Larry Kreider, Senior Pastor

1924 West Main Street

Ephrata, PA 17522

(717) 738-3751

A Snapshot View:

• Church enrollment: 2,400

• Sunday worship attendance: 2,000

• Number of cell groups: 130

• Total number in cells: 2,400

• There is no main church building. The church meets in five satellite locations each week, and it meets corporately once every three months in a local park and amphitheater or gymnasium.

• Church Growth: from 25 people in October 1980, to 2,400

• Names for small groups: Home cells, cells, or house fellowships.

• DOVE Christian Fellowship is divided into five districts, each with a full-time pastor. There are 20 full-time and part-time pastors.

• Frequency of cell group meetings: At least every other week; many meet weekly.

• Format: One- to one-and-a-half-hour meetings. The major emphasis is on equipping members to reach out to others, but also includes prayer, care, worship, and a ten- to fifteen-minute teaching time.

• Promotion: Word of mouth is the main avenue for promotion. Sunday morning announcements by the pastor encourage everyone to get involved in cell groups. Twice a year a booklet is printed listing leaders' phone numbers by geographical location and a map.

History

DOVE Christian Fellowship began with three home cells devoted to discipling new Christians. Now, everyone who joins is actively involved in a home cell group. They believe that the foundation of the church is people in relationship with God and one another, and that relationships with others grow much more rapidly in a small-group setting.

The pastors are committed to home cells. Senior pastor Larry Kreider is involved in a home cell and serves under its leader. He sees the church as a tree with branches, leaves, and trunk. He feels that many Christians forget that the health of the tree is in the underground root system. If that system is healthy, so is the tree above ground. DOVE Christian Fellowship concentrates on nourishing and encouraging the "roots."

What We Would Do Differently

1. Group Placement. We encourage people to reach out to their neighborhoods. However, we no longer expect all people to join a home cell because of its locale. Even though most people will eventually become involved in their local areas, first-time visitors are encouraged to choose a group for other reasons.

Similarly, instead of offering only standard mixed groups, we now have homogeneous groups— youth, women, singles, businessmen, and others.

2. Unrealistic Goals. In the beginning, cell groups were challenged to multiply every six months. This put too much pressure on leaders. Cell groups are now encouraged to multiply once a year. Incidentally, we use the term multiply instead of divide to connote advancement and growth rather than a split.

3. Unrealistic Demands. In the beginning we used the term pastor for cell leaders, thereby producing pressure many were not able to handle. We now use the term home cell group leader, and we urge leaders to offer spiritual encouragement, nourishment, and guidance to group members in the context of friendship. Each cell is assigned a pastor who can give specialized counsel.

4. Restricted Access. Although we've always encouraged group members to seek counsel for personal problems with whomever they feel most comfortable, we now suggest they go to section leaders and local pastors first, rather than cell group leaders, since some issues are more openly discussed with pastors.

Leadership Training

After serving faithfully in a home cell group, a member may be asked to become an assistant leader. Assistant leaders can be assigned to lead a new or existing group after completing a training program. The program consists of a six-session video course produced by DOVE and a four-hour teacher-training video. After viewing the teacher-training videos, the potential leader is video- taped while delivering a ten- to fifteen-minute lesson, and critiqued.

Pastors give ongoing training to group leaders—praying with them, encouraging, advising, and counseling. At a monthly leadership meeting, cell leaders meet with pastors for a time of equipping and encouragement.

Group Format

• What materials are used? Leaders are provided two formats: One is designed around a ten- to fifteen-minute lecture; the other encourages group discussion by having members look up Scripture and answer questions. The materials are distributed on cassette tape with accompanying notes. With the advice of a local pastor, a cell leader is free to use other materials in his group.

• How are group goals set? All pastors and leaders are encouraged to be creative in setting group goals as long as they fit within the church's corporate goals. (For example, a corporate goal might be: Trust God for souls to be saved daily and for each home cell group to multiply. A cell group goal might be: Trust God for one soul to be won in our group every six months and for one new group to come out of our group this year.)

• How are leaders chosen? Future leaders are selected by current leaders through much prayer. Prospects may volunteer, but they are still confirmed by leadership.

• What does DOVE's cell-group format do for the church? Since we don't have a large central building, the church would not exist without groups. In the group format the church is able to meet peoples' spiritual, relational, and support needs, and to offer many ministries to the community, such as hospital visitation and giving to the needy.

Larry Kreider, senior pastor of DOVE Christian Fellowship in south-central Pennsylvania, leads an apostolic team that advises and guides churches planted in Pennsylvania, Scotland, Brazil, and Kenya. He hosts "Celebration," a weekly TV show, and is editor of The Connection, a quarterly magazine. Larry and his wife, LaVerne, have four children.