How is a Cell Group different that a Sunday School or Bible Study class?

          A Bible study class meets on a Sunday morning.  The subject that morning is Matthew 28:18-20, the Great Commission.  The teacher talks about Jesus' command to reach the lost and the class discusses some of their past difficulties and successes with sharing the Gospel.  The member's are encouraged and challenged in their walk and they leave to go to a Worship Service or to go home.  During the week the believers share Christ on their own, in the context of a F.A.I.T.H. team, or not at all.  For the most part they are ‘fishing’ for men on their own, their success depends on many factors most of them including their courage, conviction, and knowledge.

          A Cell Group meets in a member's home on a Friday night.  The members greet each other and discuss some of their past success with sharing the Gospel.  They take time to worship together; asking God to give them a heart for the lost.  The member's open up the Word and discuss Jesus' Great Commission.  They go around and share their struggles with sharing the Gospel due to certain fears or past experiences.  Members take time to pray for each other, they pray for their lost friends, and then they plan an evangelistic event for the next week.  During the following week the group interacts as they plan their fellowship, invite their friends and neighbors, and keep each other accountable.  The members are functioning together as a group and they are fishing with a net.  Each member uses his/her spiritual gift to make their ‘fishing’ expedition successful and their success depends on their obedience and not any specialized skills or knowledge.

           Cell Groups take the place of many different programs of the church.  They are designed to help believers "unlock" the potential of Biblical Community.  When they are done right they are very effective, but they are ultimately not a 'magic bullet' - nothing and no program ever is the perfect solution for the Christian life.  If a Cell Group is spiritually dead it will be no more effective than your average Bible study.  So why Cell Groups and why now?