UNDERSTANDING THE SEVEN COMPONENTS OF THE CELL MEETING

Each cell group meets at least three times per month. Two of the times are focused on the cell lesson that the cell leader prepares from the Sunday morning message for that week. The other time is focused on corporate prayer. When the group meets the tow times for regular cell lesson, the meeting is comprised of seven components. Sometimes, these seven components are broken down in minutes on the actual lesson. However, there is some limited liberty to extend some of the areas depending upon the dynamics of the particular group meeting on any given day. However, the maximum time to conduct all seven components is 90 minutes. The seven cell meeting components and the reasons for them are as follows: 1. Icebreaker Purpose: The icebreaker is used to create an atmosphere where people can feel comfortable, by sharing with the group information about themselves that may or may not come up during casual conversation. It is used to build bridges between people of different backgrounds and thereby connecting people to other people. These icebreaker questions are prepared in advance when the cell lesson is arranged. However, if the cell leader has different icebreaker question that he or she feels will result in a greater openness in group members, he of she may use their own icebreaker question. 2. Praise and worship Purpose: The praise and worship portion of the cell meeting creates an atmosphere where people can connect to God and bring the presence of God into the group setting. During the praise and worship time, cell leaders can either use a CD and have everyone sing along; or, if someone in the group can play an instrument, they may do so and lead the group in some choruses. 3. Offering Purpose: The offering time gives people an opportunity to further connect to God and extend their worship of God by giving of their finances in the small group setting. Each cell group will need offering bags and envelopes, which can be found in the cell leader cabinet. Encourage the people to give with a verse or two on giving or through testimonies of how God provided for needs. Pray over the offering and believe God’s Word concerning the finances of the member’s of the group. On each offering bag, please write the following and turn into the church: • Leader’s name and thee name of the group (i.e., Cell Group, Prayer Cell, etc.) • Date of the meeting • District 1 or 2 4. Announcements Purpose: The announcement portion of the cell meeting allows people to connect to the church by making them aware of events and activities in the church and in the cell ministry. The announcements are usually placed in the cell lesson. However, as a cell leader, any announcement that is in the church’s bulletin may be announced at the group meeting. 5. Missionary Update Purpose: The missionary update helps people get a heart for missions and the word by connecting with one or more of ORCC’s missionaries. Each cell leader will need to choose one or more missionaries from the many that ORCC supports. The cell leader may opt to be the mission’s representative or he or she may have someone in the group be the mission’s representative. This individual is the liaison between the missionary and the group. They may initiate a letter that the group signs. They may send a care package to the missionary on his or her birthday. If the missionary sends a letter to the group, this mission’s representative can read the letter at the group meeting and when it comes time to pray, the group can pray over their missionary each week. 6. Lesson Purpose: The lesson gives people an opportunity to go to the Word of God and connect to the Word and apply it to their lives. The lessons are an extension of what was preached on Sunday mornings at ORCC and are written by the cell leaders. The key to the cell lessons are taking the topic that was preached Sunday morning and addressing it in greater application in the cell group. Since a majority of the group members will have heard the message on Sunday, it provides a framework for group members to discuss the main points of the message. If someone has trouble or is wrestling with something in the message that God has been challenging them with, they can bring these questions up in the group and allow the group to shed additional light on the matter. Additionally, it provides an opportunity to further solidify the Word of God in people’s hearts so that they can be doers of the Word and not just hears only (James 1:22). The church is more interested in people learning through facilitation then they are learning through teaching. Therefore, as a cell leader, your role in the cell lesson is to become a facilitator of discussion and helping people discover truth rather than be a teacher and point out the truth. Most people have no problem with basic teaching. However, the church wants to encourage cell leaders to either facilitate or mix facilitation in with your teaching. Facilitation involves changes in people’s values. It brings to the forefront their own stance and feelings on a certain topic and allows them and others to either challenge or reinforce it. Therefore, it is imperative that every member gets an opportunity to share in the discussion. Difference between facilitating and teaching: Teaching • Provides information • “Fan” communication, back and fourth between the teacher and the student. • Logical conclusions are pointed out. • Feedback comes through written or oral testing memorized information. The Three parts to facilitation: A. Provide an Experience In the place of teaching, let the group discover something by experiencing it. B. Get feedback from the group • Ask the group, “What did you gain from this experience?” or “What new insights do we have?” Or, “What conclusions have you come to?” Use who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. • Facilitation allows the group to focus together on the process of discovering practical application to biblical truth. • Don’t be afraid of silence. Allow the members time to formulate and express answers to the questions. If no one says anything, rephrase the question. C. Summarize the group’s conclusion and identify personal action points. This brings the group to a place of life application of the biblical truth of what was discussed. There are some good summary questions: • “What can you do this week to put into practice what you just discussed?” • “What will you carry away from this experience or this lesson?” • “How will you apply this information?” 7. Prayer Purpose: The prayer portion of the cell meeting is the final connection that people can make to God by surrendering their wills to Him and asking Him to enable them to put into action all that they learned during the cell group meeting. The cell group meetings have two focuses when it comes to prayer at the end of the meeting. The first is for the cell member edification by praying in agreement prayer for immediate needs. This can be done breaking up into groups to prayer over specific needs and over anything else that may have been triggered during the cell lesson. Sometimes these breakouts can be in two’s or three’s, men and women, or even hot seat prayer. The second focus is on evangelism and praying for one’s neighbors. The cell ministry utilizes the lighthouse concept from the Mission America Prayer Movement and praying for one’s neighbors. With their own home in the middle, each person or family prayers for the two (2) homes (or apartments, condos, etc.) on the right and the two (2) homes (or apartments, condos, etc.) on the left and also for the five (5) across the street.