message being given is heavenly, human or demonic. Usually if a message is off the mark, the person's human thoughts and emotions are coming through. That is why it is also important to test what is said by the Word of God, which is the final authority. Again, it's not how perfect a person functions in the gifts, it's how much he yields to the Spirit. As long as we are open and teachable and submit to those in oversight of us to be accountable for what we say and do, we need not fear making mistakes as "we press toward the mark." A person usually will function more consistently in a certain gift of the Spirit and less frequently in others. But since all of the gifts reside in the Holy Spirit, He may manifest various gifts at different times to each and every believer who is yielded to Him. Each believer needs to strongly desire to have these gifts that edify the Body. Scripture tells us to stir them up (II Timothy 1:6-7). A cell leader would be wise to ask for and motivate himself to move in the word of wisdom in leading his group. As the spiritual father of the group, it is important that he receives insight to specific needs that arise in the home group. God was pleased that Solomon asked for wisdom to lead his people well. This should be the prayer of every cell leader. It is interesting to note that we have recorded situations of the word of wisdom being manifested as much as all the other gifts combined in the book of Acts. Apparently it was an important and necessary gift often used among the small group ministry of the early church. Often a woman involved in cell leadership will move out into the gift of prophecy. She will give divinely inspired messages to those in the cell, encouraging them to go on in their Christian lives and warn them of pitfalls. She will be able to see ahead to what love and faith will bring into the lives of these people. The gift of faith will be manifested in the cell as a person discerns the purposes of God for fellow cell members and confidently believes it will happen. As people in the cell begin to mature, the gifts of healing or working of miracles will begin to be manifested. These gifts will minister healing, sometimes supernaturally and immediately to physical, spiritual or emotional needs. At times, a cell member may receive a word of knowledge for a situation in a fellow cell member's life. Previously unknown details about that person's situation will be made clear by the Holy Spirit. When different kinds of tongues is manifested within the cell group, a person will communicate in an unfamiliar language of man or angels. Another person may interpret the message in the known language of the cell group. All the gifts of the Spirit are given to God's people so they can receive and practice them in order for the Body to be edified and lifted up. A healthy body has a harmonious function of every organ. The same is true of the Body of Christ. Gifts should be operating in unity, so that the glory and power of the kingdom of God may be expressed and people are encouraged and built up. Family members in the home cell group have to remember that a gift of the Spirit is like a loan— they manifest the gift during the time the anointing of the Spirit is on them. There is no room for pride, because no one is infallible while moving in the gifts of the Spirit. Each person in the cell group needs to move on the level of faith he is on and trust the Holy Spirit. I believe the cell group, rather than a large corporate meeting, is the better place to practice the gifts of the Spirit. In a large setting there is a temptation for showmanship and pride to enter in the picture. People may start to believe that a select few are the church's "prophesiers, healers, discerners and speakers in tongues," and sit back in apathy concerning the gifts. The truth is that everyone should be involved in moving in the gifts of the Spirit. And they can do it—in the practical "learning place" called a cell group! Leading in the Cell Groups
Leading By Example To pay close attention to our spiritual growth involves keeping our eyes on Jesus. It is keeping Him as the first love of our lives. Regular reading and studying of God's Word and prayer are necessary so that we can be strengthened for ministry. Cell leaders show by their character, speech and behavior that they have been with Jesus. So remember, others will follow a cell leader's footsteps more easily than they will follow his advice. Cell leaders must be a Christ like example to the cell. Cell group leaders are "shepherds" responsible to take care of their "sheep" in the cell group. They make sure they are fed and well. As a spiritual father in the cell group, a cell leader takes loving care of his children. This involves training them. A cell leader trains by equipping cell members for ministry. He helps them discover, develop and use their spiritual gifts. By his example of ministry and serving, the cell leader trains his people to do the same. Because of their cell leader's example, people learn to minister and use their spiritual gifts. The disciples watched Jesus minister. Later they assisted him. Next they ministered while He was with them. Finally they ministered by themselves. It was a learning process, and it took time. But the end result was effective, powerful ministry.
Leaders as Servants When an individual sees himself as a servant, he begins to view his life from the same perspective Jesus viewed Himself. He came to serve—not be served. He poured out his life among people who were lepers, the poor, the rich—the entire scope of humanity. A cell leader serves those in the cell. It is said that true service is love for Christ in "working clothes." A cell leader gets to where people are hurting, and in the midst of their problems, serves them. The reality of God's kingdom is manifested when Christians interact as the family of God, when we love and serve one another. Paul asks that we do what Christ has done for us: We should lay down our lives for one another. It invovles commitment, longsuffering and loyalty. A cell leader serves his people by ministering to their needs. He will not only minister by counseling, teaching, training—he also ministers in the everyday things. He will help a cell member paint this house, take a meal to a sick person, help fix a cell members car—serving where help is needed the most. A leader will always represent Jesus and do it with the motive to serve.
|
© Home Fellowship Leaders, Int'l.
Please send us your comments at Contact us by e-mail.