The “Cell Church” Concept

The Short Version

(Acts 2:42-47; Eph. 4:11-16; James 5:13-19; John 13:34-35; Heb. 10:23-25)

In our local church family LIFE Groups are what we call our “cell groups”.  This should help as you read through this discussion.
 
The Cell Church is a church based on Small Group Home Fellowships, numbering from 4 to 15 people in each group, in which the focus is the Ministry within and through these groups. It is a Doctrinally Sound, Biblically-Based, Evangelical Christian Movement. Many have called this a "Relationally Based" Church Movement. Its structure is based upon the Biblical Mandates of the “One Anothers” , the First Century church structure of meeting publicly and from House to House,  and based upon the Underground Church Movements through the Centuries. With the Cell Church, there is only one group or ministry you can join - The Cell Group (a LIFE Group, in our case). Within the Cell Group - different ministry activities spring forth from within. All of the Network of Cell Groups are sister Groups in unity forming One Ministry (i.e. The Cell Church). The focal point of ministry is from within the Cell Groups. The focus is on what Jesus commanded concerning Loving One Another and in making Disciples. There is mutual Edification and interactive Equipping for Hands-on Body-Life Ministry.

Cell Church 101:

Relationships

The Life of the cell-based church is in Christ dwelling in His People, in a Network of Loving Relationships. Like the Human Body, which is made up of millions of cells (the basic unit of life), the life of the cell-based church is also in its cells (small groups of people in community). In this context, believers aggressively seek a relationship with God, with each other and with unbelievers. Through these committed relationships, members spur each other on to maturity in worship, mutual edification and evangelism. This is COMMUNITY.
 

All Christians are ministers

A Pillar of the cell-based church is that all Christians should be growing in discipleship by being sponsored (mentored) by someone and in sponsoring someone else. This hand-in-hand mentoring method provides discipleship and rapid growth at all maturity levels. Sponsorship has been created to fulfill the Biblical mandates that all Christians are ministers, equipped for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Peter 2:9) and to multiply the Discipleship Process down into the cell groups. The cell group becomes the ideal forum for the dynamic of all-member equipping and ministry, which ultimately results in a natural, lifestyle evangelism.

 

MEETINGS

Cells meet weekly, moving from house to house, as well as, cluster together corporately and publicly for celebration times in Large Group Gatherings. In all that we do, though, the main focus is always on the Cell Groups, because it is impossible to nurture committed relationships in large, impersonal group gatherings. The Cell, or LIFE Group, is where love, community, relationship, ministry and evangelism spring up most naturally and powerfully (see Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:23-25). A gathering of the cells for Celebration Times links each Cell together as a larger body, and provides corporate worship and teaching times that bring balance to this Model.

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