13 September 2014 by Jason Law CM –
It often strikes me how closely-knitted the smaller churches are, and how deeply they realize the importance of a healthy relationship in all areas of life. One such church is the Radiant Life Assembly in Taman Cheras Perdana, Kajang, overflowing with a simple and humble love for God and people.
Radiant Life takes the Fellowship and Care Cell model very intentionally. People come to church early, gathering together for friendship. Fellowship sessions are held after each Sunday Celebration service, and the service itself has an atmosphere of a home fellowship. On the 7th of September, Pastor Faith Kam of Radiant Life shared about the impact of a united and relational church.
We all know that Christianity is more than a set of rules and rituals, and we often hear about the importance of the area of relationship; that our faith is not a religion but a way of life. It goes without saying that we need to have a strong relationship with God. But when Jesus gave us the Great Commission, He also indicated the true heart of God.
‘One of the known keys of church growth is building relationship. The church is all about relationships. When we come together, when we work together, there is power,’ Pastor Faith encouraged. ‘As a church, the first desire we must have is for God, rooted in His Word. This speaks about building a personal relationship with God’.
‘We build our relationship with God through our devotional time with Him. Are we still doing our devotion? Do we still listen from Him every morning? Additionally, we also want to experience the powerful and loving presence of God through extraordinary worship and fervent prayer. But we also want to impact the community, because as Christians, we have been given a mission; connecting to impact.’
Pastor Faith shared that in order to impact the community, the care cells of a church has to be vibrant. To be a vibrant care cell means that it is consisted of people who are excited about God and looking forward eagerly every week to fellowship about Him. The care cells of a church also cannot stand alone; every care cell has to come together as a united element of the church.
‘The care cells has to see themselves as a singular apostolic community, set apart by God to impact the people around them through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Why are we meeting together? It is not because of your spouse. It is not because of your friends. It is not because of the air-cond. It is because of our faith in Jesus Christ.
‘Christians are called to set out as agents of change. That is what we are. We are different, we are special, because we have been set apart by God for a high calling. And that high calling, our Great Commission, is to make disciples, not to convert believers,’ Pastor Faith teased.
‘Each one of us will be sent out; it is not just the leaders. Each one of us can make a difference in our workplace, in our schools, in our society and community, and especially in our families.’ Just like the billions or trillion of cells that make up one body, each Christian has a part to play in the Body of God, coming together to build the Kingdom of God. The care cells are where we meet to encourage one another to build each other up.
‘The care cells are all about building stronger relationships. We want to pray with you, we want to know what you’re going through in life, so that we can move together. We want to stand together, and help one another. Because we’re all aboard on the same boat with the same vision that God has given us’.
The purposes of a care cell must be about building people up in the ways of God, and also as a person. Their primary aim is about evangelizing and nurturing, with an ultimate aim of community transformation through the process of multiplication within the community.
In order to realize its purposes, the members of the care cell must break certain mindsets. Each member can be a spiritual parent and nurture others. The care cells are not one of the programmes of the church but the life and heartbeat of the church. They belong to the local church and cannot function independently of the church. What happens in the church should be expressed and reflected in the care cells, and each must know what the other is doing.
The ultimate aim of care cells is to build an apostolic community where people are edified and build up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). It must be a releasing community where its members are released to fulfill the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). And thirdly, it must be a transforming community where its members are able to serve as agents of change that impact the communities (Matt 5:16).
Effective care cells are a place of New Creation, where people learn to stop looking at the past and develop the 9 fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It is the place where people learn the basics of being a Christian. And it is a place where each of its members has a personal life that reflects the person and values of Christ.
Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Many of God’s commandments (2/3 of the ones handed through Moses) are practical ones about our relationship with people. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus taught us about the greatest commandment in the Law and that it is equally important to love and build our neighbor up as it is to love God. A simple truth that many sometimes forget is that God places just as much importance in the horizontal relationship among us and the rest of mankind as in the vertical one.
Matthew 22:37-40
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
NOTE: All pictures of Radiant Life Church property of Radiant Life Church. They are located at No 29, Lorong CP 4/36A, Taman Cheras Perdana, 43200 Kajang, Selangor. Their Sunday Services is at :
9.00 am – Chinese
11.00 am – English
2.30 pm – Youth
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Good ，Praise the lord ^^