by Mario Vega

San Salvador is the third most violent city in the world, after Ciudad Juarez in Mexico and San Pedro Sula in Honduras. The problem of gang violence is one of our major concerns as Christians. The reasons why young people needlessly spend their lives in a gang are diverse. But a very constant element is family disintegration.

The church, called to transform people, helps to solve the problem. The cells bring Christians near where people live and allows believers to meet children who are growing up in disintegrated homes. We encourage members of our cells to emotionally adopt one of those children. That is, we ask the cells to provide the care, affection and acceptance they are lacking in their homes. Without such love and acceptance, these same children will join gang, trying to fill the emptiness.

Our cells can give answers in a way that other measures have failed to give. We have over 1,500 children cells where an average of 22,000 children being helped through the cell ministry. The theme of violence and forgiveness are developed as weekly teaching topics. The children’s cell leaders have been instructed on issues such as verbal, physical and sexual abuse. Our goal is to give a solution to the serious problem of youth violence that is lived in our country.

All of this is besides, of course, the work done with the sick, the marriages, and the alcoholism problems, etc.

Comments?

Mario

Translation into Spanish

Células contra la violencia.

San Salvador es la tercera ciudad más violenta del mundo. Después de Ciudad Juárez en México y San Pedro Sula en Honduras. El problema de la violencia de las pandillas es una de nuestras mayores preocupaciones como cristianos. Las razones por las que los jóvenes invierten inútilmente sus vidas en una pandilla son diversas. Pero, un elemento muy constante es la desintegración familiar.

La iglesia, llamada a transformar las situaciones de pecado, hace un esfuerzo para contribuir a resolver el problema. Las células acercan a los cristianos a las personas y eso les permite conocer a los niños que están creciendo en hogares desintegrados. Animamos a los miembros de nuestras células a adoptar emocionalmente a un niño de esos. Es decir, a brindarle la atención, el cariño y la aceptación que no encuentran en sus hogares. Aceptación que irán a buscar en una pandilla a menos que los cristianos les brinden una alternativa.

De esa manera, nuestras células permiten dar respuestas que otras medidas no han podido dar hasta hoy. No se debe olvidar que también poseemos más de 1,500 células infantiles donde se atiende un promedio de 22,000 niños. El tema de la violencia y del perdón se desarrollan como temas de enseñanza semanal. Los líderes de células infantiles han sido instruidos en asuntos tales como el abuso verbal, físico y sexual. La idea, es dar una solución al grave problema de violencia juvenil que vive nuestro país.

Todo esto, por supuesto, aparte del trabajo que se hace con los enfermos, los matrimonios, los problemas de alcoholismo, etc.

by Jeff Tunnell

My body is sore & tired, my heart is lifted and joyful!  Our Elders, Joe & Linda have recently closed their glass business and are approaching retirement.  Multiple years of inventory, tools and storage had accumulated in their shop and the Lord provided a new tenant for leasing their building.  This came sooner than expected so that meant moving everything out and cleaning and, and, and… by the 1^st of next month!!!

Joe had heart surgery last July and could not perform the work himself.  Linda faced this huge project alone, asked for a little help and  here’s what she wrote on Facebook at the end of the day:

“It isn’t often that I am overwhelmed and speechless but today was one of those days. I posted a request for help to clean out our shop. I was hoping for 4 or 5 muscles to show up. I never expected 21 of you! The job was overwhelming to me and by 3:00 today it was done. This is what community is all about! It felt like an old fashioned barn raising! I love you all. When I told Joe, big tears rolled down his cheeks. Tomorrow we have a lot to worship God for.”

As we gathered around a well-worn work bench that day, eating tacos picked up by a close friend, the question was posed, “What is the message we are seeing and hearing here today?”  Responses came quickly, “this is love in action” “community” “bearing one another’s burdens” “fulfilling the law of Christ”.  We shared the work, the food and the joy!  A potentially inundating task turned into a point of praise to God and life to the body of Christ.  Every time I feel an aching muscle twinge, I smile.  Joyful sacrifice brings a reminder of Hebrews 12:2.

by Joel Comiskey

Last night I ate with the staff of Camino Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. The wife of one of the staff pastors told me that her circle transformed her marriage (At Camino Church they use “circles” instead of “cells” and “missionaries” instead of “leaders”). Most of her family was in Bolivia and her circle had become her family. She and her husband were on the verge of divorce before coming to Christ, and in fact, they were separated. Jesus saved them at Camino Church (pastor Rusty Price), and then God used the circle to grow and mature their marriage.

Community in cell ministry is so powerful because deep sharing takes place that leads to transformation.. In fact, the words “community,” “communion,” and “communication” all share common roots from the Latin words for with and one. They involve being with one another and being one with each other. Effective cell groups enable people to talk about their faith, share transparently, and then apply God’s Word to daily life, thus growing in community with God and others.

Looking at it this way, community is communication that leads to transformation. During the celebration time, communication is normally shallow and limited by time restrains. Nor does the atmosphere generate deep sharing. The cell atmosphere and agenda provides concentrated time for deeper communication which leads to true Koinonia. “Deeper communication” that leads to communication is honest, real, and transparent. Isn’t this what John the apostle meant when he said, “. . . if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship [koinonia] with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

What kind of community/communication are you experiencing in your groups? Share any “tips” that you’ve used to deepen honest communication in your cell.

Joel

by Steve Cordle

There are some things we just can’t do alone: get married, play football, and… follow Jesus.

There are many today who would say “My spirituality is private, I have my own beliefs, and I don’t need to be part of a church to believe in God, and I can pray anywhere I am.”

And that is partially true: we can indeed (and should) pray in all sorts of places, and church membership is not required in order to believe in God.

However, God’s intent for us is much more than to believe he exists or to pray from time to time. God’s intent for us is to become spiritually mature, and in order to do that we need to be connected to other people.

Ephesians 4:13 describes God’s goal for us: “…we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

The passage mentions many other people who are involved in our maturing process. In verses 4 and 12 Jesus followers are called “the body of Christ”. That tells us we are not isolated spiritual free-agents, but connected parts of a whole.

If you saw a disembodied hand sitting on ground you’d find it alarming! An unconnected body part is a sign of serious trouble. The scriptures tell us we are the Body of Christ: so a follower of Jesus unconnected to others in the body is also alarming!

If our only connection with other believers is in a corporate worship service, we will not have as much opportunity as we need in order to mature spiritually. The connection we require is both ”shoulder to shoulder” and “face to face”. That is, next to each other as we are focused on worship of God, and open to each other as we share our lives together. Cell ministry is an expression of the connection God designed us to experience as the body of Christ.

Comments?

Steve

by Bill Mellinger

[preface: Bill Mellinger will be substituting for Michael Sove, who is is India for the month of January. Bill is senior pastor of Crestline First Baptist Church, a church in transition to the cell church strategy. I, Joel Comiskey, have had the privilege of coaching Bill for the last two years]

When I think of the theological underpinnings for Cell Community, one verse stands out to me.  (Galatians 6:2)  “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

The root word for carrying another’s burdens come from the word for walking.  Surely this includes all the things we do to help meet someone else’s needs.  Jesus said that we serve Him when we serve the “the least of these brothers.”  In the passage in Matthew 25 Jesus gives some great details of ways that we can “Carry each other’s burdens.”  By tangibly meeting someone’s needs, visiting the sick and imprisoned, we “fulfill the law of Christ.”

We understand that true Biblical community involves acts of service and love.  Every cell gathering is an opportunity for the people to show God’s love in tangible ways to one another.  But it is also an opportunity to look for ways to serve people who do not know how much God loves them.  As we work together to serve our neighbors, we are showing them God’s love.  By helping them with their needs, we are telling them the good news with our actions.

Living in a mountain community offers us unique opportunities to help our neighbors when it snows.  This past week one of our cell members cleared the snow from around his neighbor’s car.  When asked how she could pay for his service, he invited her to come to our celebration.  She came on Sunday because she was blessed by the way he helped with her “burden.”

This past year another cell member was dying of cancer.  We met weekly for cell group in his home so that he could participate more easily.  There were times we even gathered around his bed just to pray and encourage him.  Some of us helped to bring wood into the house for burning in the fireplace.  My own nephew accepted Christ after having spent time helping at his house and enjoying his friendship.

Think of all the ways that we can “carry each other’s burdens.”  Don’t forget, that the context even includes helping to “restore” someone who is caught in sin.  This takes openness, vulnerability, accountability, confidentiality and love.  When we are serving in this way, some pretty special community will be the result.

God bless you as you serve one another,

Bill Mellinger

by Mario Vega

During the exile in Babylon, the Jews had lost their temple. This new reality forced them to find another way to practice their faith. They began to gather in houses to read and comment on the Scriptures. This is how synagogues were born.

After returning to their land and rebuilding the temple, the custom of continuing to gather as synagogues in houses was preserved. The meetings were held in the upper rooms that were reserved for that purpose. The synagogues, or gatherings in houses, thus became a parallel element to the worship in the temple.

Centuries later, in the time of Jesus, the synagogue was already an institution. Today there is evidence that almost all of the synagogues mentioned in the Gospels were actually meetings in houses.

After the resurrection of Jesus, all the disciples who had remained were Jews. Therefore it is no surprise that the apostles met in an upper room to pray. Similarly, when the church is born, being all Jews, we must not be surprised to see that they began to gather in the houses to reflect on their faith.

When the Gospel came to pagan cities, the Jewish meeting model was adopted along with the Gospel. And so, the churches followed the tradition of meeting in houses. The gospel amazingly spread and acquired vitality. That lasted for about 300 years until the institutionalization was imposed. Today, we must rescue the lessons of the past for the revitalization of the gospel in our days.

Comments?

Mario

Translation into Spanish

De la sinagoga a las reuniones cristianas.

Durante el exilio en Babilonia, los judíos habían perdido el templo para continuar sus ceremonias. Eso les obligó a buscar otra forma de continuar la práctica de su fe. Fue entonces que comenzaron a reunirse en las casas para la lectura de las Escrituras y su comentario. Así nacieron las sinagogas.

Después del regreso a su tierra y de la reconstrucción del templo, se conservó la costumbre de continuar reuniéndose como sinagogas en las casas. Las reuniones se realizaban en los aposentos altos que se reservaban para ese propósito. Las sinagogas, o reuniones en las casas, se convirtieron así en un elemento paralelo al culto en el templo.

Siglos después, en época de Jesús, la sinagoga era ya una institución. Hoy existe evidencia que la casi totalidad de sinagogas que se mencionan en los evangelios eran, en realidad, reuniones en las casas.

Después de la resurrección de Jesús, todos los discípulos que habían quedado eran judíos. Por ello, no debe extrañarnos que los apóstoles se reunieran en un aposento alto para orar. De igual manera, cuando la iglesia nace, no debe extrañarnos que siendo todos judíos, comenzaran a reunirse en las casas para reflexionar sobre su fe.

Cuando el evangelio llegó a ciudades paganas, el modelo de reunión judía fue adoptado junto con el evangelio. Y así, las iglesias siguieron la tradición de reunirse en las casas. El evangelio se extendió de manera sorprendente y adquirió vitalidad. Eso duró aproximadamente unos 300 años hasta que la institucionalización se impuso. Hoy, debemos rescatar las lecciones del pasado para la revitalización del evangelio en nuestros días.

by Jeff Tunnell

It is fact that Jesus and those moved by the Holy Spirit to write the New Testament gave us a relationally structured organism to live within, which we refer to as the “church”.  Not a building of course, it is a body; a vibrant community of faith that is responsive to Jesus Christ, the Head of this body.  As we live out our faith together it is necessary for us to share life in the strength of Acts 2:42, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship…,” (Koinonia: fellowship, association, community, communion & joint participation).  Examining the abundance of “one another” commands in our Bible we conclude that the life of God within us must connect regularly with others in order to experience fulfillment.  You cannot have UNITY with one, there must be more than one; there is no ‘body’ with only one part.

I believe that a cell group provides the atmosphere for life together.  In the cell, koinonia and unity from which God desires us to benefit occurs, and we reflect HIS oneness to the world.  “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

by Joel Comiskey

You can’t be around the cell church movement very long before hearing about the priority of community. I’ve heard various cell gurus say that “community” is the main reason for doing cell ministry.

I certainly did not believe this for a long, long time. Yet, I’ve finally understood how important community is to God and how much He wants His people to live in love, unity, and practice the one-anothers of Scripture.

But why is this so important to God? I think the main reason is God’s nature. God lives in perfect unity with the other members of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus demonstrated that unity while on earth, never doing anything that wasn’t perfectly pleasing to the Father and Spirit (John 5:19-30). He then told His disciples to walk in that same unity, saying that their best witness to an unbelieving world would be the love they showed one to another (John 17: 6-19).

The early church was born in the upper room of a house while the disciples were in one-accord (Acts 1:13). After the Spirit descended, the disciples broke bread from house to house and came together to hear the apostle’s teaching (Acts 2:42-46).

Unity, oneness, and the one-anothers. This is the focus of the New Testament. Granted, this emphasis goes against the grain of individualism, which says,  “I want to do it my way, and I demand my rights.”  I believe individualistic cultures need cell ministry more than group-oriented cultures (e.g., Latin America, Asia, etc.), but it does take more work to make it happen in the western world.

Why do you believe community is so essential and necessary (especially for individualistic cultures)?

Joel