15th MCCC #1 - The Malaysian Dream Church–the Dream Story #dumcMY #MCCC #fb

Pastor Daniel Ho, 09/06/2011
This is the story and strategy of the cell church.

I. The History of DUMC

The beginnings – 1980 to 1988

DUMC started with 20+ members. There were no air-cond. It grew to about 100 including 20 children.
The distinctive:

• The encounters with the Holy Spirit beginning in 1986. People were healed and started to speak in tongues. Pastor Daniel thought he was losing control of the church but he realized God was in charge.

The Early Years: 1988 to 1993

They rented 3 shop lots, 2 of them formed the sanctuary and 1 Sunday school. It was hard, as they had to walk 3 stories. Pastor Daniel told the members going to heaven is slightly more difficult.
The distinctive:

• A strong family church where everyone knows everyone. There were many doctors and medical students. The bond is still there.

The Transition Years: 1993 to 1998

A v-shaped shop lots were bought. The Chinese believed anything with an edge is bad but Pastor Daniel did not believe that.
The distintives:

• The adoption and implementation of the cell church concept. They came out from SS Methodist and they had care groups. They converted the care groups into cell groups.
• The renewal meetings where they invited the Holy Spirit to be with them. (Unnecessary and unwanted  elements omitted here.) Pastor Daniel warned against the danger of ‘helping’ the Holy Spirit, e.g. pushing down. He told us the ministry people are not allowed to push people and they are told not to keep praying for people until they go down. They are to pray softly and gently. Pastor Daniel advised us to recognize the work of God even when it’s not according to our pattern.

The church grew to 1000 strong and it needed 3 services, 0800, 1000 and 1200. They needed to look for a bigger place.
Pastor Daniel heard the Ruby cinema was for sale. He drove there to check it out and prayed to claim it.

The Developing Years: 1998 to 2007

The distinctive:

• A strong outward focus on evangelism and missions
• A strong outward focus on the community

The Dream Centre Years: 2007 to present

The distinctive:

• A church without walls
• A church touching hearts and changing lives

We want to make every visitor welcomed. There are no cross. Dream Centre is a place where dreams come alive and shattered dreams live again. Dream Café is a place where food comes alive. The food is inexpensive and the car park is free. The Dream Café is open to the public everyday except Mondays.
How can the church grow and continue to grow? This is where the power and the strategy of the cell church is all about.

II. The strategy of the Cell Church

1. The cell is the microcosm of the church.
2. Everyone in the church is to be in a cell. In DUMC, 70% of the members belong to a cell. How to get members to join a cell? Baptism, membership, ministry, wedding and burial (!) all require cell membership / attendance. Pastor Daniel told about a man who approached him after worship and offered to improve the team further. Pastor Daniel ask him his name and his cell. He did not attend any. Pastor Daniel asked him to join a cell group first. He asked me the same thing when brother Kevin Suit recommended me to him.
3. The cell is the central focus of the church. No activities in the church must clash with the cell.
4. The church grows larger by growing smaller (cell multiplication).
5. Leaders are raised up through the cell. Members are closely watched before they are put into leadership positions. His / her attitudes, characteristics and maturity are observed.

III. The Power of the Cell Strategy

1. People genuinely share and care for one another. When people are served and received care and concern, they want to reciprocate. In this dog eat god world, it’s rare to see people who are genuinely concerned about us.
2. Discipleship and growth of every member can be monitored.
3. An accountability of lives and relationships takes place. Pastor Daniel wanted glass doors all around in the office. Accountability should be seen more positively than negatively. We want to be accountable / open / transparent. We want to be talked about in the best possible manner. We have nothing to hide / proof / lose / fear. When we live our lives like this, we will be an encouragement to others.
4. It is an every member ministry. Each of use has gifts which we can use to minister and to bless.
5. Growth of the church is unlimited. It a cell doesn’t multiply when it goes beyond 15, not everyone will attend faithfully. And it limits the growth of the church. It denies the opportunity of the members to be leaders.
6. The church can be kept personal and warm. We don’t want to be a statistic / a number. We want to be addressed by our names. It makes us feel significant, belonged and secured. The cell allows us to know one another.

IV. The Problems of the Cell Strategy

1. The constant need for focus and emphasis. It’s hard work. If we don’t focus, the church will go back to a program-based church.
2. The constant need for alignment. Everybody has an idea how to run the church and everybody idea is the best idea! We need to constantly ensure everyone is aligned and pushed in the same direction.
3. Finding the right people for cell leadership.
4. Intermingling church-wide becomes limited. It gets harder to mingle at a church-wide basis. Life moves on and we must live in the future.

The Dream Church Coming Alive!

• DUMC – a church touching the nation and nations.

We start as a family church and grow into a community church. In DUMC, the major portion of the budget goes out to the community. Pastor Daniel believes one of the reasons the church is blessed is because it helps the down of out people, the rejects, the refugees.
Pastor Daniel called the Street Ministry meeting place (the 1st floor of the former Klang Bus Station) the Jesus Station. He told the people that they can choose whether they want to go to the Jesus station or the police station.

• A church impacting the community, city and nation.

A concert was recently held for the Myanmar people. Some top Myanmar artists were flew in. Many of them were touched. One commented that this was the first time he was served by the Malaysians. He said before that, he only met Malaysians who wanted to take advantage of them and to exploit them.

Pastor Daniel reminder us that we are the embodiment of everything good. We are to capture God's heart for the nation and the nations. We are to impact our community.