MAKING A CASE FOR THE CELL CHURCH
The Very. Rev. Michael Mukhwana
I salute you saints! This Sunday marks the start of our Home cell month at ASCK. In light of this, I will in today’s article attempt to present a case for why congregations should transition from being, churches with small groups to becoming churches of small groups. I do this because I strongly believe that there is clear and convincing proof from a theological, sociological and organizational perspective, for building a church of small groups.
The arguments from theology prove beyond doubt that God’s nature is communal. The theological case depends on three basic ideas. First, God exists in community; he has forever existed as and will into eternity remain three persons in One. Second, God was incarnate in Christ Jesus, whose transformational relationships offer a model you cannot ignore. Third, Jesus ‘dreams’ of oneness for all Christians, which is why we must move ‘our’ church toward His vision.
Sociologically, we should accept the case for small groups because God created us to crave for relationship. The biblical record shows that true community offers four blessings:
- We get strength for life’s storms,
- We receive wisdom for making important decisions,
- We experience accountability, which is vital to spiritual growth, and
- We find acceptance that helps us repair our emotional wounds, we receive and give love, ministry and service.
The organizational evidence for this transition depends on two principles: first, every church will best meet each member’s needs by honoring what is often called a “span of care”. This principle ensures that everybody is cared for, but no one cares for too many people.
Second, the church cannot function as God intends unless people see themselves as members of one body. Each part must take responsibility so that Christ’s body can do its work in the world. Only when everyone works together with the others, will each life be transformed.
Given this overwhelming evidence for the cell church, we appeal to every member of the Cathedral to find a smaller family [cell] to belong to, for it makes every difference to find this unique family! This perhaps is the main single objective for devoting one whole month to the home cell and pastoral care ministry. May the Lord God Almighty richly bless you as you seriously consider making that crucial decision to belong!
The Very Rev. Canon Michael Mukhwana
PROVOST