A cell church is a
Christian church structure centering on the regular gathering of
cell groups. Small group ministries are often called cell groups, but may also be called home groups, home friendship groups, home care groups, house fellowships, or life groups.
A church with cell groups is not necessarily a cell church. A cell church must be composed of cell groups and centered on them. In cell churches, a cell leader (if any) is considered to be effectively a
pastor
A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
or mentor within the church.
John Wesley used a form of
cell group structure which he called Class Meetings as he formed his
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
societies into a national movement, first in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and later in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
in the 18th Century.
Cell structure
There are a number of structures used to organize and coordinate multiple cells within a church.
*The
G12 Vision consists of a leadership cell consisting of 12 people who each facilitate and lead their own cell group.
* The Free Market Cell Model (affinity based small groups) allows the topic or vehicle of the cell to vary (E.g., a Basketball group, Bible study, or Prayer Group), yet retains an intentional discipleship strategy. This approach is often employed to help cells take on the gifts and passions of congregation while retaining a typical cell hierarchy. (E.g., See
Substance Church,
Celebration Church,
Seacoast Church).
*A Tree Network consists of multiple cell group leaders that report directly to a cell coordinator. Each cell coordinator manages multiple cells in this way, and several cell coordinators may be present in a single cell church. Additional levels of hierarchy may be added as well depending on the size of the cell church. While similar to a G-12 Structure, it is unrelated.
References
What is a cell church? – Joel Comiskey Group". Retrieved 2022-10-03.* https://churchleaders.com/smallgroups/small-group-articles/137628-principles-from-the-largest-cell-churches.html
* https://thechurchwithoutwalls.com/cell/
* https://www.disciplewalk.com/files/Peter_Koh_The_Cell_Group_Church_Structure_an_Evaluation.pdf
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See also
*
Cafe church
*
House church
*
Pub Church
Types of Christian organization
Types of church buildings
Christian terminology