RUCU Online

CELLS

WHAT ARE CELLS?

Cells are Part of the Christian Union.
The Christian Union seeks to live for Jesus and speak for Jesus. Cells are a part of that wider vision. Cells live for Jesus and speak for Jesus. Cells are Hall-based witnessing communities made up of current and previous hall residents. They meet once a week on a Monday or Tuesday at 7:30pm for about an hour and a half, though for FreeCELL its Thursday 1-1:50pm. Cells have 6-10 people in them, and when they grow beyond that they will multiply into two Cells.

Cells Taking Responsibility to Reach the Hall.
The cell takes responsibility to reach the Hall in which it is based. This means getting to know people in hall, doing publicity and anything that can invite people to consider Jesus.

Cells Supporting Christian Union Teams.
The cell provides specific support for people involved in Christian Union activities. That might be a Christian Union Committee member or someone who provides food for Lunchbars.... a member of the music, publicity or Alpha team. At the heart of the Cell meeting is study of the Bible, this is because we believe God's word will fully equip us for every good work.

Cells Supporting Course-Based Living for Jesus & Speaking for Jesus.
As students we want to live for Jesus and speak for Jesus as we study our course. This affects our work-ethic but also the way we think about our courses. Many university courses teach things strongly against the Christian faith- we need to learn how to engage with these issues and to stand for Jesus there.

Cells Are Not Substitute for Being Part of One Local Church.
We expect everyone in the Christian Union to be a part of one local church. The cell provides a level of
accountability and pastoral care that is particularly related to living for Jesus and speaking for Jesus in a student context. Being committed to one local church provides fuller pastoral support from weekly teaching and fellowship with the wider body of the church.

THE CELL MEETING

A cell meets for about 90mins.

WELCOME - The cell meeting begins with time to catch up and get to know each other. A time to share stories of living for Jesus and speaking for Jesus.

WORD - Central to the cell meeting is a 40 minute Bible study. Cell leaders are trained to lead this each Friday lunchtime. We all study the same material to develop unity and quality of our encounter with God.

WORSHIP - Time in God's word should always result in praising God for his gospel. Jesus death allows us to meet with God in his word and in prayer. We may also have other issues to pray about in this time, relevant to our mandate to live for Jesus and speak for Jesus among students.

WITNESS - Finally we want to set down specific action to be taken from our encounter with God's word. We expect to find full-equipping in God's word to help us live for Jesus and speak for Jesus. Our head and heart must be changed but also our feet. Application is essential. This might focus on living and speaking in our courses, in our hall or in clubs & societies and other social things.

THE CELL VALUES

1. Everything Christ & Cross-Centred

Jesus and his death for us are central to our vision. This means they'll define what we do.

2. Everyone Grows in the Power of the Holy Spirit.
As we live new life in Jesus we expect the Holy Spirit to change our lives to look more like Jesus, and we meet, pray and study God's word to see that happen. We submit ourselves to what God's word teaches.

3. Everyone Involved
We don't just want the leader to do everything. We expect delegation to happen. As the cell grows in size we'll need more leaders so we must always be developing new ones. We also want to see everyone involved in one area of Christian Union ministry, whether in hospitality, administration, evangelism, pastoring or whatever fits their gifting.

4. Everyone Living for Jesus and Speaking for Jesus.
Our purpose as a Christian Union is to live for Jesus and speak for Jesus. The cell is expected to be a place to be equipped for this.

5. Everyone Open and Honest.
As brothers and sisters in God's family we can be honest about our situation. We want to be honest and open about our fight against sin and progress in faith and joy in Jesus Christ. God's grace to us in Jesus enables us to deal with our sin and pursue Jesus more.

To find your hall cell group, please contact its leader by clicking here.