What a cell is
A cell usually gathers in a member’s home or a parish room. Those present are ordinary people: young couples, students, pensioners, someone newly returned from a retreat. The cell servant is not a professional teacher but a member entrusted with guiding the meeting and accompanying the others.
The cell does not replace the parish. Members of KTM continue to receive the sacraments and to serve in their own parishes. The cell is a smaller place of formation and fellowship, a place where a person is known by name.
When a cell grows
A cell is limited to sixteen people not for administrative reasons but because above that number people stop knowing one another and the meeting turns into a lecture. When a cell passes that limit it divides in two, and a member who has been formed becomes the new cell servant.
The division nearly always feels hard; people have grown close. So it is prepared over months together with the area council, and the two cells usually still gather together several times a year.
A cell meeting
What happens when a cell gathers
01
Praise and worship
The meeting opens with singing and prayer together, simple, without elaborate musical preparation.
02
Teaching
A short point of teaching given by the cell servant or read from the community formation material.
03
Vacare Deo and Scripture
Vacare Deo means "to make time free for God": silent prayer before the Lord, here woven together with a reading from Scripture.
04
Sharing
Members share what they have received from the Word and from the silence. No one is obliged to speak.
05
Intercession
The cell prays for its members, their families, the parish and the Church, and closes with prayer together.
How the cells are connected
The structure of KTM is simple and exists only to serve the cells. Each level accompanies the one below it; no level collects obligatory dues or issues instructions.
Sel — cell
4–16 members, meeting at least twice a month, led by a pelayan sel (cell servant).
Wilayah — area
About five cells, accompanied by a Dewan Pelayan Wilayah (area servants council).
Distrik — district
About five areas, accompanied by a Dewan Pelayan Distrik (district servants council).
Dewan Pelayan Umum
Service at community level, answerable to the shepherd of the community.
Dewan Pelayan Umum bertanggung jawab kepada gembala komunitas.
Coming for the first time
Find a cellDress
Ordinary, modest clothing. There is no uniform and nothing that must be worn.
What to bring
A Bible if you have one. If not, one will be lent to you.
Length
About two hours, usually in the evening or at the weekend, often ending with a simple meal together.
Speaking
There is no obligation to speak or to pray aloud. You may simply listen, as many times as you need.
Cost
There is no charge for attending a cell meeting.
Membership
Coming to a cell does not make you a member. Full membership comes through formation and retreat, with no deadline imposed.