Christian Bible Group Icebreakers


Christian bible group icebreakers

A Cell Group can be defined as a group in which its members provide mutual care for one another, so that everyone can be encouraged to grow into the maturity of Christ.


To have a regular, intimate, caring relationship with a small group of people. The small groups meeting is an attempt at bringing Christians closer together in a caring, sharing and trusting relation.


The ultimate purpose of which is to bring glory and honor to our Lord and savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.



Christian cell groups have been around for a while. In fact small groups were in existence as far back as the time of Paul in the New Testament. We see this in passages like ACTS 2:46 "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart".


Modern day cell groups exist all over the world and are practiced by a multitude of denominations. Groups are typically made up of a group of people living in the same area who gather weekly in homes of the members.


Cell groups serve a combined role of friendship building, mutual support and training, and discipleship.through which new people are added, strengthened and developed for the purposes of our God.


To achieve this, the groups need to be small. A Cell Group must therefore be small enough so that its members may interact with one another, show concern for one another, encourage one another, and help one another through prayer, physical help, and material and emotional support.


Thus the Men's Fellowship, Ladies' Fellowship, Youth Fellowship can each be a small Group. For practical reasons, we will limit the number of members to a group to 25 maximum. Once this number is reached, the group needs to choose a new leader and a new group will be formed, it can be sub-divided into many smaller Groups.


What It Takes To Be A Cell Group Leader?




Cell Group leaders must be mature Christians who have a proven track record of mature responsible behavior. Cell Group leaders are expected to lead from the front. To take the initiative, ensuring smooth functioning of their groups, be responsible for the day to day leadership role of the Group.


Cell Group leaders must actively participate in their groups by regular attendance. If a Cell group leader is not able to participate for a time due to illness, vacation or family crisis etc, the leader must appoint an interim leader prior to this.


Cell Group Meeting Explained




1. Regular meeting


Every Cell Group will meet regularly, preferably once a week. However, the weekly meeting may be cancelled because of special meetings in the church or because of holidays, etc. Weekly meetings are needed in order that we may consistently and regularly provide care for one another.


2. Special meetings


Special meetings may be held for special speakers. This will usually be conducted in the church premises, rather than in homes. For such purposes, all the Cell Groups may come together to participate in these meetings.


3. What to bring for the weekly meeting


Basic things to bring for the weekly meetings include:



4. Venue


Every believer is encouraged to open up his/her home for the Cell Group meetings. In this way, your home is used for the glory of God and is blessed by His presence. Others will know where you are staying and can provide help in times of physical need.


It is also necessary to have Cell Groups that are small, e.g. consisting of 10-15 members only. Cell Groups which grow big will have to divide to ensure that there is opportunity for everyone to know one another in a group.


5. Transport


Members who do not have transport are encouraged to contact their Cell Group Leaders so that the necessary transport can be arranged.


6. Programmes of Cell Group Meeting


Praise and Worship (15 minutes)


Testimonies of God's goodness (15 minutes)


Sharing of the word (15 minutes)


Prayer requests, (15 minutes): The Leader asks the members of the Cell Group for prayer requests.


Group prayer for specific needs, led by the Leader or others appointed by him (5 minutes): e.g. For the host of the home and his family, for the healing of a brother who publicly brought up his need, for a sister or a brother who wants the whole group to pray for him/her or their family members, etc.


When there are believers who do not know how to pray, the older members in the Cell must use the Prayer Handbook to help them.


Personal needs of each member of should be shared and prayed over during the last 15 minutes of the Cell Group Meeting.


Fellowship (up to the individuals): Members can fellowship with and encourage one another informally after a Cell Group Meeting.


Do not rush home immediately after a meeting, if possible.


7. Contacts


Please contact the Pastor or your immediate Cell Group Leaders for help if you have a need in any area:



Healthy cell groups have as part of their vision the aim to multiply. This requires two things. The first is the addition of new people to the group. The second is the training and equipping of existing members to lead a homecell group themselves. The purpose of this article is to focus on keys which will cause your group to grow. The leader, as well as participating members need to put these things into action for best results. When these are missing, the group may stagnate or even die.


So What Are The Keys To Small Group Growth?


1. Prayer


Prayer is the key factor for growth, because it is prayer that gets God Himself involved in the life of the group. It is God who works in people's hearts to make them want to come along and participate in the life of the group. When the leader is a man or woman of prayer, someone who devotes themselves to really meeting God and getting to the throne so they can be filled with God themselves and intercede effectively for the needs of others - then things will happen. Prayer creates the atmosphere in which God can work.


Prayer is more important than other factors such as personality type, gifting or personal charisma. It is not the opening or closing prayers in a group meeting that count as much as the whole prayer life of the members of the group, especially the group leader. Unless the group leader prayed an hour or so on the day of the actual meeting, it is unlikely that the meeting will hit the mark God intended for it. Some things that God intends just won't happen unless effective prevailing prayer is being offered for the group.


Many people come straight from work to small groups. They are often tired and in need of refreshment, both spiritually and physically. The leader, more than anyone else, needs to be full of the Spirit of God in order to have what is needed to bless the group. So the leader must be prepared and disciplined.


2. Personal Contact with Individuals in the Group outside of the meeting time


It is really very important that a group leader has personal contact with individuals in the group outside of the meeting time. People need to know that they are valued as individuals. People have a need for personal affirmation and encouragement.


By spending time with individuals in the group, or at least getting in touch by phone, a leader shows that he places value on the person contacted.


Hopefully a leader realises that people really are valuable. They are much more than numbers for the group. Every person is intrinsically valuable. In addition, each person has a great potential for God. A group leader is entrusted by God to care for people.


We should care more for people because people are of more value than money. And since most of us give up so much of our time in order to earn money, how much more should we use a portion of our free time to show interest in and put a high value on people. They will appreciate it when it is done with this understanding.


If the only reason we contact people is because we want them as numbers for our group, people will sense this. Determine to show a genuine interest in people. Rather than asking, "Are you coming to the Cell group?" Listen to the person, let them know you are praying for them, and express how delighted you will be if they do come at such and such a time.


It is better to draw with love than to attempt to manipulate with fear or even mild forms of condemnation. At the same time, continue praying for them. In so doing, you give God a chance to put it on their hearts to come to the group. And when God does it, it works so much better than we attempt to entice and cajole people.


3. Be Prepared


It's important in any group that the leader be prepared. When people see that the leader is unprepared, they interpret it, perhaps even subconsciously, to mean that "we are not a priority". This is not an expression of God's love. When people see that a leader is prepared, they feel complimented. They realise that the leader has expended effort in order to add value to their lives through the preparation. God will honor that.


The most important preparation is to be as full of the Holy Spirit as possible before the meeting begins. This is the condition of God's perfect working. The Holy Spirit will not leave us confused and bewildered as to what He wants for a meeting, but will lead us with purpose.


4. Another goal of the group needs to be the development of individual members.


We should always be desiring to take people to the next level. The apostle Paul strived to present every man complete in Christ (Colossians 1:28). Paul's intercessionwas a key factor in this. No matter how this goal of maturity is expressed, the idea is that people change. People must become more like Christ. People must become more disciplined, more focussed on the Lord and His purposes.


People must give place to the Holy Spirit so that the Spirit's fruit becomes increasingly evident in their lives. The power of personal discipline is unleashed when people have a clear vision and purpose - when they really believe there is an achievable goal worth disciplining themselves for.


Almost every person can be developed to the point where they are capable of leading a small group in their own right. On the other hand, others, whose spirit is not right, may be ambitious for position more than personal transformation. When they are not quickly promoted as they hope, they may become frustrated and begin to create problems in the group or in the church. Everyone, however, should be encouraged to be ambitious for the edification of others (1 Corinthians 14:12).


Without goals, a group will drift, and people will not be as motivated for Kingdom purposes. It is important that the goals be articulated regularly so that the group can focus on achieving something together. This will produce better results.


5. Treat Visitors with hospitability


The visitor is the most important person for the home cell group to grow. Why do visitors come? They come because they are interested in what the home cell group offers! They have taken the trouble to come and meet a group of others, many of whom are possibly unknown to them. Its my conviction that the group meeting should always be very sensitive to the visitors and their needs. They should be honored, loved and respected no matter who they are. Grace should be extended to them. They should feel that both God Himself and the people in the group want to welcome and bless them.


It's important to show grace to people in the group before confronting them with painful truth - such as the sin in their lives. Actually, the presence of God in the group will go a long way to making a person conscious of their sin - even if no one says anything about it. People need to firstly sense our compassion, before they hear convicting words.


It is important to follow up visitors. As stated before, this should be done because people are valuable, and need to be loved and valued. In following people up, it is good to be "pro-active" but not to be a "pest".


Good leaders invite people, express delight for the person's visit, gently forceful,infest people with enthusiasm.. Do not be overbearing and arrogant. Do not manipulate people by causing them to fear their disapproval.


When we learn to treat our visitors with respect and honor, when we learn to intercede deeply for them, without neglecting those already entrusted to our care, our groups will explode with growth and new life. As a single cell can multiply in a body, so our cell groups will multiply and produce people who will go on to do great things for God.


May God bless you as you put these principles into practice in your home cell group ministry.


Commit yourself to a Cell Group today.


Form a Prayer Cell with those you can work with.