Introduction to Home Cells.
The idea of Home Cells (Home Churches) does not originate with the Church of the 20th Century. It really dates back to the first New Testament Church after the Day of Pentecost.
The foundation for delegation, and provision of smaller groups, to enable God to achieve His purposes in the lives of His people, was laid in the Old Testament.
A good example can be found in Exodus 18:13-27.
The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood round him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand round you from morning till evening?" Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and laws." Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. But select capable men from all the people--men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain--and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.
Exodus 18:13-27 NIV.
This passage of Scripture proves the effectiveness of smaller groups to care for the needs of Gods people. It is important to realize that the leader appointed helpers to share the load with him, but he never abdicated his responsibilities, nor did the helpers have to carry the full burden on their own, as they were allowed to refer difficult cases to the leader appointed over them. Moses still had to teach Gods people the statutes and the laws, and he had to teach them the way in which they were to walk as well as the work they had to. (See Exodus 18:20) To enable the people to live out these principles he was allowed to appoint other leaders and delegate responsibilities to them.
Our Lord Jesus confirmed this principle in Luke 9 when He called the twelve disciples to share the load with Him. He was able to teach the entire crowd which included 5000 men, but he was wise in using helpers to see to it that every individual was properly fed and adequately looked after.
It is important to note the early organization of the church. Throughout the Book of Acts and even in the Epistles, it can be seen a distinct place for large meetings as well as smaller meetings.
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,
Acts 2:46 NIV.
Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
Acts 5:42 NIV.
You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.
Acts 20:20 NIV.
Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
Romans 16:5 NIV.
The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.
1 Corinthians 16:19 NIV.
Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
Colossians 4:15 NIV.
It can be seen in Acts 2:42 – on the Day of Pentecost, after Peter preached – at least 3000 people were saved. The church was able to assimilate this many people, as we can clearly see from Acts 2:42-47. It is important to note that these people met each day in the temple and from house to house.
In Acts 20:17-20, Paul sums up the method that he used when he tells the elders of the church at Ephesus that he …did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you publicly and from house to house.
During the first two centuries the church did not build any church buildings. They worshipped in homes, and any other available facilities. In the midst of fierce persecution and in spite of the fact that the Roman Emperor Nero, declared Christianity illegal, the church demonstrated its greatest growth and vitality during these two centuries. The church grew and flourished and even though home meetings were risky, group after group was established and there was a strong sense of brotherhood within and between groups. The people in the church were held together by their relationships with the Body of believers and not by a building.
During those first two centuries the church literally conquered the Roman Empire for Jesus Christ. The Roman Emperor Constantine in 313 A.D. realized the folly of Nero’s` decree. He rescinded that order and went as far as making Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire because so many Roman citizens had become Christians.
This new found “freedom” brought bondage to the church. The blessing and encouragement of the government, the freedom to meet in public buildings and the openness of the citizens to learn of their new faith resulted in the church becoming an institution and losing its life and vitality. It is well know the tragic results of the church becoming a respected official arm of the government. Beautiful church buildings were built all over the now Holy Roman Empire. Rome became the headquarters for both government and religious leaders. Nearly a thousand years of spiritual darkness call the DARK AGES came over the whole Western civilization as a result of the church that became an institution.
During the 15th Century the Lord Jesus, the Head of the Church, started to restore truth and life to the church again. With every revival two factors were present, namely:
• The ready access to the Word of God
• The gathering of believers in small intimate groups.
During the Reformation of the 1450s Martin Luther saw the need for “ecclesiola in ecclesia” (the little church with the church). During the Wesleyan Revival of the 1730s, John Wesley saw the need for “class meetings”. The Welsh Revival of the 1890`s birthed “experience meetings.” Small cell group meetings were also present in the persecuted thriving church behind the Bamboo and Iron Curtain.
Many of the movements of the past hundred years, certainly the Pentecostal as well as the Charismatic Movements, were initially based in homes. In recent years God used a man like Dr Paul Yonggi Cho in Seoul, Korea to prove the effectiveness of cell groups in the life of a church that desires to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.
In the past many churches have been founded on personalities, yet today these same churches are dying because they have depended on a single strong pastor. Today God is challenging churches across the world to return to what He intended the church to be and to become alive through body ministry in Home Cells.
In recent years, worldwide, there has been a renewed interest in Home Cells. Many churches, and even churches in South Africa actually launched Cell meetings with tremendous results. God is surely mobilizing His forces and preparing His church to take back what the enemy stole from the church. On top of that God is enabling the church to fulfill the commandment of going into all the world to preach the gospel.
We give God the glory for what He is doing in South Africa today and particularly for what he is doing in our churches by enabling us to continue establishing vital, vigorous cells where Jesus Christ is uplifted and confessed as Lord.
