A Cell Group is one of the vital avenues through which the Portmore Holiness Christian Church seeks to minister to the needs of its members and also provide an opportunity for its members to minister to the needs of the wider community. Cell meetings are informal small gatherings of ten persons (on average), who meet in various homes throughout the Portmore community, one in Kingston and another in Spanish Town. The ministry seeks to ‘bridge the gap’ between church and home during the week. Its primary focus is the building of strong Christian fellowship among members of the church.

Cell Meetings are conducted by Cell Leaders who are mature church members, and who always endeavor to create an atmosphere for relaxation, interaction and group participation that is not normally possible in a typical Sunday morning Worship Service. Cell meetings are usually vibrant and exciting. Ideas for its activities come not only from a board of Cell Leaders, but also from members within each cell group. Cell group activities include praise and worship, prayer, Bible study, sermon reviews, sharing of testimonies, cell group socials, inter-cell Bible quiz, fund raising projects, evangelistic missions, etc.

The concept of Cell Meetings is not new to the church of Jesus Christ. Its Biblical basis can be seen in Acts 2:46, where we read that “every day they continued to meet in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts”. It is widely accepted that this dual strategy of large group worship (temple courts) and small group fellowship (house based cell groups) were responsible for the rapid numerical and spiritual growth of the Early New Testament Church. Many churches today with large membership (including the PHCC) were started with cell meetings, and many have been able to preserve their membership with the help of its unique ability to “close the back door of a church”.

The benefits of attending PHCC cell meetings are many. Here are just a few:

• Strengthens prayer life
• Deepens relationship with God
• Widens knowledge of the Bible
• Widens knowledge of the church and its members
• Builds relationships among members
• Offers opportunity to support and encourage one another
• Offers opportunity to share ideas and resources
• Builds courage to witness and offer opportunity to share faith & testimony
• Helps to develop the self-confidence of its members
• Helps to identify and facilitates usage of spiritual gifts
• Fosters accountability among members
• Improves social life