Cell church

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You asked:
>Does anyone on this list attend a "cell church"? 

My Response:
Yes Michael, we started a home church just over two years ago.  (Home
church is just a step beyond most "cell church" models, in that the
overhead, expenses, and model of the "institutional" church are
dropped entirely.)   We formally left our home church in June to
devote all our energies in another area, but still maintain tight
relationship with our home church brothers and sisters.     And I
expect to be involved in more of the Lord's work in a New Testament
based church model (home church/cell church...whatever one calls it.)
in the future.  Meeting on the grounds of the New Testament assembly
isn't always easy;  it can be quite a challenge, but intensely
rewarding too!   

You stated:
>on a weekly basis and eventually these meetings will take the place
of  the mid-week service.

My Response:
Five out of six Spirit filled churches we've worked with in the past
20 years have had some form of meetings in the home.  

The first Spirit filled church where we were saved and filled with the
Holy Ghost  in the late 70's, never had, and likely never will have
home meetings of any shape or form.  

The second had a sucessful cell church program that was in addition to
one weeknight service in the church auditorium.  Their cell church
program eventually folded, as well as easily 80% of the church.  Among
other things, the home meetings were pretty much set with the agenda
from the top leadership.   They had originally planned for the cell
model to eventually replace the mid-week service.  It never did. (for
reasons I'll save for later.)

The third had a successful cell church program that literally was the
weeknight service, as this very church was started in someone's
basement a few years back.  In this particular case, home meetings
were normative from the start, and the home meetings varied a great
deal in content and purpose.  They called them "home groups"; 
although we live a great distance, we are still tight with these
people.  To get plugged in to this church, one had to get involved in
the home groups, as one would really be missing most of what this
church was about if they only went on Sunday.

The fourth church was entirely modeled around the idea that the home
meeting was THEE main event of being plugged into the church, and that
Sunday was secondary.  (I think most cell church models funnel the
emphasis opposite of this.)  For them, Sunday morning served the
purpose of being a celebration and teaching;  home meetings is where
they expect most ministry and relationships to be formed among people.
 Sunday was purposefully designed to be introductory for visitors as
well;  home groups were where one formed the bonds that keeps people
joined to the church.   And it was here that we had some of the most
awesome moves of the Holy Spirit in our living room just over two
years ago.  They have struggled a bit, but are following a successful
model of their parent church, which numbers several thousand.

The fifth church attempted home meetings, but apparently with not
great success.  Home meetings (aka cell church) require core committed
people willing to work;  they are still working on that, and are open
to the same.  The home meetings were very much secondary or less, than
the value placed on Sundays and Wednesday night.  As far as I know,
their cell meetings are on indefinite hold. 

The sixth Spirit filled church experience (and still are somewhat) was
with a home church.  (I prefer the term "New Testament" meeting, -not
home church.)  We worked in it concurrent with #5 above. (Which is
something I do not necessarily recommend.)  Unlike the previous
examples, our home church had no building, no overhead, no
professional clergy, and fewer of the traditions we as Pentecostals
inherited from Catholicism.  It is tough work.  And it's very "Book of
Acts".  And we had our problems.  (who doesn't?) And it was
nevertheless rewarding.  We still have a hand in this work, although
we do not currently make it our church home.  We met house to house,
around our county, rotating houses each month.  Of course, the locale,
and structure (or lack thereof) of the meeting say nothing about the
content of the meeting;  the Lord's wineskin cannot replace the Lord's
wine!

All of this touches on a often neglected subject:  ecclesiology. 
Ecclesiology is the "study of the church".  It is largely something
taken for granted in most Pentecostal circles;  The prevalent
Pentecostal ecclesiology is by far, something inherited from our
pre-Asuza street days, ...all the way back to Catholicism.  (And
that's not to suggest that it's inherently evil or bad.)   We feel the
Lord has indeed called us to be a part of this, the next
"reformation", and partial restoration of Apostolic truth.   And that
in no way is to cast traditional Pentecostalism in a negative light; 
only to bring on more of Jesus' light! 

So, with regard to your new cell church program:  go for it!!  
Pitfalls await you; so do immense rewards!

Yours in the Holy Ghost,
Glenn Turner

recommended reading:  http://www.home-church.org/present/start.htm

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