Month: May 2009

by Jeff Tunnell                           www.bigbearchristiancenter.org

Following Joel’s blog from earlier this week and congratulating Liz Lynberg, let’s talk about inviting people to the cell meeting.  Both testimonies in Monday’s blog demonstrate the importance AND success of contacting people with a specific invitation to your cell.

Occasionally I will ask during a Celebration in our church, “How many of you came here, or to a cell, because you were invited by someone with whom you had previous relationship?”  Consistent with most organized surveys on the subject, I see nearly 80% of the room raise their hands.

Having some experience with direct sales businesses it is common to hear that for every “Yes” you receive, you will have to get past 40 “No”s!  Using a quote from Richard Price and Pat Springer,

“Experienced group leaders…realize that you usually have to personally invite 25 people for 15 to say they will attend.  Of those 15, usually only 8-10 will actually show up, and of those only five to seven will be regular attenders after a month or so.”

Dave Early summarizes that statement with, “This means you can grow a new group of ten to fourteen regular members in a year by inviting one new person each week!”

What is your habit in this area of cell development?  Do you keep your cells “open” from week-to-week so that new people can join at any time?  Is there ever a period of time, or situation, where you do not invite new visitors to join you?  How do you determine who you will invite?  What type of invitation questions do you find successful in bridging the relationship gap that exists with a person you do not know well?  What role does prayer have in this activity?

by Steve Cordle

One of the great strengths of cell ministry is that it can involve every believer, not just a select percentage with specific gifts. How intentional can you be about mobilizing everyone in a group?

One practical way to do this is to enlist each member with a specific responsibility, perhaps even a title! Beyond Leader, Intern, Host, there can be prayer champion (who takes leadership in group prayer and recording answers), snack provider, mission co-ordinator (scouting and organizing projects outside the group), children’s co-ordinator, etc. 

When members feel responsible for a part of the group, they engage more actively than if they just come to see what the leader has prepared for the meeting. And a mobilized group is a strong group. 

Yes, each member should be praying for lost people and reaching out to them. True, each member can look for ways to support and encourage other group members. But enlisting additional roles can sometimes transform a stagnant group to one that is one the move again.

I’m privileged to coach some first-class pastors. Most of them are lead pastors and a few of them are cell champions, serving as associates alongside the lead pastor. Elizabeth Lynberg is one of those cell champions who God raised up from within the cell ministry and now trains and coaches other cell leaders at Monterey Church (check them out at www.montereychurch.net). At Monterey, they call the groups dGroups [d standing for discipleship]. They currently have approximately 20 dgroups. Listen to some of the testimonies of God’s transforming work through the dgroups:

Loner becomes Leader:
One man tells the story of when he was new to Monterey Church and a younger guy came up to him and invited him to his dGroup. The man admits to not being much of a small group guy, saying, “Small groups are great for other people, they are just not for me.” But since he was personally invited, he felt compelled to go, at least once. Fast forward one year and he is now leading his own dGroup and is blessed each week to get to know the others in his group in a deep and meaningful way as they share their lives and dig into God’s Word

New Faces, New Friends:
Before service one day, a young lady noticed a new face in the lobby. She describes that she felt led to approach this woman in an effort to make her feel welcome. The new friends talked and prayed together that morning. The young lady also sensed her new friend needed the unconditional love of a community of women and introduced her to a dGroup leader. The woman began to attend the group weekly. Over the past six months, she has experienced acceptance, healing and God’s love in new and real ways. Her life is being transformed by the love of Jesus expressed by the people around her.

I encourage Elizabeth with how fortunate she is to have a first-class celebration service that is attracting loads of young families. Yet, we are also aware that it takes a lot of work to assure that people in the celebration get connected to the cell. Liz recently wrote to her leaders:

Each week, many people express an interest in getting into community. We do our best to get each person connected through follow up emails and phone calls. However, the Lord has shown me that nothing can replace a personal invitation from you. Many of you do this regularly and I pray God will continue to equip you with everything good for doing His will.

I’m excited to follow the cell church vision at Monterey Church.

Comments?

Joel Comiskey

by Mario Vega

Since the recent outbreak of human influenza type A H1N1, the authorities took preventive measures to limit the number of public meetings.

In Mexico, where the outbreak first took place, soccer matches were canceled. Projections of films, musicals, theater, and all type of activities that concentrate groups of people were not allowed to take place. Churches, considered within the realm of “public meetings,” were also cancelled.  Since last Sunday, the authorities took the measure of suspending the services of churches located in infection concentrated areas.

Some of these churches were cell churches, which we at Elim associate with. Through phone calls, they informed us that services in the church building were suspended, but that the cells continued to meet.

Because cells are small groups of people, there are no sanitary impediments for their continued meeting. Rather, they provide hope and protection for those seeking God in the midst of the epidemic. Even though church buildings are closed, the cells remain open to receive the thirsty for Christ. The cell church model makes all of this possible.

Comments?

Mario

Translation into Spanish:

Células en tiempo de influenza.

A partir del reciente brote de influenza humana tipo A H1N1, se han comenzado a tomar medidas de prevención. Parte de ellas es la de limitar las reuniones muy numerosas de personas.

En México, donde se produjo el brote, los partidos de fútbol se realizan a estadio cerrado. También se cancelaron proyecciones de pelculas, obras musicales o de teatro y todo tipo de actividad que concentre grupos de personas.

Dentro de ello, también entran en cuenta las iglesias. A partir del domingo pasado se tomó la medida de suspender los cultos en iglesias ubicadas en focos de contagio. Algunas de esas iglesias son celulares y amigas nuestras. En llamadas telefónicas nos han informado que los cultos en el local están suspendidos; pero, siguen reuniéndose en las células.

Dado que las células son grupos pequeños de personas, no existen impedimentos sanitarios para que continúen reuniéndose. De esa manera, se da atención a las personas que, en medio de esta epidemia, buscan a Dios como esperanza y protección. A pesar que los edificios de las iglesias están cerrados, las casas de los cristianos siguen abiertas para recibir a los sedientos por Cristo. Todo esto no sera posible fuera del modelo celular.

by Jeff Tunnell

Today is Joel Comiskey’s birthday!  1, 2, 3…

Happy Birhday to You

S dniom razhdjenia! or Pazdravliayu s dniom razhdjenia

Joyeux Anniversaire

Bonne Fete

Yom Huledet Same’ach

Saeng il chuk ha ham ni da

Gratulerer med dagen

Voharvod Mubarak Chuy

Maligayang kaarawan sa iyo

Janam din diyan wadhayian

Ravihi janmadinam aacharati

Veels geluk met jou verjaarsdag

Hongera! or Heri ya Siku kuu

Sun Yat Fai Lok

Qu ni sheng er kuai le

 Our blessings to YOU Joel Comiskey, from all around the World.  Thank you for giving your life to resource the cell church!