Small Groups
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The Place for Love, Hope & New Life The Place for Love, Hope & New Life
description
How cell groups are organised in MOSAIC
Transcript of Small Groups
The Place for Love, Hope & New LifeThe Place for Love, Hope & New Life
CAREGROUPS
At Mosaic we are fully committed to the ministry ofsmall groups. We call them Care Groups and base
them on the New Testament model.
The NT church was built on a cell, celebration model. Thebelievers met both in the home (cells) and in the temple(celebrations). These two types of gatherings are still essentialtoday for a strong, healthy church. The Biblical church lifetherefore involves not just gathering all the believers for acorporate celebration but at the same time organising the wholebody into small growing groups. Both Acts and Ephesians tell usthat all who accepted the message were not added to anorganisation or a building but to the body of believers. This tellsus the NT concept of the church is a people not a place, a bodynot a building. A body with many parts, each part is functionaland all parts relate to one another.
The bible when describing the church as a body makes it clearthat the church consists of people in relationship with God andone another. This helps us understand the need for believers tomeet in a small group setting where they are able to build oneanother up in love. The small group setting is the most practicalplace where Christianity can be put into practice and believerscan grow as true disciples.
The New Testament Model
The Cell and its Components as aBasic Unit of Life
In living organisms, the cell is the basic unit of life;likewise we feel that the cell is the basic unit ofchurch life. It is a small, face-to-face ‘family-type’gathering (3 to 12 people) where the participantsmeet together regularly to build up and encourageone another in Christ. Together, they study theWord of God, apply its teachings to their lives, andexperience the ministry of the Holy Spirit as theylove and care for each other and the community atlarge. The next page lists the principles of life in acell:
The Cell and its Components as aBasic Unit of Life (cont’d)
The cell is able to carry out all functionsnecessary for life.
The cell has capacity to grow. The process of growth and multiplication
forms new cells. Cell multiplication must first involve
growth of the cell and multiplication ofits nucleus. Church cells grow byreaching more people and the leadersduplicating themselves through interns.
The Cell and its Components as aBasic Unit of Life (cont’d)
In living organisms, a cell has two basiccomponents, the cell membrane and the nucleus.The membrane holds together all the othercomponents of the cell. It also controls the passageof other substances into and out of the cell. Thenucleus contains chromosomes that carry thegenetic material (DNA) of the cell.Relationships serve as the membrane in a churchcell. It keeps everyone together. Unlessrelationships among cell members are established,it cannot have a true cell life. Everyone getsacquainted with one another and begin to beinvolved in each other’s lives.The Cell Leader corresponds to the nucleus of thecell. The kind of leader determines the kind of cellthat will be formed. Therefore it is important thatcell leaders are people who fully agree with thevision, mission, beliefs and values of Mosaic.
Building Relationships is a Non-Optional Ingredient of Cells
God is relational and has revealed Himself asFather. A Father cannot be defined alone. To be afather means to be in relationship with someone. Atrusting relationship with God and one another isGod’s provision for our sense of security. When weare insecure, we tend to act in a selfish manner, weare constantly in pursuit of acceptance and thisacceptance is not primarily sought from God. It isonly when we are secure in our relationship withGod that our actions will be born of faith, love andthe leading of the Holy Spirit. An insecure person islike someone who has no roots. Paul said inEphesians 3:17 that we must be rooted andgrounded in love. Building relationships is the bestand effective way of spreading the gospel. Jesussaid the world would know us by our love. Havinggood relationships is what ministry is all about.
Every Believer a Minister
Another important key for successful cell ministryis the biblical principle that every believer is aminister.Church leaders such as shepherds, teachers,evangelists, prophets and apostles are notsupposed to do all the ministering.When we look at Eph 4:11-13 we discover that therole of leaders is to prepare, make ready, train andequip the people to minister to the needs of others(v 11-12). The role of the people is to minister toone another (v.12). The people are not dependenton leaders to minister. As they serve one anotherthey are edified (built up) and become spirituallymature. In cell life, therefore, even young believerscan participate in building up others. We do notwait for believers to be mature by traditionalstandards as even young believers can participatein edifying (building up) others. This in turn, resultsin the new believers growing in faith and becomingmore spiritually mature.
Stages of Growth of a Cell Group
Flock level - the forming stage:A new group of people gather together at anagreed time and place to get to know one anotherand form a cell. Activities involve gathering,contacting, congregating. The group focus is foreveryone to make time and effort to gathertogether. They make meeting together theirpriority.
Friends level - the relational stage:New relationships are forged and enjoyment isgained through the company and fellowship of eachother on a regular basis. The cell group develops asense of community and spiritual togetherness.activities involve connecting, communicating,caring. The group focus is for everyone to build abond and unity with each other.
Stages of Growth of a Cell Group(cont’d)
Faithful level - the maturing stage:Members of the cell are able to identify a) wherethey are spiritually, b) where they need to go andc) how to continue the journey. The group focus ison the edification of one another towards achievingspiritual freedom, maturity and Christ likeness. Atthe same time the cell leaders are identifying newleaders for future cells.Foster level - the reproducing stage:The cell group increases its number, and preparesitself to multiply and be part of the birth of a newcell. The group focus is duplication, by fostering anew cell. New cell members are gathered in at alllevels.
We hope that this explanationhelps to put into context the
place of care groups. They are avital part of corporate life as
they combine pastoral care, thedevelopment of spiritual
maturity, and the growth ofMOSAIC
