Interview with Rev. Stephen Durie "Home Group Experience of Shatin Anglican Church"
Q 1: When and how did the perceived need for home groups arise in Shatin Anglican Church?
I came to Hong Kong nearly eight years ago to be the first Pastor of Shatin Anglican Church. During the first year I was here the church grew rapidly from a classroom full of 40 or 50 people to a hall full of around 220 people each week. Those who study church growth patterns have long observed that there is an visible "barrier" at around the 200 attendance mark which churches cannot pass without a delegated structure of pastoral care and systematic training of lay leaders to that end. As Ephesians 4:11-12 indicates the role of apostles and pastors is not to do the works of ministry themselves but to prepare (or equip) God's people for works of service (to do the works of ministry) so that the Body of Christ may be built up. I realised from my first year as a pastor here that if we were ever to break "the 200 barrier" we would need to develop a system of lay shepherding.
It seemed to me that the most biblical and natural way to delegate pastoral ministry and leadership was through Home Cell Groups (other churches use various systems, but this seemed the best) and the training of Cell Leaders. This conviction was deeply confirmed when in October 1992 I visited David Yongi Cho's Yoido Church in Korea &endash; a remarkable local church in Seoul of hundreds of thousands of members where the life and growth of the church is based on fervent evangelistic prayer and Home Cell Groups.
At that time in 1992 I did not realise that a Cell Church Movement was beginning to well up which would sweep across Hong Kong and the globe in the 1990's. (Around 55 Cell Based Churches began in Hong Kong alone in the early 1990's)
So I had a vision to lead a Cell Group Based Church but didn't know how to do it or where to begin. At that time we had about one quarter of the congregation in "House Groups" which were an uncoordinated collection of Bible study & fellowship groups.
Then in March 1994 I first attended the International Conference on Cell Group Churches hosted by Faith Community Baptist Church in Singapore. There I first began to realise the relationship between Training and Equipping every member, and the ministry of the Cell Leaders and Groups. I also began to see how Cells could be Evangelistic as well as Pastoral and the key concept of growth through a vision for multiplication. Without a Vision for Growth through Cell Multiplication (a "Vision of Division") the Cell Church is ineffective. One problem for traditional "House Groups" is that they have little or no vision to pay the price of multiplication in order to develop more cells and leaders. By nature, we resist growth, change, and separation.
In early 1993 our "Church Committee" (Council) had decided "we should especially focus on the development of Home Cell Groups as the basic structure for evangelism, pastoral care and prayer in the Church". So on 16th May 1993 I wrote an open letter to the congregation to explain this vision to be a Home Cell Group Based Church. At that time we had little idea what it would mean or what we were talking about.
The progress has been slow but deliberate as, over the past six years, we have gradually sown the fundamental concepts and introduced some of the practises of a Cell Group Based Church. I have intentionally moved slowly in order to "take everyone along" and because it can be extremely difficult to make the paradigm shift from being a Program Based Church with some house groups to being a Cell Church where the Cells are the Church.
There have been lots of distractions and diversions in ministry along the way but finally on 1st July 1999 we held a Leaders Retreat of 40 church ministry and Cell Leaders who unanimously reaffirmed the vision to be a Cell Group Based Church. Then over the weekend of 22nd-24th October we held a Church Camp where we again shared the Vision to be a Cell Church and explained some of what it would mean in practical terms.
Q 2:. What are the various lines which make-up the various groups, i.e. geographical consideration, common age groups, marital status, group focus?
Before I arrived in December 1991, Shatin Church had four house groups meeting in the Shatin area. As the church was made up almost entirely of expatriates these groups were divided along geographic boundaries but were fairly homogeneous culturally and racially.
Over the years we have opened many cells, multiplied a few groups and have seen many close due to emigration. It has been an extremely difficult and at times frustrating challenge to grow cell groups in a congregation which from 1992 to 1996 was half made up of itinerant short term missionaries and contract workers. During the first five years of the church's life we annually lost over 45% of members to emigration. This meant we focused a lot on large evangelistic events just to keep up with the drain. It was not unusual to set up a Cell Group, see it grow and then in six months see it decimated by emigration. During this period, a small hand-full of Cell Leaders were legendary in their commitment to the Vision. Their faithfulness without much support sustained me.
During 1995 & 1996 it became clear that local English speaking Cantonese and other overseas Chinese were making up an increasing number of the congregation. This helped give more stability to the church and, together with the pre 1997 exodus of mission agencies, helped slow the "drain" and indigenise the church.
Today the church has 21 Cell Groups and 5 Sunday School Classes. The Cells include 6 Youth Cells and 3 Philippina Cells. Approximately seven cells have over 15 members and will be eligible to multiply soon.
Also today, cells are not divided only along geographical boundaries but to some degree by marital status, age, gender, culture and language as well. Six cells are made up of teenagers, two speak Cantonese, one speaks Putonghua, three speak Tagalog, five are mainly women's groups, one is oriented to young professionals & students, one is more British, some are mixed and so on. These divisions have evolved naturally in the life of the church as "like attracts like" and homogeneous groups reach out more effectively.
Q 3: Regarding group focus, could you elaborate on the activities, and sort of curriculum, which has aided the various groups?
The Cell Groups follow (with varying degrees of attentiveness) "Home Cell Group Guide Notes" which I prepare each week for the following week. The Cell Guide is not a Bible Study. It follows four "W's": Welcome (possibly an Icebreaker or a meal), Worship, Works and Word.
The Works time is for planning upcoming outreach events, prayer walks etc and for listing and interceding for non-Christian friends.
The Word time involves reflection on some discussion questions which follow the Sunday Sermon and Scriptures and are designed to help members understand and apply the message in their own lives. At present we are following a pattern of alternating "Evangelistic Cell" meetings in which we are using Alpha in most of the Cells and "Edification Cells" in which we focus on the four "W's".
Q 4: Approximately, what percentage of church members belong to a home group at present, how faithful is attendance among the various home groups, and is there much variance from group to group in terms of faithfulness in attendance and growth in terms of both numerical growth and spiritual growth?
Today our average Sunday attendance is around 235, occasionally reaching highs of 280. At the same time there are roughly 240 people regularly attending cells and Sunday School. (Now swollen to 260 or 270 by our running "Alpha" in Cells) So at present we have more people attending cells than attend the Sunday Service each week. However some cell members attend no church service (are not Christians) and some (most among the Youth) attend other churches. This means there are a few who attend the church service on Sunday who are not in cells. The number is low at about 20 or 30. About 95% of the 100+ people who are on the various Sunday ministry rosters are in Cell Groups. Attendance in all cells typically averages 80% of members. The Youth Cells are the fastest growing numerically. Spiritual growth is hard to generalize but has been very significant in the Cells.
Q 5: How are the home groups led, i.e. by one leader for the duration, leader for a term, frequent rotating or shared leadership among individuals in the home group; and the role of the leader in the home group?
Home Cell Groups are led by a leader appointed by the Pastor. We are planning to provide Cell Leader training. There is one leader for the Cell. An Intern Leader is appointed early on in the life of the Cell to ensure a smooth transition when the cell multiplies later. In theory, there is close support and supervision of Cell Leaders by lay Supervisors who oversee approx. three cells and by the Pastor. We are just starting to appoint these Supervisors. At all costs I have struggled to overcome the fallacy that says "Oh we have no leader in our group &endash; we are all equal". Good Leadership is about service with authority and is an essential biblical requirement for healthy church life. Where existing fellowships have been "transitioned" into Cell Groups I have used the Acts 6 model of lay nomination followed by prayerful Apostolic appointment as a way to select leaders.
A cell leader maybe male or female but they need the support and "release" of their partner to do it.
The Leader is encouraged to multiply others' opportunities for ministry by delegating leadership of various parts of the meeting (eg. The Icebreaker, Worship, Word, special events, individual follow up, pastoral care etc). But this needs to be done under the Cell Leader's oversight and according to the gifts of the members. The Cell Leader is responsible for the Cell Group as their shepherd and is always the one with whom "the buck stops". He or she is appointed by and under the authority of the Pastor. The Pastor may close a Cell Group down if it becomes unhealthy or fails to develop over several years. We have never done this.
Q 6: Please give us an accounting of the impact of home groups on the Shatin Church and their core role in the life of the church?
Today the impact is enormous. The Cells are the Church. Most ministry and growth takes place in cells and in relationship with other Cell Members. Their core roles are evangelism and edification (which includes pastoral care), in that order. From this year on, new comers to the church cannot join ministries (such as teaching, worship leading etc) unless they first join a cell.
Q 7: Do the various home groups ever hold joint activities? If so, could you please list some examples?
Cell Groups occasionally hold joint meetings for example for a reunion a few months after multiplying a cell into two. We have also had various joint cell activities for fun and outreach (eg. Carols by Candle and Campfire, Sunday Lunch etc). In theory, all Cells belong to a Zone, which meets as a "Congregation" from time to time. We have three Zones at present: Youth, Philippinas and Evening Cells. In future we hope to add Cantonese speaking and geographical zones. Our Sunday Service or "Celebration" is considered to be a joint cell activity. This is part of the "paradigm shift" involved in becoming a Cell Based Church.
Q 8: What is the model or models for the home group at Shatin Church?
I have been influenced by "Yoido Church" in Korea which focuses on prayer in Cell Meetings; by "Faith Community Baptist Church" in Singapore which uses Dr. Ralph Neighbor's Cell Structure, (4 W's) and by Larry Stockstill's "Bethany World Prayer Centre" in the USA which alternates "Evangelism" and "Edification" cells. For an overview of various Cell Church Models and the principles they have in common see Joel Comiskey's book "Home Cell Group Explosion" 1998 Touch Publications.
Q 9: Would there be a place for interaction between the home groups of Shatin Church and Community Church? Have the home groups of Shatin Church ever held joint activities with the home groups of another church?
No, we have never held joint activities with the cell groups of another church. Joint church activities could be meaningful however we are anxious not to overload our otherwise busy members with extra events.
Q 10: Do the various home groups meet weekly, do they share a meal together, and how long do the meetings last? What day of the week do they usually meet and what time, ie in the evening, starting at what time?
Home Cells meet weekly. Some share a meal, some don't. Leadership styles vary a lot from group to group. Meetings last between one hour and four hours depending on the group.
Two and a half hours are recommended with flexibility for people to stay and chat longer if need be.
An Alpha evening takes 3_ hours if you go by the recommended program. For most cells the first W tends to be "Waiting" (for everyone to arrive). A wise Cell Leader will try to start on time even if not everyone is there yet. Cells meet whenever they like. Most meet Thursday, Friday & Saturday evenings or Sunday after church. Starting time for evening groups varies Western groups with children involved tend to start earlier. Most groups start between 7 & 8 pm. I recommend "pot lunch" dinner at 7:00 and start the meeting at 7:45 pm.
Q 11: For life in Hong Kong, what is your perception of the need and relevance of home groups for Christians?
Home Cell Groups are needed and relevant for everyone. They are the Church in the Community. People need a basic Christian community where they receive support, counsel, encouragement, opportunities to grow, moral support in outreach and family life etc.
Cells not only provide the basic structure for Church Growth (numerically and spiritually), but they allow for diversity in the Body, and provide an extended family and accountability in Christian life. Like anything worth doing they require serious loving commitment and it may take several years before you see the fruit.
Our kind and sincere thanks to Rev. Durie for his generosity in sharing his experience and that of the Shatin Anglican Church with us at Community Church of Hong Kong. We too at CCHK are endeavoring to grow and nurture our church via groups and are exploring various models. We currently have the following groups:"Spiritual Literacy" at 9:30 A.M. (Sunday) beginning Jan. 23;
"Alpha Plus" at 6:45 P.M. (Monday) beginning Jan. 24
"Disciples II" at 7:30 P.M. (Wednesday) beginning Jan 26
"Paul's Prison Epistles" at 12:45 P.M. (Thursday) beginning Jan. 27
Please access our programme page for details of how to enrol
