A cell church is a non-traditional form of church life in which Cells of 12 people (or it may vary from 5-15)  meet in their homes for worship, edification, evangelism, bonding, and ministry to one another. It is a church which defines its cells as "basic Christian communities", the building blocks of church life.

A Chinese saying can be translated like this: A sparrow may be small, but it has all the internal organs. A cell is small, but it has all the basic functions of a church. In other words, a cell is a church.

The Outline of the 12 disciple cell church

The major characteristic of the 12 disciple cell is that it requires each disciple to participate in 2 cells. One is the mother cell where he is discipled, and the other is the daughter cell where he leads another 12 disciple-leaders (each in turn lead another 12 disciples, and so forth).

Listed below are the 7 simple principles for this model:

1. Everyone is a potential leader.
2. Everyone can disciple 12 people.
3. Everyone receives ministry, and in turn gives it away.
   
4. A person remains in the original 12 when they open a cell of their own.
   
5. Everyone should win souls and develop potential leaders.
   
6. Cells open most rapidly when they are homogeneous.
   
7. Your 12 are your assistants. This allows for more time for prayer and your ministry of the Word.

There are 3 major programs in this model:

1. Cell meetings,
   
2. Leadership training,
   
3. Discipleship.
   

Each part is essential. They will be discussed in details in later sections.

The Major Functions of the Cells

1. To worship God
   · Corporate worship is an essential part of Christian life
   · Worship invites the presence of God, which is the basis of all ministry
   
   
2. Evangelism
   
   · Evangelism is the first step of the Great Commission
   · Every Christian is a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:19-)
   · Each Christian has the power of the Holy Spirit to witness (Acts 1:8) l Invite "oikos" (relatives and friends) to cells
   · New believers have the greatest potential for evangelism
   
   
3. Edifying one another
   · Cells help making disciples, fulfilling the Great Commission
   · Cells are conducive to opening to each other and mutual ministry · Bonds are formed in cells, and fellowship extends beyond meeting times
   
   
4. Equipping the saints
   · Teaching the Word
   · Providing opportunities for mutual ministry and the operation of the spiritual gifts
   · Personal discipleship
   · Leadership training

Oikos - the key to evangelism

(Based on Church Planting in Restricted Access Nations, by Eric Watt)

The basic building block of the Early Church's strategy centred on the word "OIKOS" a Greek term from which we get the word "household", or personal network (see Acts 16:31). Rather than re-creating a Kingdom social structure, the early church worked through existing relational lines in order that the message of the Kingdom could move swiftly and be easily understood.

Our task, then, in advancing the Kingdom is to identify the natural "OIKOS" or network of people within our larger targeted group and introduce the King and His Kingdom in a fashion which is easily understood and accepted in the context of their naturally formed oikos.

Our OIKOSES are not large - they typically average nine people. Our OIKOS only includes people with whom we spend quality time (about one hour per week ). Most Christians (esp. full-time workers) have very few non-Christians in their OIKOSES.

F. Some Foundational Values

1. Disciples vs. Converts
   We are called to make disciples, not just decisions.
2. Every Member Ministry vs. Professional Ministry    
   It is the job of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to train all church members to be effective ministers.
3. Life-style Christianity vs. Head knowledge
   Christianity is about whom we know, not what we know. It is about how we live, not how we appear to others.
4. Growth vs. Stagnation
   Healthy Christians, healthy cells and healthy churches will grow.