 Okay, so for some of us, you know, who've been leading a life group or cell group or who are part of cell groups, you know, a lot of this, you know, will be something that you can actually translate into action in the sense you can put to practice in your own cell groups. You can do these things, especially, you know, some of the maybe not the vision part of it. But if you really want the cell group to be here, to be something that disciples people, then you can make that change. You can make that transition from having just a meeting where people come, listen and go to make it a cell group where people can be discipled. Okay, so maybe you can even start something, right, if that is, it is not there, then maybe you can even start something and, and that can be, you know, that can be something that can be really powerful and people coming to know their destiny in God, discovering their plans, purposes, etc. Right, so then you might, you might think, okay, my church does not have, you know, something like this in place, right, so, so what can I do, right, my church does not have something like this. So, you know, with regard to, you know, the content part of it, you know, what do we discuss, what do we, you know, what do we have as a content, what do we learn. Okay, now you can, whatever you have learned, you know, till now, from Bible College, you can continue to use that, you know, you can do a, maybe a study on faith, maybe you can share some of the messages, share some of the, you know, the MP3s, the sermons, you can pick and choose whatever, you know, series are there and say, okay, this, you know, you listen to this message, and let's learn together, right, it can be, if you want to do a book study, then that also is there, right, we have a study on Corinthians, we have study on Ephesians, and that is also there, and so you can pick and choose that, and, and maybe it can be a topic, you know, who we are in Christ, it can be about faith, it can be about anything that you choose, and you can do that through the year, right, regularly, and it can be a, it can be a blessing for those who are, you know, just starting off a new believer, and, you know, you can even do foundations with people, right, foundations, maybe, you know, maybe there are, for a new believer, you know, getting them grounded in these things, so that can be really good, or if it's, you know, if it's a group which is, you know, like people who are kind of mature believers, or, you know, they've been, they're just maturing, you know, then even topics like, you know, the prophetic healing and deliverance and all these things can be, you know, can be used, like, so the entire group learns together, is equipped together, and you can do that, right, but my only thing is like, you know, if you're going to be inviting people from your church, then you need to, you know, you need to let the pastor know, okay, don't do anything on the side, you know, if the pastor says, no, you can't be inviting church people, you know, I don't want you to do this, then don't do it, right, you maybe invite others, friends, you know, others who are, and don't do it as something part of the church, you can do it as something which is, that you're just gathering together and learning God's word together, right, so those are some things that you could do, right, okay, so let's continue where we left off about, yeah, just, sorry, just skipped a bit, yeah, about some of the things to avoid, right, we were looking at pitfalls to avoid when you're leading us, so the last thing we looked at was not to become intimidated, not to give the leadership of the life group, of the cell group to another person who might be more gifted, who might seem to be more experienced, and who's maybe older, etc., in the faith, well, you don't have to do that, you don't, and do not do that, right, because, you know, as a church, as a church has appointed you as a leader, the church has sort of appointed the other person as a leader, right, it's appointed you as a leader, which means that, you know, they have supported you, and encouraged you, and trained you, equipped you to carry out, so, you know, you don't be insecure about it, right, okay, then the other thing that we need to see is, maintain a balance between, well, the outward journey, meaning the outward-looking perspective of the group, and the inward-looking thing, you know, see, most of the time what happens is, typically, in a cell group, it can be very inward-looking, okay, this is what I learned, this is what is happening in my life, you know, these are the challenges that I'm facing, so it's all about us, what we are going through, which is a very important part, right, and so, we are dealing with that, maybe, some of the things, you know, praying for that, dealing with that, overcome challenges, and, you know, overcome, maybe, certain, certain unique things, right, we need a need for breakthrough, et cetera, so it can be very inward-looking, like we are inward-focused, but also, we need to maintain a balance between that and looking out, outward-looking, what can we do to impact, what can we do to reach out, okay, now, there will never come a point where we are completely, you know, dealt with all the personal challenges, or, you know, completely dealt with all the issues, and then, you know, some of us might have that kind of a thing, okay, I'll first, you know, finish all this, and let the group come to a place where they are completely free of all these challenges, and then we will reach out, and then we will look out, right, the thing is, it has to go hand in hand, and as the Lord works in us, as we are yielded to Him, submitted to Him, and as He works in us, maybe a work of cleansing, refining, you know, there are certain things that we should not compromise on, right, personal purity, living in holiness, not compromising our walk with God, our testimony, personal testimony, you know, those are some things that, yes, we need to, you know, we can't compromise on, we need to deal with, but there are other things that we are contending for, right, breakthroughs in our lives, and maybe finances, maybe work, maybe ministry, and maybe, you know, family relationships, and all that, well, all that is happening, you know, the other thing also needs to go hand in hand, right, when God gave the commission to the disciples to go make disciples of all nations, because it wasn't to a perfect group of people who had every answer, who had everything in place, right, it was to a group of people who were filled with the Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses, right, so that does not mean that they did not have areas in their lives that still needed working, right, that still needed work, and that still needed repair, they had, right, but it was to a group of people who were filled with the Spirit and who were radically enough in their faith to pursue the Lord Jesus no matter what, right, so it was to such a group of people that the Lord gave the commission and the mandate to go and make disciples, so also with us, you know, as cell group leaders and as members in a cell group, we will never, you know, if you're going to wait for a time when, you know, everything is fine, everything is settled personally, and then we will reach out, then that's, you know, that's not going to happen, right, it needs to be, it needs to go hand in hand, right, okay, the other thing that we need to see, let me just share the screen, yeah, the other thing that we need to, okay, the other thing that we need to see is that, you know, always let there be a, you know, you be discerning and don't allow your family relations to suffer, you know, so typically what is happening, we are opening our homes for hosting, you know, in most cases, right, in most cases, the scenarios is the home is used as a venue place for the cell group meeting, so, so the family is there, other members of the family are there, now the, the enemy is a way attempt to, you know, bring in sewing discord, bringing in division, bringing in other things in order to disrupt, okay, so you have your guard up, right, you have your guard up, and do not let the fam, don't neglect the responsibility that come, you know, your responsibility towards the family, which is, which is quite important, right, don't say that, okay, I'm doing ministry and I'm, and I'm serving guard in this, we're doing important thing, therefore, you know, I can just neglect the family, you know, family is guards design, and, you know, we are part of a family, and there could be certain needs in the family, and so don't neglect that, right, treat that as a priority, so family relationships, family responsibilities, all that, you know, let it go hand in hand, okay, and also, while we pray for God's protection over the family, even as we open up our homes as a venue for the cell group meetings, right, pray for God's protection, God's blood protection over every family member, okay, and lastly, I mean, there could be other things also, you know, what we've listed here is that don't let it become a very, you know, program based cell group in the sense, okay, you have the same thing, you know, coming and doing the same thing, and, you know, the same activity, and let it not become a routine, right, let it have the freshness of the Spirit, let it have the freshness of the Spirit, maybe, you know, one day you just wanted to have just testimonies, right, go with it, or maybe one day, you just want to spend time in prayer, you know, interceding for the city, and just go with the flow of the Spirit, right, have a plan, say, okay, these are things that we need to do, but, you know, let that always be submitted to the leading of the Spirit, right, let the, like, even in the discussions and, you know, while you're facilitating, be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, be sensitive to the direction of the Holy Spirit, and what the Holy Spirit wants to bring in to that aspect, so that will bring in a freshness, right, so even though the whole discussion might happen for maybe half an hour, maybe 40 minutes, but it can be very enriching time, because of the insights that the Holy Spirit brings, or puts in our hearts, and then we share that, or being sensitive, you know, to the leading of the Spirit, maybe, you know, one person has not been opening up at all, not been sharing at all, but then, you know, you feel prompted and led to, you know, ask that, or make that person or draw out that person in order to share, and then what that person shares is a blessing to the entire group, right, so things like that, so be led by the Spirit, don't let routine become a mere routine, don't let it become a very, you know, a program-based cell group, okay. So, these are some things that we need to avoid, right, these are some pitfalls to avoid, some dangers to avoid while leading a cell group meeting, or being a cell group leader, okay. Well, you know, this comes with, you know, having a cell group ministry, if this kind of a model of cell group ministry has certain administrative responsibilities, okay. So, there are, while we have the spiritual side, okay, like, I think we've studied the church administration and so on, where is there, where there is the spiritual side, there is also the administrative side of the ministry, which, when you neglect affects the spiritual side of ministry, right. So, the administrative side really enhances, provides a structure, like on which the spiritual ministry can go even further, right. So, there is an administrative side, like what are some of those things that they could, the church could have a leader overseeing the entire cell group ministry, okay. Many names can be different titles, names can be given, like a cell pastor, maybe associate cell pastor, the life group coordinator, cell group coordinator and so on, okay. The thing is that they could, the church could appoint someone to oversee, or it could be maybe one of the own life group leaders themselves who are, you know, who will be overseeing other life groups, okay. So, what happens is that, so the, who was appointed by the church, the coordinator will be in touch with the life groups, you know, maybe life group leaders, right. So, if you're a cell group leader, the life group, cell group coordinator, cell group pastor will maybe give a call once a week to find out how things are, did the meeting happen, did it not happen. So, this is the administrative side of it, okay. So, to know, okay, how regular has been the meeting, etc. And, you know, and also it can happen both ways, you know, you can, as a cell group leader, you can also draw help from the, you know, the cell group pastor or the cell coordinator saying, okay, you know, I need help with this, you know, can you do this, I need some resources on this, can you help. I had these kind of questions, which we said we will look into, but I've not been able to find some answers, so can you help with that, right. So, this is the kind of discussion and this is the kind of problems that we are having with this person, you know, with, you know, this nature, problem of this nature in our cell group. So, how can I sort that, you know, how can I help. So, you can always have those kind of discussions with the cell pastor, so don't neglect that, right. So, this is the administrative side of it. Sometimes there could be a feedback form or a report, right. Now, we don't have to be, you know, we scared of the term report. You know, it's just a simple putting together of information to submission of information saying, okay, this is what happened in the lab group meeting. Okay, so it's like a feedback form. Okay, so a sample of that is there in the, in your notes, which has, okay, date of the meeting, cell leader's name, what was it discussed, okay, names of the people attending. So, if need be, this can be used as well, or it can be simply a, you know, a WhatsApp message saying, okay, these many people attended, these were the people who couldn't make it, and these are some prayer points, these were some testimonies and so on. If there is nothing, you know, there's no, okay, we didn't really pray for healing or, you know, we didn't have a report of healing or a testimony. That's fine, you don't have to mention it, right. Okay, back to some of the Holy Spirit, gifts of the Spirit and so on. So, it's a, it gives the leader a picture about what is happening, okay, what is happening in the cell group, right. So, some things are healthy, maybe some things are not healthy. So, so the cell group can actually, cell group leader or cell group coordinator can suggest some corrective measures and can suggest some things to improve the cell group meetings and it will be useful, right, very, very useful. So, so that's the, you know, the importance and for the cell group pastor or cell coordinator, this is important. This kind of a feedback, this kind of a report is important for a person to know how the cell ministry is functioning, right. So, what is happening best for them to know and also to know about challenges, how they can help, right. So, this is something that that is administrative side of it and, you know, like when you have people who are most of the cell group leaders or I would say all are actually volunteers, right. Volunteers in the sense they are not staff of the church, they have their own regular occupation, they have their work, they maybe they might even have their own ministry, etc. And, and, you know, they are cell group leaders, they were trained appointed by the church, therefore, yes, time is a constrained and so on so mindful of all that, right mindful of all that. But the thing is not to neglect the administrative side of the cell group ministry. Okay, it could be a small report, it could be a small text, and they would, they could also be a meeting or a, you know, or a zoom call or online meeting of all the cell group leaders led by the pastor. Right. Just to find out what's happening is to pray over what's happening and so on. So, to do it will require some amount of sacrifice, right, because it, this is part of your personal time, but to not neglect that to be part of that and not disengage from that. Right. So this will be helpful, useful, and, and then, you know, everything goes on smoothly. Right. So this is the administrative side which is very much required. Okay. So, how does one become a cell church? Right. See, one thing is that there definitely requires a change. If, let's say, this ministry, cell group ministry of leadership or discipleship is something that is, you know, that you've found to be effective and you're saying, okay, I need to now put this in my church and I need to bring it into my church, you know, as a, as a pastor, I want to bring it in. You know, as a senior pastor, I want to, you know, or a person was planted the church, I want to bring it into my church. Okay. So if that is the case, then we need to understand that it involves change. Okay. It involves change. You know, if, if we are always thinking about programs, meetings, et cetera, you know, where the entire church needs to come. Right. Everything is run on programs, then we need to change that because a cell group or becoming a cell church would be a kind of opposite of that. Okay. Or we could take an approach and say, okay, what are those important things where we would have the entire church participate? And what are the things where, you know, while we have won the entire church to participate? And how can we bring in the cell church model, you know, without defeating that entire church's meeting for certain programs, certain meetings, we're not entirely doing away with that. But, you know, so how can we have both, you know, those are some things that you need to think about and plan because sometimes what happens is like for the small group ministry, it can slip in the importance of whatever the church is doing. Right. And that should not be so because it's about discipleship. Right. The events are important. The programs, the big ones where the entire church gathers together, you know, those, those are important because there are some things that you cannot do in a cell group. That's, you know, that's happening in a big measure, big level where the entire church can participate. So there are some things that do happen that way. But at the same time, you know, the discipleship aspect should not, should not slip in importance. Okay. So that means it requires change in the way we are doing and change to, to start doing things differently. Okay. Which means maybe, you know, we didn't have raising up leaders was not a part of thing at all. Maybe, you know, giving responsibilities to leaders was not something that we used to do as maybe, you know, you're saying, okay, as a church, as a pastor, I was doing everything myself. And now, maybe the change for such a church would be to raise up other leaders, equip other leaders, and, and give them the responsibility, trust them, equip them, give them, right. So this raising up leaders, training up leaders, maybe that's a change. Right. So when we have many pillars, many leaders in the church, the church only becomes stronger. Right. It does not become weaker. We raise up leaders in the right way. Right. So, which means that people are still, people are part of the vision, they are connected, they're engaged. And you're, you know, the, you're raising, raising up the leaders in the right way. Right. Then, nobody will do something which damages the church. Right. So because the fear of raising up leaders is that okay, what if they, they, you know, once they, once we give them a place of prominence, when we, once we recognize them as leaders, what if they do something, you know, against the church in the sense, maybe start their own thing, take people away, you know, all those kinds of apprehensions, fears might be there. Right. But if the leaders are raised up in the right way, right, with the right example, with the right heart, then that will rarely happen, because, you know, even if you see some wrong motivations and, you know, having a place of to correct them in the right manner. Right. So then, this, these things will not happen. So, so, you know, it's a thing that we need to look at. Okay. So it becomes a change in perspective. Okay. As a church pastor, as a leader, I need to bring in some changes. Okay. Now here, I mean, as you go through, you see that, okay, the difference between, okay, either you can make it, make cell church or cell ministry the only way to function in the sense there are no programs, right, all equipping everything happens through the cell groups, which is, which is possible. In the sense, okay, let's say you want to have a, let's say, for example, in the APC, like we have a weekend school, right, which is happening, I think this week, this Saturday, weekend school of healing and deliverance. Okay. So now, if you can go all the way saying the, the, the weekend school will happen through cell groups, which means every leader of, of the cell group is equipped, right, to, to conduct that workshop or weekend school. Okay. So which means that there is a bigger reach, right? See, not many people would come to one place, but whereas in the life group, in the cell group, this can happen. Okay. So that is one way to look at it. Okay. I will do everything through the cell group ministry. If it has a weekend school, okay, through the cell group ministry. If there's a workshop through the cell group ministry, now that, now that takes a lot of like single-mindedness and focus and training of the leaders. It's going to take time. It's a process. It, because the leaders have to be trained. You know, all these things, they have to be trained. So there's a lot, a lot of investment of time and the very clearly laid out process and commitment from the leaders and all that. Well, it is, is it difficult? Yes. But is it possible? True. It is possible. Yes, it is possible. Right. So, so that is one way of doing it. The other way of doing it is, okay, we have some things that are, you know, that are main programs. We will run it where the church will come together and we will give equal importance to cell groups as well. Okay. Here are some things. Cell groups will be for discipleship. Here are some things that will be run through cell groups. Here are these things that we will run, you know, as events and meetings and programs. Okay. So to make that distinction. Okay. Okay. So the transition will happen. The change will happen, but it will take time. Okay. Okay. What is the essence or the main thing of a cell church? Okay. So we're going to look at a few things. What are those, you know, the core things, the essence of the life church. Of the, sorry, the cell, cell church, life group or a cell church. The first thing we see is about godly relationships, right, relationships. The heart and life of the church is the cell. And we know that cell is a basic part of the church. It is not a program. It's, it is life itself. It's a lifestyle. It's the way the church is done. So it at the core of it is relationships, godly relationships, godly fellowship. That's the, that's the core of it. Because otherwise they, you know, this won't happen. You're learning together, you're joining together. And so one needs to have strong, good, strong, healthy relationship with others, with each other. Right. So, so that's, that's one thing. The second thing you see is that participation. Right. So everyone is participating. Well, the everyone in the church, right, is participating is being part of a life group. Then there is, you know, there is effectiveness. Right. If, if, you know, that's, that's something that we need to work at over and over again. Okay, because people would say, Okay, I don't have time. Right. And they, they could be true. I mean, it's a very, you know, that's a fact. Right. Because maybe people are working in a BPO in the night. And there is no cell group, which is having a cell meeting at that time, they can be part of. So, you know, when they say, Okay, we don't have time, we can't be part of this. It's inconvenient, which is a fact. Right. Because so, so which means that we need to have cell groups, which are convenient for these kinds of people who have this kind of work hours. Right. Only then we can increase the participation of every member in the church in cell groups and getting them connected. And, and so that's the challenge. That's the challenge of getting people connected to cell groups. Okay, maybe time, maybe work, maybe distance sometimes. Right. People are saying that in the place where I am staying, there is no cell group in the neighborhood, there is no cell group. Now I cannot travel one hour or 45 minutes one way to be part of a cell group. And it's, it's difficult for me to do that regularly. So if there's a cell by where I can maybe travel four kilometers, five kilometers, I don't mind, but I cannot travel like for 45 minutes to be part of a cell group. I find it very difficult. Right. So, and also because of work timing and all that, I cannot travel that way. Right. So, which is again a fact, which is realistic. So these challenges need to be overcome. Maybe a cell group has to be started in that neighborhood. Right. Maybe someone, so all this is going to, you know, going to be a challenge, right. You need to find someone who is, who is willing to be a cell group leader, willing to be trained and once that person is trained, I'm sorry, once that person is trained to, to appoint that person, you know, in that area in that group, maybe he's, maybe that person is willing to sacrifice, you know, go there and be the cell group meeting, which is, which is great. Right. Maybe for a season can do that till the cell group is functioning till the person from the neighborhood is appointed as a cell group leader. So all these things are there that, you know, people need to have a grip off saying okay. And also, people need to understand the every member of the church needs to understand that I'm not here just attending church. Right. I'm not here just to attend, you know, what we see in Ephesians four, where the five-fold ministry exists in order to equip the church for, equip the saints for ministry. Okay, so when there is, when there is, you know, this equipping of the saints for the work of ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ and when that happens, not everybody is happy. Right. Not everybody is happy. Not everybody has the same perspective. Everybody, you know, people might say, I just want to attend the service and go. I don't want to be trained in any way. I don't want to be, but people need to be taught in order to come to a place of understanding. Hey, this is what God wants. It's not that this church wants, but this is what Jesus wants. You love Jesus. You read his word. You worship Jesus. You know, you're sincere about coming to church and worshipping the Lord every Sunday. But this is what the Lord wants. This is what he has said in his word that you, as a believer, you are a disciple of the Lord, as a disciple of the Lord Jesus. He has called you to disciple others. Right. And for doing that, you need to be equipped. Right. And you need to come to a place of understanding, being equipped, being trained in order to be released to do what God wants you to do. So that will involve sacrifice. That will involve investing of time. But this is what God wants. It's not a program of the church, but this is what God really wants. Right. So that will, when people have that understanding, then that will increase the participation. Right. Saying, okay, I'm going to be part of the cell group because I need to grow in the word. I need to be equipped. I need a place where I can fellowship with others. I can learn. I can, you know, journey with others. So they also, I need these Godly friendships and so on. So they also understand. Right. So, you know, being equipped to do the work of ministry. Right. So then the participation increases. Right. I cannot just be a church attending person, but I need to be witnessing a teaching someone who's using what God has given. Right. So all that understanding, when there's a conviction by the Holy Spirit in their hearts, then there is more participation. So, which is, again, the core essence of a cell church, a church that is having or which is moving in this kind of a model of cell ministry. Okay. So relationships, participation, then there is empowering. Okay. So empowering. What is it? Again, Ephesians 4 talks about equipping the saints for ministry. Now with the equipping also comes the empowering and the authority where we empower the people in order to go minister, we empower raising up the leaders and empower them so that they can, you know, they can maybe start their own cell groups and so on. So not just trained but also empowered. What is the difference? The difference is you are, you know, maybe appointed. Right. And said, okay, you have the permission from the church, the commissioning from the church in order to go and start a cell group and minister in a cell group and so on. So then they are empowered as leaders, not just trained as leaders but empowered as leaders with the backing of the local church in order to be part of that vision in leading a cell group. So what happens if you just train people but not give them an opportunity? They don't have any outlet. Right. They just trained and but there is no opportunity to, you know, to be as to whatever they've learned or whatever they've received in training to actually put into practice. There is no opportunity. Right. So there needs to be an empowering where, you know, where the cell leaders are trained and also empowered in order to be, you know, be part of that cell church, right, or fulfill that vision of the cell church. Right. Okay. So that's something. Then focus. Focus is on the Lord Jesus. Focus is on depending on the Holy Spirit. Right. So that is always there. Outreach and multiplication. That is also a very foundational part of the cell church. Networking. Right. Servant leadership, helping one another, being part of, you know, maybe certain cell groups can work together. So this is also something which is foundational for cell groups. And the, this is very, very important, you know, adaptable structures in the sense. You know, when we have certain things in place, like structures in place, now it needs to be flexible. Okay. So it needs to be adaptable to the culture to the society to the kind of challenges that people might have. Okay. Now, let's say, you know, in a place like, you know, I've heard this, I used to work for a company where some of the, you know, colleagues, they had branches in this company where I worked had its manufacturing unit and branches in Australia. Right. So it is nothing Melbourne or Sydney, Australia. So my boss went for a, you know, like a training and it was part of that, you know, the group there, his colleagues there. So he came back and said, you know, Friday, five o'clock, everybody leaves the office. Okay. So everybody leaves the office. And then that is it. Nobody does any work after five. And Saturday, Sunday, they don't take any calls there. This is how it is. And so we were comparing, you know, the work that we were doing here where we would work Friday all day. And sometimes the work will go up to 7738. Okay. And Saturdays also we would be working, you know, at least half a day, if not the full day sometimes Saturday was also considered a working day. So this was the Indian office of the same company. So you see the culture work culture was different. Okay. So now, if I were to have a cell group in Australia, you know, where most people have that kind of a work culture where the five o'clock they finished well, we could really have a cell group meeting at six o'clock or seven o'clock. Right. And people would be free to come. Whereas in a place like Bangalore, India, if people were working on a Friday, it would be difficult because Friday they would still be working at six, still be working at seven, and maybe they'll finish by 738 or whatever and then get back home late. So when we have a cell group meeting, or, you know, which is going to be starting at five o'clock or 530pm on a Friday, people will not come and people will. So it needs to be adaptable. It needs to have an adaptable structure so that people can participate. Right. Right. So those are some core things that we need to understand about cell groups. The importance of prayer, right, is it cannot be reiterated more because, you know, praying for the cell group members, praying for the pastor, maybe the cell pastor, praying for the members and the households it needs to be. There's a lot of prayer that we can focus on and encourage each and every cell group member to do, to pray, to be involved in. So just like any other ministry initiator, that the whole thing is backed by prayer, initiated by prayer and continues with prayer, right, anointing of the Holy Spirit, protection for unity, salvation, healings, miracles and everything. So it's not something that, so you're praying for the ministry also, praying for the cell group movement also in the church, you know, because people are involved, leaders are there and so on. So the importance of prayer. Okay, so we'll stop here and then next class we will look at the possibilities of cells. We're going to look at different kinds of cell groups that people might have or you can have and also, you know, what else can people do in the cell group. So we're going to look at that next class, right. Okay, so we'll stop here. Thank you. God bless. We'll meet again next class. Thank you, Pastor. All right, God bless. Bye bye.