Month: October 2008

by Jeff Tunnell

www.bigbearchristiancenter.org

What a great week!  Two young ladies gave their hearts and lives to Jesus as a direct result of the Cell training track. 

First, Brittany who attended a cell at the invitation of her co-worker (who had come to Jesus earlier this year in the same cell).  Brittany did not immediately accept Christ, but willingly started our “pre-encounter” portion of the training track.  By review of the material and personal attention from the cell family, she accepted Jesus last Thursday night.

Next, I agreed to meet with a college-age girl to answer some questions she had after attending a cell and a celebration in the same week.  During the questions it became apparent she had not yet surrendered to Jesus but had only a knowledge about Him.  A scheduled Encounter was just 1/2 hour from starting and I asked if she would like to attend for the weekend due to available space.  Her excited ‘YES’ led to a weekend of freedom and salvation.  She is being assimilated into the cell she first attended and that cell family is so very excited to have her.

Having the regular components of a training track in place are so vital to discipleship and SALVATION!  It is much easier to assess where a person is in the journey of maturity and then help them take the next step.  Moving people along, just one step at a time, leads to systematic leadership development.  We rejoice in these salvations and know that Brittany’s co-worker will soon become a new leader as well.

Do you have a training, or equipping track in place?  What steps are involved?  What successes have you experienced through implementation?

I am truly blessed with the distinct privilege of observing Christ’s church up close. This time I’m flying back from a cell seminar/preaching in Forth Worth, Texas, the home of a church called Christ Fellowship.  Jamie Miller started the church in 1993 in Grapevine, Texas–about 45 minutes from Forth Worth.
Jamie began with a cell in his neighborhood that grew and multiplied.

From the beginning, the church not only believed in multiplying cells but planting cell churches. From 1993 to 2002, they planted eight churches!

Yet, they felt their church was too suburban and white (characteristics of Grapevine). So they decided to move the entire church to Forth Worth! About fifty families sold their homes and relocated to the ethnically diverse city of Forth Worth. They relocated near Texas Christian University to have a greater impact on students.

I love the fact that this church of 300 has now planted 12 cell churches. Their school of leaders is actively preparing cell leaders and church planters.

Some seminars are special. This was one of them. “What was it?” I asked myself. “Was it the incredible pre-planning for the seminar?” “The excitement of those present in the seminar?” “The powerful worship?”

Most likely it was because Jesus Christ is truly present at Christ Fellowship.

Comments?

Joel Comiskey

by Mario Vega

Prayer is a closely linked topic to the cell work. In addition to the prayer periods in our cell and planning meetings, there are other efforts that are put into practice.

When we do our big rallies, we prepare spiritually with a prayer chain. This chain lasts 24 hours during the previous month to our big rally.

We start the first day of the month with a celebration service in the church’s building at 5 a.m. From 6 a.m., after worshiping and receiving a bible teaching, the first period of prayer until 7 a.m. starts. At that time, in a specially prepared place, a group of people prays until 8 a.m. Another group will replace these people for the next hour. This goes on successively until the 31st day of the month when the prayer chain ends.

It might be thought that the hours between 1 and 4 a.m. would be the most difficult to cover. But the fact is that these are the hours when the largest number of cell members comes to pray.

We make sure that the chain doesn’t brake by assigning to each Zone Pastor a certain amount of hours. The Pastor distributes his sectors between those hours, doing this, there is always someone to continue the prayer chain where exclusively five prayer requests related to the big church’s rally are presented.

Comments?

Mario

La práctica de la oración.

La oración es un tema estrechamente ligado al trabajo celular. Además de los perodos de oración incluidos en nuestras reuniones de células y de planificación, existen otros esfuerzos que se ponen en práctica.

Cuando se realizan nuestros grandes eventos nos preparamos espiritualmente con una cadena de oración. Ésta cadena tiene una duración de 24 horas durante el mes previo a nuestro gran evento.

Iniciamos el primer da del mes con un culto en el local de la iglesia que comienza a las 5 de la mañana. A partir de las 6 de la mañana, después de haber adorado y recibido una enseñanza bblica, comienza el primer perodo de oración hasta las 7 de la mañana. A esa hora, en un lugar preparado especialmente, un grupo de personas ora hasta las 8 de la mañana. Éstas personas serán relevadas por otro grupo por la siguiente hora. As sucesivamente hasta terminar la cadena el da 31 del mes.

Se puede pensar que las horas entre la 1 y 4 de la madrugada seran las más difciles de cubrir. Pero, lo cierto es que son las horas cuando mayor cantidad de miembros de células se acercan para orar.

Se asegura que la cadena no se rompa asignando a cada Pastor de Zona cierta cantidad de horas. El Pastor distribuye sus sectores entre esas horas y, as, siempre hay quien continúe la cadena de oración donde se presentan exclusivamente cinco peticiones relacionadas con el gran evento de la iglesia.

by Jeff Tunnell

www.bigbearchristiancenter.org

Encouragement!  We all need encouragement.  The Church Growth International (CGI) conference at Bethany World Prayer Center last week supplied just that, and plenty of it.  Pastor Mario Vega ministered with precision, giving insight to the Cell church philosophy of multiplication and evangelism; setting clear goals, training new leaders, diligent continuance in our work, having all things underwritten by the essential life of prayer.  Dr. Cho inspired us to live by faith, dreams, vision and the good confession in expanding the church.    Billy Joe Daugherty reminded of the necessity for delegation combined with organization and planning in order to “Let my people go” to do the work of ministry.

Surrounded by 1500+ others who desire to expand the kingdom of God through cell ministry I was encouraged to see that I am not alone in the daily efforts made at the local church level to which God has called me.  As Casey Treat said, “Every overnight success is preceded by 20 years of hard work!”

It’s like the farmer who came along a traveller stuck in the ditch.  He hitched Daisey, his old, blind workhorse to the car and began to call out, “get up Daisey, get up Bess, get up Daisey, get up Bess” and the horse strained at the harness until the car was pulled out.  The traveller thanked the farmer and inquired curiously about his calling out to two horses when obviously he had only one.  To this the farmer cupped his hand and whispered in reply, “Daisey is blind, but she pulls much better when she thinks she’s part of a team.”  I return to the work, encouraged, knowing I am part of a greater world-wide team that I just can’t see.

by Rob Campbell

In light of Joel’s post yesterday, it does appear that pastors throughout the world are longing for a more simple approach to church. They are tired of the unneeded bells and whistles of church which seem to encumber reaching not-yet believers and seeing lives change on a consistent basis. Of course, even a cell church can be encumbered with numerous appendages that impede making a difference in one’s community.

In Floyd McClung’s book, You See Bones, I See An Army, he writes, ”

I believe any model of church that wins, gathers, and multiplies followers of Jesus is a good model. But the fact is that the bigger and more complicated a local church becomes, the more people and the more money it takes to lead on person to Christ.

This fact has been proved over and over again throughout the decades.
Like Joel Comiskey, McClung is a fan of the simple church. McClung continues:

Simple church seeks to empower people by avoiding bureaucracy, dependence on buildings, hierarchy, and ‘come to us’ models of mission. Simple church spontaneously and deliberately gets everyone involved– where they live, play, and work.

Years ago when I was a youth pastor, I was asked to preach one Sunday morning by my Senior Pastor. He asked me, “Rob, do you know what the KISS theory is?” I said, “Nope, I don’t believe so.” That’s when he stated, “When you preach, Keep It Simple Stupid!”

I don’t mean to be offensive, but maybe it’s time to remember that theory and apply it to our communities of faith.
Comments?

Rob