The ministry and activity of Doulos for Christ as a Cell Church is built around groups called Cells that are the foundation of church life. A Cell is a small group of people who, through friendship, meet together to live out the vision and values of the church.
Although the Cell is more than a meeting, the members of the Cell normally meet once a week in a home to pray, worship and learn together and to be involved in the wider vision of the church. Through Cells new people can get connected to existing members of the church and begin to get involved and find out more.
The Cell Vision
The Vision of each Cell group is broke down into three parts:
- Growth. We want each Cell group to grow in numbers by reaching out to those who do not know God and by helping existing Christians join the church. Each Cell's goal is to multiply into more cells.
- Community. Cells are a place where friends care for one another's spiritual and material needs and the life of the Cell extends beyond the Cell meeting. In Cells we worship God together and encounter Him through the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Discipleship. Through the Cells we want to see every person participating in the life and ministry of the church, growing personally in their relationship with God and being equipped and trained to serve God. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
"Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." - Acts 2:42-47
Cell Groups
Cell is the smallest functioning unit in the structure of an organism and group is a number of people sharing something in common (Encarta). Cell Group is a small group of people who meet once a week with the purpose of developing their personal growth, centered on the Word of God. It also provides way to supply every person's need which allows us to pastor each one. This is very important to the success and strength of the church because this is a great training ground for the twelve.
There are two kinds of cellgroup. First is the Open Cell. The purpose of which is evangelism or connecting people to God. Second is the Leadership Cell which focuses in growing the existing cells. In this, leaders are raise up to reproduce leaders who are also caught by the vision.
The Cell Group exudes the spiritual family atmosphere and it caters every age group of society. It's inclusiveness provides opportunity for children, youth, professionals and even for our mothers and fathers to be part of this family. The cellular vision is designed for everyone who are willing to renew their minds, to visualize a victorious life and to channel all their efforts to attain it.
"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:35-36)
Jesus gave this cellular vision because He had compassion on the crowd. Let compassion be our motivation to be part of a cell and to lead a cell.