CHRIST UNIVERSAL CHURCH
"Impacting Our World with the Love of Christ"
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CELL CHURCH
AND TRADITIONAL CHURCH?
MEMBERSHIP
- Individual Member - is an individual who contributes a $10.00 monthly offering. Receives: (1) Access to Radiant Life Lessons (2) Invitations to weekly fellowships, (3) Monthly Corporate Worship (4) Quarterly and Annual Conferences, (5) a 25% discount off courses offered through Grace Bible College & Seminary, and (6) Teaching concerning how to set up an individual storehouse for emergencies, savings, and investments. Each new member is required to complete our New Members Orientation Course: "Foundations for New Life" and access to the amenities and priority for housing at Paradise Village & Retreat Center.
- Cell Church Membership - is a congregation of 2 or more people who contributes $10.00 a monthly offering for each member. Receives: (1) Access to Radiant Life Lessons, (2) Invitations to quarterly and annual conferences, (3) a 25% discount off courses offered through Grace Bible College & Seminary, and (4) Teaching concerning how to set up individual and/or a corporate storehouse for financial emergencies, savings, and investments. Each new member is required to complete our New Members Orientation Course: "Foundations for New Life" and and access to the amenities and priority for housing at Paradise Village & Retreat Center.
MINISTRY MODEL
Our ministry model based on weekly Cell Church Fellowship for teaching, prayer, breaking of bread and fellowship and monthly Corporate Worship & Training to exalt Christ, edify believers and evangelize the lost. When we speak of evangelism, we are referring to presenting the Gospel (Good News) of salvation that is offered through faith in Jesus Christ, so that men, women and children will come to accept Christ as Savior and serve Him as Lord through the fellowship of His Church.
THE ARCHITECT OF THE CHURCH
God is the architect of the Church. We must recognize that the Church was determined in the mind of God before the foundation of the world; before man and woman (Ephesians 1:9, 3:10,11). God being the architect of the Church has the one and only true pattern, plan and blueprint for His Church. The very idea of this glorious instrument in His hands was His idea. This is not something that man thought or conceived. It must be remembered that God had the idea of the Church. we must concede to what God has designed. The Church is not the ingenuity Church is essentially never an event, it is a lifestyle; people sharing their lives 24/7 in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The concept and understanding of this instrument of our Almighty God must be understood in the mind of every believer and follower of the cross of Christ. Let's consider the meaning and usage of the word "church". The word church comes from the Greek word "ekklesia". The meaning in simple form means, "the called out ones."
In
the New Testament alone the word "ekklesia" is used 114 times and of
this use 110 times the use is referred to as the "called out ones" of
Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ established the usage of the "ekklesia" and
refers to "His Church." When Jesus says, "My Church" this differentiates
these believers of Christ from all other groups or company of people.
Yes, we are free citizens of the heavenly kingdom summoned by Christ to tell the gospel and assemble together, study, worship, praises and fellowship. (Philippians 3:14, 1 Cor. 1:24-26, 2 Peter 1:10).
"Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself
as the chief cornerstone."
(Ephesians 2:20) NIV
The
people of God may meet in a building or house, but the Church is not a
material or natural structure. It is a danger to place all our energies
and time into glorifying a facility and miss placing our energies and
time to the true spiritual house that God is dwelling in (Hebrews 3:6).
Seriously, the place where the people of God meet is only an auditorium
for the Church. It is a shed for the sheep, we must not consider the
"sheep-shed" as more important than the "sheep-fold".
Christ
Universal Church is not a denomination, sect or organization, (but a
redeemed community of believers). When we speak of "our church" or "the
church" this should never be the concept to declare the totality of "His
Church". It is not our ecclesiastical system or denomination, group or
sect that can the Kingdom of God and the place of the Church in that
Kingdom. His Church is so much bigger than what our participation is as
part of a local church. Our view of church must not be narrow. In truth,
the Church is an earthly expression of the heavenly "Kingdom of God" in
the earth. The
Lord is the owner of the Church and declared that he is building His
Church.
Christ did not give it to man to build, but says that he will build it upon Himself However, Christ has called us to be co-laborers with Him in building the Church. Man could not be trusted to such a project to do alone. Although we are helpers and co-laborers, the mater plan and blueprint is in the hands of the Lord and this plan can not be enlarged or improved by man. That is, in spite of all our labors and programs, unless God adds people to the church, they are not in His Church.
We
must remember that the Church belongs to Him, Christ owns the Church,
He purchased it with His own blood, designed it, built it and makes
claim to it for all ages. Christ is the one that placed the New
Testament's structure and order in the Church. Being the source of our
faith, Christ has established a divine instrument of God in the earth to
fulfill the mission of God through this designed order and structure.
We have been entrusted with this order, pattern and structure. The
Church is a living and spiritual organism that demands us to be unified
and one in mission with our Lord.
THE NATURE OF THE CHURCH
Jesus declared in Matthew 18:19... "Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree (that is come together, harmonize or be made one) about anything , whatever you asked, it will come to pass and be done for us in the name of Our Father in Heaven." We are a body of believers that is marked by agreement. The Church is one body with many members. The Church is one flock with many sheep. The Church is one vine with many branches. The Church is one family with many brothers and sisters. The Church is one army with many soldiers.
Church leaders are not given to lord or rule over the Church (body of believers), but to nurture and help them to grow. Our focus is on this purpose and mission, not on certain personalities within the Church. As followers of Christ, we recognize Him as the Supreme personality of the Church, so there is no need to focus on men or women. We want to touch and impact our world with the love, life and power of Christ that resides within us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Because if the application of our Christian walk and worship is not limited primarily to buildings or corporate meetings, we will miss opportunities to touch the lives of those outside of the "traditional church" and certainly would have little or no impact on the rest of the world.
THE EARLY CHURCH
Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people, and the Lord added to their number daily those that were being saved (Acts 2:46-47).
There was reason why Jesus disciples met from house to house. You see, the Church as Jesus saw it was to be an organism (a living thing), by which people would come to know God through dynamic relationships with others who had come to know Him. It was not to be an organization or denomination.
In other words, the church was to be comprised of individual cell, just like our natural bodies are and when these cells are joined together, they make one body. So it was intended for the Church. That is why the Church is called the "Body of Christ", not "bodies of Christ". Each "cell church" serves not only to deepen relationships, but also to reach the un-churched in a personal way.
THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH
So, we hope you see that Cell Church is more than just a gathering of believers, it provide an on-going network of relationships for new and growing Christians. The emphasis being that we are all members of one body, with gifts differing accordingly, as the Holy Spirit has distributed them. So, there is no need to compete with so called organized religion or main stream churches or denominations, because Cell Churches are in fact a vital part of it and serve as a living expression of what Christ intended when He started His Church. All of our members complete our introductory course entitled: "The Body of Christ - (The Church").
"IMPACTING OUR WORLD WITH THE LOVE OF CHRIST"
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