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fresh expressions of church

True to Cell church, values form the basis for everything. Our

values are:

Every member ministry

Every member maturity

Jesus at the centre

Sacrificial love

Multiplication

Community life based around openness and honesty.

NB this parish considered but decided against becoming an

overall cell church.

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cell from scratch

The second strand in planting is the starting of a cell based church, for an

area or culture where congregational church life is not the most appropriate

model. This approach has been used in urban contexts where the desire is

to reach the non churched. Cell makes it easier to travel light. The baggage

of church in these contexts may include hostility to the institution, a sense

of alienation from its bookish organizational complexity, uncertainty about

entering a holy building and a profound sense of not having a clue of what

to do once there. Some stories stress the counter cultural advantage of

cell: it is an example of authentic and attractive community that may not 

be found within the secular community. Where the non churched have no

contact with the institutional church, nor any interest in being contacted,

then perhaps a relational approach is the only one that can bear fruit.

advantages of cell planting include:

  Cell principles help those fresh expressions of church working in areas, 

or with post Christian groupings, where middle sized or middle class

congregations   and their style   would be culturally foreign.

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  By being small and responsive to members, cells can identify with the

needs of an area and work with those seeking its regeneration.

  Cell assists the multiplication of indigenous leaders, by a deliberate

pattern of ongoing apprentice style training. Finding and forming these

leaders is key to the whole process.

  Cell church can help a number of planted churches break through the

small church attendance barrier of about 50 people, by breaking down

the unit size and raising the proportion of the church membership

engaged in all forms of ministry, including evangelism.

  Cell simplifies and focuses the inner life of all young churches. This

makes it possible to sustain energy for outward looking activities.

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