[Notes in square brackets for the session leader only – not to be read out]
Prepare to celebrate the Lord's Supper. Ensure you have some bread and juice to share around the group.
If your financial needs were already met, what job would you choose to do?
[Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. Ask the group to take a few minutes to quietly consider the price Jesus paid for our sins. Then, as the bread and cup are passed around, invite people to give thanks as they feel led.]
We have arrived at our final training session before you go out to lead a group of your own. It's a bit like learning to drive a car. As a learner you grasp the basics, but your real learning begins when you get out on your own on the open road. You are about to get out on the ‘open road'…
God has called us to be fruitful in his service: "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last." (John 15:16) The way to greatest fruitfulness is through multiplication. This has been God's way from the very beginning. To Adam and Eve God said, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it" (Genesis 1:28, ESV). And to Noah and his family he said, "As for you, be fruitful and increase in number, multiply on the earth and increase upon it." (Genesis 9:7) We all understand how this works in the natural realm, but how does it apply in spiritual leadership?
The first thing is to look on every member of your group as a potential leader. Learn to look past present weaknesses and character struggles; believe in the power of God and in his ability to transform your members' lives. Encourage them to work through difficulties and not to give up.
A second principle is to test a person before inviting them to be trained as a leader. People are tested by giving them temporary responsibilities and seeing how well they do. Also, the trainee should not be a new convert – they should have at least a couple of years experience as a Christian – but don't leave them waiting 20 years for an opportunity to serve! (See 1 Timothy 3:6,10).
When you feel a member of your group is ready to train as a leader, discuss it with your senior leaders and your Cell Coach first. Then invite the person to become your apprentice and to work through the Cell Leader equipping modules (section E8) with you as their mentor, and allow them to assist you in leading your group. Delegate responsibilities to them at a pace they can cope with – avoid giving too much responsibility all at once. If senior church leaders offer this training course, arrange for your apprentice to take part. But ‘on-the-job training' can start at any time. And when their training is complete and they begin leading their own group, you maintain your supportive relationship by becoming Cell Coach to the new Cell Leader.
Why should a healthy group multiply? A group will be healthy as long as it keeps in balance all five of God's purposes for the church. A healthy group will love God and put him first; love one another as family; serve others with their gifts; be growing in godly character; and always seeking to reach people who are spiritually lost. When a group is meeting people's deepest needs, and members are finding love and purpose, others will want to join! Our task is to make connections with unbelievers and welcome them when they come.
So why multiply? Because once a group exceeds about 12 in regular attendance you start to lose ‘small-group dynamics'. No longer can everyone be heard and known, and meetings become less intimate and more formal. To keep the advantages of a small group we must multiply!
Firstly, make multiplying your group your number one goal from the very beginning. Multitudes all around us need Christ, and multiplying will enable us to reach more of them. As already discussed, you must train apprentices. Without new leaders there can be no multiplication.
There are basically two ways to multiply a cell group:
1) The group grows large enough to divide into two, with the original leader taking half the group and the apprentice the other half. This is usually called Mother-Daughter Multiplication.
2) Alternatively, you train one or more apprentices then send them out to begin a new group from scratch – perhaps in their own home or the home of one of your contacts. This approach is called Cell Planting and can produce faster growth than Mother-Daughter Multiplication.
The process of multiplication can be unsettling for some people especially as good friends could end up in different groups. The idea is to do all you can to preserve natural networks of relationships, but also remind people that sacrifices may be necessary for the sake of the gospel. The relationship between the original Cell Leader and the new Cell Leader is preserved as you now fulfil the role of Cell Coach to support the new leader.
Question 1 Share one thing you have learned during this training course that you think will help you be a better servant of Jesus Christ. [Try to get a response from each person present.]
Question 2 Multiplying leaders' requires you to make an investment of time and energy in the life of someone else. It will involve sacrifice. How have you felt when others have done this for you?
Question 3 How do you feel about the prospect of leading a group of your own?
In two's or three's, share current needs and reasons for being thankful; pray for one another and give thanks together.
As a group, give thanks to Jesus for his kingdom, pray for those on your Outreach List, and pray for the new groups planned to begin soon.
[Read 1 Corinthians 15:58 to close:]
"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain."
Cell Leader Training 12 - Version 2 Oct 15