by Mario Vega
With regard to cell church and disciple-making, allow me to use the example of the first cell church that met in Jerusalem during the first century (Acts 2:42-46). This church had two types of meetings: house meetings and temple worship. That is, a small gathering where Christians exercised their gifts and a large gathering where they celebrated and proclaimed their faith.
The dedication to these two types of meetings produced faith, love and a strong doctrinal foundation. Several of those early believers became leaders of the primitive church. God developed a group of them to serve the food to the neglected widows. The combination of the two types of meetings developed strong disciples who became faithful preachers. For example, Stephen mastered the Scriptures so skillfully that the religious leaders couldn’t contradict him and ended up martyring him. Philip also became a powerful evangelist who revolutionized Samaria with the message of the gospel. And just to think that the apostles thought these early disciples would only wait on tables! Disciples developed through the two-winged church produced disciples back then and will do the same today.
Comments?
Mario
Spanish blog:
Un Modelo de Discipulado en la Iglesia Celular
por Mario Vega
Para hablar sobre la capacidad de las iglesias celulares para hacer discpulos tomaré como ejemplo el trabajo de una iglesia celular y sus resultados. Me refiero a la iglesia de Jerusalén en siglo primero. Esta iglesia tena dos tipos de reuniones: en las casas y en el templo. Es decir una reunión pequeña donde los cristianos ejercan sus dones y una reunión numerosa donde celebraban y proclamaban su fe.
La dedicación a estos dos tipos de reunión produjo que los nuevos creyentes se afirmaran en la fe, en el amor y en la doctrina de los apóstoles. Varios de esos creyentes superaron las expectativas de los primeros dirigentes. Hubo un grupo de ellos que fueron asignados para servir la comida que se daba a las viudas. Pero la combinación de los dos tipos de reuniones haba echo de esos discpulos tan buenos creyentes que se convirtieron en fieles predicadores. Por ejemplo, Esteban llegó a tener tal dominio de las escrituras que los religiosos no lograron contradecirle y terminaron por martirizarlo. Otro de ellos, llamado Felipe se convirtió en un poderoso evangelista que revolucionó Samaria con el mensaje del evangelio.
¡Y pensar que los apóstoles pensaban que ellos solo serviran a las mesas! Tal clase de discipulado era el que produca y puede producir hoy el trabajo de una iglesia celular.
The cell church movement needs to see a two-pronged approach in the scripture to justify the way it works and operates. However, the disciples met in the temple only for about 18-24 months before they no longer could do so. Meeting in the temple was a church in transition as they no longer met there after 2 years according to some historians.
To use this as a pattern is a little bit of a stretch as the disciples eventually met in homes due to persecution. The truth is that there is no one pattern laid down in scripture of how to do church. God uses whatever we give to Him in spite of ourselves and blesses us to the greatest extent possible.
But to establish a cell church paradigm based upon a temporary situation in Acts seems to me a little bit of a stretch.
Excellent article. However, what did the church do after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD — less than 40 years after the formation of the church? Was there still larger gatherings or did they just turn to homes alone? The Jews turned to the dependence upon synagogues. However, there is no evidence of any replacement for the larger gatherings that once took place in the temple.