Adult Cell Groups
Our adult cell groups meet weekly in homes, frequently migrating between the homes of cell members each month. This permits everyone the joy of sharing, and at the same time no one family is burdened. Of course hosting the group in your home is not a requirement to participate.
The groups are composed of 6-15 adults, led by a trained group leader. In addition, each group has an apprentice who shares in the leadership role, and other members serve in a variety of ways to help the cell group function.
Three factors generally influence the creation of a cell group:
- The leader will sometimes attract others who are drawn to his or her personality or teaching style.
- Geography - Some like to choose a cell group near their home so that travel time is minimized and they are in close proximity to their brothers and sisters in Christ.
- Relationships - Others prefer to enter a cell with the people they know best and feel the most comfortable with, even it means traveling across the county.
Many types of groups exist in today's church. Some groups focus on prayer but do little in the way of teaching. Other small groups are great at teaching but do little in the area of reaching out, while others are great at meeting needs but lack a teaching component. All of the cell groups at Grace Christian have a holistic four-fold focus. A helpful way to remember the four-fold focus is to think of the cross:
The vertical beam points toward God. Each cell has a time of prayer and sharing, and short worship. The vertical beam also points downward to earth where we live with each other. Thus each cell meeting focuses on building relationships and caring for each other's needs in practical ways.The horizontal beam stretches to the left, signifying that each cell reaches out to the world, and also to the right, reminding us that each cell seeks to move us forward in Christian growth.
A holistic approach to groups allows you to receive a balanced and enriching Christian growth experience. You do not have to attend a study group on Saturday morning, a prayer group on Wednesday evening and an evangelistic group on Thursday night. Holistic cell groups make ministry effective for you and the church.
A typical cell group meeting will last for 90 minutes, with the time divided between the four-fold focus described above. Light refreshments are served as members arrive, and a time of fellowship follows each meeting. No two groups will be the same. You may rest assured that each group leader is prepared, cares for you, is accountable to the church elders, and will help you experience the love and power of Jesus when you participate in the group.
Each group is free to study what they choose, provided it is approved by the church eldership. However, most groups will connect their study to the preaching pastor's sermons in one of two ways:
A life response lesson - Written by the preaching pastor, a life response lesson expands upon the previous Sunday's sermon by reviewing and applying what was taught.
A discovery lesson - Using printed study materials, a discovery lesson allows the group to study ahead of the preaching pastor. For example, if the preaching text for the coming Sunday is John 1:1-3, the cell group will study the same passage during the week before the text is preached.
Cell lessons that are connected to the sermon in this manner allow the sermon to have a much greater impact in the life of each group member. The world's largest and most dynamic cell churches all connect the sermon to the cell lesson in one way or another.