Better Together

The Bible uses 27 different metaphors to describe the church. Among these are: Family of God... Body of Christ... Army of God. All of these are pictures of entities that are made up of many parts. No single part would ever be able to function alone. They are strong when they are working together, each part performing its function and contributing to the good of the whole.

God’s plan from the beginning was to build a community. In the Pentateuch, God chose a people to become His community. He said: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Exodus 19:5-6

When Jesus came, He called His disciples into community. “He appointed twelve-designating them apostles-that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach...” Mark 3:14-15 His vision, though went far beyond the Twelve: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father…” John 17:20-21

In Acts, we see the Holy Spirit drawing and adding people into this community. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer... And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47

What do we mean by community? A community is simply a group of people, not individuals. Webster’s Dictionary describes it as “a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society.” As God’s chosen ones, we have a common belief in repentance and faith through Jesus Christ. We embrace a common purpose—to be agents of change to transform our community, city, nation and world. Is this something I would be able to accomplish single-handedly? Never! To accomplish this mission we are BETTER TOGETHER.

In order to facilitate nurture, discipleship and evangelism we have established a cell-based structure that enables our church to function fully and effectively as God’s community. We call our small groups Carecells. Carecells are the basic life form in our church, just as the cell is the basic life form of the human body. The life of the church flows in and through the cells. People participate in the life of the church by joining cells. What we could never accomplish alone we are able to do together.

We are firm believers in the ministry of carecells because our own church growth exploded after we started the cell ministry. Why was this? First of all, we expanded our leadership base, releasing ministry to lay leaders according to their giftedness. Our cells helped to build true community by allowing people to connect with others in a personal way through building of relationships. By having more leaders, pastoral care for the members was greatly enhanced. Evangelism has expanded as members opened their homes for carecell meetings, providing a safe, non-threatening place to bring the unchurched. New people and new believers are continually nurtured and welcomed. I could go on and on, but I want to conclude by saying: Carecells give strength; they build friendships; they develop true Christian brotherhood.

Dear friend, please don’t try to “go it alone.” Join a Carecell today. I guarantee that you will discover for yourself that we are BETTER TOGETHER!

“When the Day of Pentecost came, they were ALL TOGETHER in one place.” Acts 2:1