[Notes in square brackets for the session leader only – not to be read out]
Arrange for some bread and juice to be available at the meeting venue so the group can celebrate the Lord's Supper.
Name one quality you appreciate in a friend?
[Ask someone to read 1 Corinthians 10:16-17. Ask 2 people to give thanks for Christ's sacrifice for us – one for the bread and the other for the "wine". Explain to the group that the first person will pray, then you'll pass round and eat the bread. After a pause, the second person will pray and you'll pass round and drink "the cup". When everyone's finished, bring the time to a close by praying briefly yourself.]
At the end of the last of the last session we saw how important the mission to seek and to save the lost is to God. Although we ourselves cannot save anyone, so also no one will be saved unless we play our part in God's plan to reconcile the world to himself. It is impossible for us to claim to follow Jesus yet not be involved in his mission to rescue mankind.
Reaching out to those who don't yet know Jesus is a really important part of why we exist as a church. So it follows naturally that the mission of every cell group is to create new groups.
Cell group evangelism is relational (i.e. focused on building relationships), continuous (i.e. we do it every week), realistic (i.e. people can move toward Jesus one small step at a time), and persistent (i.e. we don't easily give up!). It is based on the understanding that everyone lives within a network of personal relationships, and we are seeking to use these networks to reach many who might otherwise never hear the gospel.
In a cell group we can reach out together as a team – the strengths and weaknesses of each member combine to make us much more effective than any individual member would be. And the Christian community we share together is itself a powerful witness to visitors. As the Lord Jesus said, "…all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)
So how do we do it? As we have already seen, the foundation for cell group evangelism is the group Outreach List. Each member tries to name 3 local unbelievers – starting with those nearest to us and those most open to the gospel – and we pray regularly for these people. We then use the Witness/Works Time to reach out to these people in various ways.
Here are some of the things we can do:
Above all, we must keep on praying! We pray, not only for people to be saved, but we can ask the Lord to direct us in understanding people's needs and knowing how to reach out appropriately to each one.
Question 1 What have been your best and worst experiences of Christian evangelism up to now?
Question 2 What do you think are the barriers to effective evangelism in our church and in our community?
Question 3 [Ask one person to read Mark 12:31 and another to read Galatians 6:10.] What ideas for service can you think of that would be relevant to the needs of our community? Which two of these would be most appropriate for a cell group to try?
Split into groups of 2 or 3, share any special needs, then pray for each other – both for help to be a good witness and for any other needs mentioned.
As you will appreciate, it is not possible for new people to join this Leadership Training Group, even though we are trying to mimic a regular cell group as closely as possible. However, because the intention of this training is that once trained, as many of you as possible will be leading your own group, it is highly appropriate that the people we are reaching out to now be invited to join one of the new groups once they start.
[Conclude the meeting with a time of group prayer for the people on your Outreach List.]
Cell Leader Training 6 - Version 2 Oct 15