"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be..." 1 Peter 5:2
"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care..." The Cell Coach is a shepherd – directly of a group of Cell Leaders – and indirectly of the members in those leaders' groups. It's not a role for an immature Christian! It is, however, a great role for anyone who's prepared to lead the Jesus way – as a servant (Matthew 20:25-28).
The role of Cell Coach is critical for a Cell Church to operate effectively. It has the potential to powerfully impact the eternal destiny of many people, thereby accelerating the growth of God's kingdom. A Cell Coach will oversee up to four Cell Group Leaders.
The mission of a Cell Coach is to ensure that God's five purposes are carried out in the cell groups for which he or she is responsible.
These are the purposes of God that the Cell Coach is charged with helping to fulfil:
These 5 purposes help to guide and inform everything we do. They help us to distinguish between what is our business and what is none of our business.
One of the Cell Coach's most important roles is to be a guardian of the church's vision. An important part of the Cell Church approach to ministry is to help as many people as possible become involved in leading a cell group. Consequently, some of those involved in cell leadership (often in partnership with a co-leader) may be relatively immature in the faith; such leaders need strong support to help them understand and implement the church's vision.
A few believers gathered together as a Cell Group is a small expression of church – a Cell Group is Church! The Cell Leader is the shepherd of his/her cell members, with the task of providing them a supportive environment, helping them form a genuine Christian community, encouraging them to persevere and grow in the faith, and leading them to reach out to others – with both the message of the gospel and practical help as needed. The Cell Leader also has the challenge of multiplication: To use the Equipping Track to help cell members develop as disciples and as leaders, thereby promoting the multiplication of the cell.
The role of the Cell Coach is to support the Cell Leaders under his/her care in fulfilling the Cell Group Vision. The challenge is to help each cell leader stay on track, remain motivated, and do a good job leading their group.
A Cell Coach should be someone with a reasonable level of spiritual experience and maturity; definitely not a new convert. The best candidates are those who have already successfully led a cell group. And the ideal candidate is a cell leader who has also succeeded in multiplying his or her group.
The system outlined here is intended as a guide rather than a rigid pattern that must always be followed. However, the key principle that must always be followed is this: You must do whatever is needed to support your Cell Leaders.
The normal pattern of support looks like this:
Cell Churches vary in their approach to this, but the ideal situation is for the Cell Coach to continue to lead his/her own group at the same time as acting as a coach. Avoid burnout by becoming good at delegating! And leave someone else in charge of your own group on the week you visit a daughter cell, even if it meets on a different day from your own.
As Coach, your Cell Leaders are accountable to you, and you are accountable to the church's senior leaders. Periodically, you will meet with the senior leaders to discuss the progress of your cells. The senior leaders are also there to provide support to you when you need it, and they can be called on at any time (within reason!) to assist with a person, problem or situation that cannot be handled by the cell group alone. You will submit a monthly Coach's Report to the senior leaders to help them monitor progress and keep track of any issues affecting the church.
In keeping with the Cell Church principle of always training apprentice leaders, so also the Cell Coach should train an apprentice. Where will this apprentice come from? Most often, your apprentice will be either a co-leader in your own cell group, or a Cell Leader from one of your daughter cells. (This likely means they have yet to multiply a cell group for themselves). To train him or her, include them in all you do as a Cell Coach, and once they've begun to understand what's involved, start to delegate some tasks to them. Monitor how they perform, encourage them, and don't forget to retain final responsibility yourself for the task that has been delegated. When your apprentice multiplies his/her own group, they will become a full Cell Coach to the new Cell Leader.
As a Cell Coach, you can be an effective support for your Cell Leaders only while your own life stays on track with the Lord. If you are struggling with sin and defeated, or if you're up and down and inconsistent, you will be unable to give your Cell Leaders the support they need. If reading this discourages you, don't give up! If living as a Christian depended on our own goodness, we'd all be finished!
"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." (1 John 2:1). If we fail, the blood of Jesus is there for us again; he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Every time you fail, be honest with the Lord; "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).
Finally, don't continue to struggle alone. Even if everything is going well and your walk with Jesus is great, it's best to have someone close who can share your burdens and lift you up in the difficult times.
"...if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12)
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)
"Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two..." (Mark 6:7)
E9.1 The Coaching System - Version 1 – Oct 15