In The Beginning- Prayer Cells or Training Groups?

Many disciple-makers hope to see God do something great among the unreached, but they follow a strategy that moves slowly from prayer into evangelism and then discipleship. They start by beginning prayer cells.  If you are unfamiliar with this term, it’s when people are invited to attend a worship time and to receive prayer for their needs.  As God answers these prayers, they become more interested and slowly believe.  This is not a bad model, but it is not the ideal model to use if you want to see a Disciple Making Movement.

Why not? It seems good.  People encounter the love and power of God.  This approach doesn’t scare off interested seekers.  “No one seems to persecute us if we are just praying for people in a new place,” you may say.

Why Prayer Cells Are Not the Best Way to Multiply Disciples

There are a few reasons why a prayer cell strategy is not the best approach if we want to develop the DNA that leads to movements.  A movement’s DNA refers to the values, systems, and ways of doing things that are followed.  It is important to have the right kind of DNA, from the beginning, if multiplication is a goal for your ministry.

1. Our goal is to make disciples, not only gather seekers

Many prayer cells meet for months or even years, taking up the disciple-maker’s time and energy without ever becoming a church that multiplies.  Seekers who feel comfortable receiving prayer but are not being challenged to make a decision tend to remain uncommitted.  Jesus didn’t do this.  Count the cost, leave all other loyalties, and follow Me was His clear message.  He never told us to gather seekers.  He told us to make disciples.

It is natural for people to come when miracles happen.  When they do, we present the Gospel and challenge them to decide to follow Christ.  If they believe, immediately begin training them to make disciples of their own friends and family circle.

2. A clear understanding of the cost of discipleship leads to greater commitment in disciples

Moving toward faith in Christ is a process for many.  Some refer to it as a pathway. This is especially true for those who do not come from a Christian background, even if they are only cultural Christians. It can be difficult for many people to point to a particular point of decision to follow Christ. It is not true that only people who pray a sinner’s prayer are “in”, and others who haven’t prayed that prayer are “out.”  There is no biblical basis for that.  At the same time, people usually come to a point of decision where their loyalty shifts from their previous faith or passions to following Christ. Choosing to surrender their will to God, they shift their trust completely to Jesus.  That point is often when they decide to be baptized.

Whatever the process, until people are at that point of high commitment, it’s hard to expect them to reproduce more disciples. We don’t want people to stay seekers, comfortably attending prayer cells, coming to Jesus when they have a need, but failing to understand the commitment involved in following Him.

3. Training disciples to put their faith into practice brings maturity more quickly than attending a group with no friendly accountability.

Church planters lead someone to faith, but often don’t do much else.  They might encourage them to attend the “prayer cell” for weeks, months, or even years without expecting active steps of obedience.  This is a very, very slow way to make disciples!  As soon as someone believes in Christ and expresses faith in Him, begin to train them to follow Jesus’ way, obeying His commands.  Don’t wait.  They are ready to learn.

Start with a basic set of short-term discipleship lessons, then move into more long-term lessons or a longer story set. These longer story sets are usually thirty to fifty Bible stories. Immediately encourage them to share their faith with others.  If they lead someone to faith, let them be the one who disciples that new believer.  This makes strong disciples very quickly!

Alternatives To Prayer Cells

There are some great alternatives to prayer cells when beginning in a new place.  Two options are widely used by Disciple Making Movement (DMM) and Church Planting Movement (CPM) practitioners.

1) One is to do abundant seed sowing until someone professes faith in Jesus. Share testimonies, the Jesus story, and continue to share the Good News with as many as possible.  Only when someone believes do you start a group. You immediately begin to disciple the new believer and form a group around them.  They learn to reach their family and friends.  Quickly they learn how to share their own testimony, and as you teach them simple discipleship lessons, they pass those on to others.

2) Alternatively, as you share good news and find interested people, gathering them into seeker groups where you teach a short series of evangelistic Bible studies or stories.  At the end of a few weeks, you give an invitation to commit to following Christ. You then continue to disciple those people, training them how to repeat the same with others.

More Than Prayer

In both scenarios above, prayer for those who come takes place. They encounter God’s goodness and may be healed, get a job, or see God work miracles in a relationship.  You do more than pray for their needs, however, you also share the Gospel and invite them to commit to Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Pray for the sick and for miracles.  That is great! Never stop there though!  Jesus is the pearl of great price, worth selling everything to receive.  Courageously make this truth known.  The result will be committed disciples who do the same.