Cell Groups
Larry Stockstill
Course Overview
In this insightful course, Larry Stockstill introduces the New Testament principle of meeting in both large public gatherings and small house-to-house groups. He advocates for the implementation of small cell groups within church governance, highlighting their benefits in fostering effective pastoral care, encouragement, fruitfulness, and prayer. He emphasizes the role of these cell groups in evangelizing the lost, stressing the significance of purpose, partnership, prayer, and penetration in fulfilling this mission. Furthermore, Stockstill discusses the crucial purpose of the Church in raising up leaders, drawing from biblical examples of mentoring like Jesus with His disciples and Paul with his followers. He encourages pastors to focus on developing successors who will carry on their work and expand the ministry’s impact, while highlighting the essential characteristics of “sons in the house of God” as great leaders for the Church.
What You’ll Learn
- The biblical principle of Cell Groups
- Why churches need small groups
- How small groups can evangelize
- How to raise leaders in cell groups
Sessions
1. Purposes of Cell Groups
Larry Stockstill introduces the New Testament principle of meeting in both large public gatherings and small house-to-house groups. It emphasizes the benefits of small cell groups for effective pastoral care, encouragement, fruitfulness, and prayer, encouraging readers to transition towards adopting this model in church governance.
2. Evangelizing the Lost
Larry Stockstill discusses the role of cell groups in evangelizing the lost and emphasizes the importance of purpose, partnership, prayer, and penetration in fulfilling this mission. He urges viewers to arrange their churches into evangelistic cell groups and alternate between focusing on believers’ edification and evangelizing the lost on a weekly basis to effectively win souls.
3. Raising Up Leaders
LarryStockstilldiscusses the third purpose of the Church, which is raising up leaders, and emphasizes the importance of a systematic process to identify, train, and mentor leaders through cell groups. He highlights biblical examples of mentoring, such as Jesus with His disciples and Paul with his followers, and encourages pastors to focus on developing successors to carry on their work and expand the ministry’s impact.
4. Great Leaders in the Church
Larry Stockstill emphasizes the significance of identifying and nurturing “sons in the house of God” as great leaders for the Church, highlighting their deep commitment to the church’s vision and success. He outlines 12 differences between sons and hirelings, emphasizing the importance of sons in building and leading the church effectively.
Trimester 3
Details
Beginner
4 Sessions
1 hr 52 min
Recorded: May 5, 1998
Prerequisites
Course Preview
Cell Groups
Brad Andrews sits down with Dr. Berin Gilfillan to discuss local church small groups.
About the Instructor
Larry Stockstill
Larry Stockstill is the former pastor of Bethany Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Roy Stockstill, Larry’s father, began the church in 1963, and Larry became the pastor in 1983. His son, Jonathan, became Bethany’s pastor in 2011, and the church has completed over 50 years of ministry. He is an author of numerous books. He is also the Director of the “Surge Project,” a church planing project that has planted over 22,000 rural churches worldwide.