The Story and Strategy of the Cell Church for Fraternidad Cristiana

Dr. Jorge Lopez, Senior Pastor of Fraternidad Cristiana de Guatemala, 10/06/2010 0944
Dr. Jorge showed a video of how God moves in Guatemala through the Fraternidad Cristiana de Guatemala (the Guatemala Christian Fellowship church). How wonderful it is to have brothers come together to pray and worship! How wonderful if the head of the state is among them!
The will of God is for us to grow. Where there is life, there is growth.



Dr. Jorge started his church with 22 people, convinced it was the beginning of a large church. There is power in a vision. Life began as a little sperm invisible to the human eye. We cannot see a child until he / she is born.
There is power in confession. There is power when we speak in faith about something.
Sometimes when we have a new believer who is eager to share the Gospel, we make a mistake by telling him he is not ready. We think they are not ready. We want to equip them. We must not let people lose their enthusiasm. We should allow new believers to do their work when they still have their first love. Everyone has a sphere of influence.
When we use the laity of the church, we can reach a lot more people. Let the men, women and young people reach out.
Women talk better than men. Jesus told his resurrection first to a woman and the news spread.
There have been tremendous growth in the Fraternidad. More than 65,000 came to know the Lord but not everyone remains in the church. One of the reasons is space limitation. They more from one hotel another one and then a movie theatre. They finally had their own place.
They had 4 services before the move and some expected to combine all services into 1. But instead of combining services, the services increase to 5. There are enough space for cars and people.
If we want to grow, we must first have the mentality to grow. We need to think big, growth and multiplication. There is no free meal. If we want to grow we must be willing to pay the price.
When the church is still small. the pastor knows the members well, their family, their work place, etc. But the number increases, it is difficult for the pastor to know everyone well.
Dr. Jorge was told a member of this church wanted to meet him. He was a lawyer who is selected to be a member of the Supreme Court. He has been a member for 8 years and yet Dr. Jorge did not know him.
As the church grows, the pastor may not be able to have close fellowship with everyone.
Also, he may not be able to visit everyone and pray for healing. He may no longer be able to ministry to individual members. Pastors may not get any credit as elders and other leaders take care of the members. But this is good. Sometimes they do it better than the pastor. That’s multiplication. That’s true leadership when we can transfer what we received from God to the others. The pastor must be secure and not worried about being replaced.
We need to be secured about our identify. Before Jesus preached or started his ministry, he went to the Jordan River and heard his Father’s voice calling him.
Dr. Jorge has 3 children, one is a businessman, one an MBA and one about to be a lawyer. He will always be their father even if he doesn’t own an MBA. A true father will not be envy of his children’s achievement, instead he is proud of them.
How do we feel when we have a newcomer? If we don’t feel welcome in a place we don’t go back. Deacons and leaders are the first people a visitor will meet. We should receive people with kindness.
We need to learn to share the responsibilities with others. It’s hard pay for workers. It’s important to have volunteers. Be kind to volunteers. The church doesn’t have to pay them and they tithe too.
If God gives a vision, he will give provision. If God says to bring the people our of Egypt, then he will feed them. Many churches face difficulties because they handle the administrative work in the worldly manner.
Don’t deal in credit. Use cash only. If we use a credit card, pay it off at the end of the month. We are in the world not to ask for loans but to give loan. When Dr. Lopez was approached by bankers who offered him loans, he asked them back how much interest they would give for deposits.
If we owe money, we are slaves to the banks. Do not get into debts. It is important not to spend more than we earn. This is a key teaching to teach our believers.
Dr. Lopez have met millionaires are millio0ns in debts.
There are some to come to the church not to give money but to ask for money. We help them and tech them the principle of not spending more than we have. They will then have the resources to support themselves.
Dr. Lopez suggested a 10-10-80 principle. The first 10% is to give to God. The next 10% is to be put away as savings. Saving is not a sign of lack of faith. It is being prudent and being ready. Joseph saved 20% in anticipation of the famine. Don’t spend on expensive cars and watches. It may be difficult for us to get the same kind of job and to make the same king of money. The remaining 80% will be used for our budget.
We are in a new era. We have to be prepared to do our ministry using the new technology.