Community Groups
The Community Group Ministry at Celebration Center is the "heart" of our ministry. Since the beginning Celebration Center has pastored its members through ccommunity group ministry. Each group consists of four to twelve Christians who meet weekly in homes, on the job, or wherever they choose. We have several community groups now covering many parts of our city and the number is growing all the time.
The Community Group meetings include weekly teachings where the Word of God is shared in a simple and practical way. The group also serves as an evangelistic team since new people are being invited and won to Christ each week. Generally speaking, the Community Group enables a person to grow in his relationship with God through the knowledge of His Word, and in relationship with each other. The goal of each group is to prepare its members for leadership by helping to disciple every person relationally in group and through Encounters and School of Leaders.
The Vision
To win souls and make disciples
Jesus' vision for the world is to "win souls and make disciples." This He clearly stated in Matthew 28:19-20: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. . . ." To achieve His Vision, Jesus worked closely with twelve men that He mentored to take His place on the earth. Following Jesus' pattern, the apostle Paul also trained a number of young men ("Timothys") who later became the great leaders of the New Testament Church. We call this mentoring technique the "principle of twelve."
The Goal
Every believer a leader
What if a believer could only win one person every two years? Every new person would have a personal mentoring relationship. No government permission would be needed, no buildings, no funds...just people winning people! Anyone can win one person a year! Sounds just like Jesus, doesn't it?
The Method
WIN
New believers are added to the church through personal evangelism, weekly community group meetings and weekend celebration church services.
CONNECT
Both new believers and new church members are "plugged in" to the church through the consolidation process. New church members are encouraged to attend a weekly community group meeting, enroll in a short Pre-Encounter course, and register to attend an Encounter Retreat. At this weekend retreat, they "encounter God" through teachings on inner healing, deliverance, baptism in the Holy Spirit, and the vision of the church. Following the retreat, they are encouraged to attend a ten-week new believers' class entitled Post-Encounter.
DISCIPLE
After completing the consolidation process, the new disciple enters the School of Leaders, which consists of three ten-week trimesters of study. During the second trimester, Community Group Leader Bootcamp, the students will be able to open their own community group, but will also continue meeting in their original group, which now become their leadership, or G-12, groups.
SEND
As the disciple progresses through the School of Leaders, he opens his own community group and begins to develop his twelve, taking them through each step of the process of the vision: winning them, consolidating them, discipling them, and eventually sending them "to make disciples of all nations.
 
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