INTRODUCTION

One pastor who struggled with his cell church recently came back from a G-12 conference saying,  “I was a blind man without vision before the conference. Now I can see, and what I see excites me; we are pressing on with what God has put on our hearts. . .  in Bogota , they believe and hold on to the values one hundred percent! They really believe everyone has the potential to be a leader. They really believe that everyone can be a spiritual parent.”[1] Many churches are seeing the G-12 care structure as a breath of fresh air. There’s a grass-roots power to it that brings ministry down to where people live, work, and breathe.

The G-12 vision is spreading. Bethany World Prayer Center, one of the most prominent cell churches in the U.S., has decided to fully implement the G-12 model, and its pastor, Larry Stockstill, is now a member of César Castellano’s international group of twelve.

Faith Community Baptist Church in Singapore has also decided to commit to the G-12 model. During their February 2002 G-12 conference with pastor César Castellanos, FCBC officially "dismantled" the geographical segmentation of cells according to districts. Just like Bethany World Prayer Center, they are now using a system of homogeneous networks. Faith Community's senior pastor, Lawrence Khong, has a vision to plant one hundred thousand cells in the next ten years. Pastor Khong has also become a member of  pastor César's International group of twelve.^[2]  Pastor Khong gave the following reasons for the change to the G-12 structure:

·        G-12 provides long-term relationships and leadership training.

·        Evangelism is disciple-making, not just a one-time event.

·        Homogeneous groups are stronger than geographical groups.

·        Every person can lead a cell group.

Pastor Colin Dye, pastor of the ten thousand-member Kensington Temple Church in London, England, is totally committed to the G-12 strategy. He believes that every church should follow the G-12 vision.[3] He says, “It represents for us today the restoration of true apostolic and governmental authority and spiritual effectiveness to the body of Christ on earth.”[4]

Most likely your church also needs a jump-start. I believe that you can fine-tune your cell church vision with the G-12 strategy. But I want this book to be more than a quick-fix. My prayer is that it will clarify fuzzy areas and help you to take the next step in your cell church transition.   

Why Another Book on G12?  

My first book, Groups of Twelve: A New Way to Mobilize Leaders and Multiply Groups in your Church, described what is happening at International Charismatic Mission in Bogota , Colombia. It elaborated on the key G-12 principles, and what churches are doing to apply those principles. I would recommend that you read my first G-12 book if you seek to gain a foundational understanding of the subject.

This current book will take you beyond the last one. I’m writing this current book for two major reasons:  

The First Book Was More Descriptive  

The first book was an in-depth case study of ICM in Bogota, Colombia. The first six chapters described ICM’s vision, values, cell groups, G-12 system, training track, and multiplication success.[5] 

I am writing this book because some did not read beyond the description and thought I was prescribing ICM’s model, when in reality I was encouraging application of the principles that the second part of the book emphasized. Some people felt I was promoting the need to adopt the entire G-12 package. Consider one person’s response to my first G-12  book:

About six years ago, our church moved from PBD [program based design] toward  cells and implemented 5X5.  After struggling with that format, our pastor began  looking for something more for us.  He encouraged cell leaders to read your  book and eventually that "system" was adopted exactly  as it was from the first half of the book, and the leadership struggled to move  our cells into that direction.  . . The first six chapters of your book describe how  ICM has organized and the rest of your book provides wisdom about what can be  learned from ICM and applied in other places (the principles).  . . how many people do you know read only the first half of the instructions  and think they have it?[6]  

This book will not be describing ICM or how to implement their exact model. Many churches are already doing that. This book is designed to help you to implement the guiding principles of G-12 to your unique situation.

My Evolution with G-12 Principles

My understanding of the G-12 system has been evolving since I wrote the last book, and I’ve learned so many new, practical lessons since then that I felt compelled to write them down.

 “Who are you to write a book on G-12?” a pastor might ask. Only God fully knows the answer to that question. I can only look back on the positions God has blessed me in and see the milestones on the cell journey that finally led me to study ICM in-depth.

 My journey toward understanding the G-12 model first began in 1975, when I began leading my first cell group. Each week, friends and family gathered to apply Scripture. In 1983 I planted a church in downtown Long Beach, California and implemented David Cho’s cell group philosophy. In 1991, In 1991, as a missionary in Quito, Ecuador, I began a cell group ministry among university students at El Batan Church that exploded to include the rest of the church. In 1994, my wife and I, along with two other pastors from the El Batán church, planted a daughter church called the republic church.

From 1995-1997, I did my doctoral thesis on the cell church movement worldwide, which included ICM in Bogota, Colombia. In 1996, as part of my research, I spent ten days living inside International Charismatic Mission in an extra room they converted into an apartment for visitors. That first visit initiated a yearly pilgrimage to ICM in Bogota to introduce others to the G-12 concept.

 In 1997, I returned to the church I co-founded in Quito to help give direction to a new cell church vision. The Republic Church exploded to over 275 cell groups and 1300 people attending cells. In 2000, I left the pastoral team and began to minister to other churches in Quito to help them make the cell church transition. Since I was living and working in Ecuador as a missionary with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, I had ample opportunity to apply what I saw in Bogota.

We invited members of Pastor Castellanos's G-12 group to minister in our church and give advice. Even so, we at the Republic Church were not content with copying someone else’s model. We wrestled with how to apply G-12 principles in our context. We wanted to developed our own G-12 vision.

We as a family [BME1] recently helped start a cell church in Southern California, and I’m coaching five additional pastors in the Southern California area who are transitioning to the cell church model. In each of the churches with whom I’m currently consulting, I’ve discovered the need to apply G-12 principles in a slightly different way because each church has a distinct culture, and each church is at a different place in its journey.[7]

Because of these differences, I've realized the need to adapt G-12 principles to each of their unique environments. One size does not fit all. No two churches are exactly the same, and thus each requires a different starting point.

I believe strongly in G-12 principles, but I am first and foremost an advocate of the cell church. Notice this order: first I encourage churches to become cell churches, then I teach them to fine-tune their cell church experiences through G-12 principles.  

G-12 Terminology  

A lot of the initial confusion about G-12 groups comes from the terminology used. I think it’s always better to use a phrase that gives immediate clarity, rather than one that demands a definition.[8]

·        G-12:  a team of cell leaders. I would encourage you, in fact, to use team gathering or leadership group instead of G-12 group.

·        Cell Group: a group of 4-15 people that meets weekly outside the church building for the purpose of evangelism and discipleship with the goal of multiplication.

·        Cell Church: a church driven by cell groups and where celebration and cell are equally important.

·        ICM: the International Charismatic Mission, located in Bogota, Colombia. This is the cell church that originated the G-12 leadership care structure.

·        Pastor César Castellanos: the founding pastor of ICM and the one who initially received the G-12 vision.  

How the Book is Structured  

This book is divided into four major sections. Chapters 1 through 5 explain how to apply the G-12 model in a simple and understandable way. This section will define the G-12 strategy and help both pastors and lay leaders to apply it. Section two, Chapters 6 through 8, examines key values of the G-12 strategy, including prayer, Encounter Retreats, and the belief that everyone can facilitate a cell group. The third section, consisting of Chapters 9 through 11, lay out the practical nuts and bolts of the G-12 strategy, explaining homogenous networks, G-12 material, and the G-12 meeting. The fourth and final section, Chapters 12 and 13, applies G-12 principles to a wide variety of churches and church situations. There is also an appendix, in which you will find sample G-12 lessons.

There are several different ways that this book can be used: 

1. Start at the beginning and read the entire book to gain a complete understanding of how to use and apply G-12 principles in your church.
2. Skip to the chapter or chapters that address the areas where your church needs specific development.

For example, if you are confused about how to apply G-12 principles in a particular stage of development, skip to chapters 12 and 13.

3. Read through the book with other leaders and coaches and discuss what you are learning.

From these G-12 principles, I have developed a church structure that I call the G-12.3, which will be fully explained in Chapter 3. Such a structure has proven to provide more flexibility in various settings. I developed this adapted G-12 structure while working with the pastoral team in Ecuador. Subsequently, I have helped many churches small and large apply G-12 principles through the use of the G-12.3.

section i: MAKING SENSE OF THE g-12 system

CHAPTER 1: G-12 PRINCIPLES OR G-12 MODEL?

The G-12 strategy has become a powerful tool to refine the cell church worldwide. The amazing growth of ICM in Bogota, Colombia has generated a great deal of excitement because of the simple yet powerful strategy God gave them. If and when this excitement moves a church to respond, that church typically follows one of two paths:

·        Follow the entire G-12 model

Current examples of this approach are Harvest Assembly in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the Christian Center in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Kensington Temple Church in England, and Bethany World Prayer Center in Baker, Louisiana. These churches follow the G-12 model in its entirety, doing it exactly like ICM does it in Bogota, Colombia. [BME3] 

·        Apply the guiding G-12 principles

Examples abound of churches that have chosen to follow G-12 principles, rather than adopt the entire model. In my last G-12 book, I dedicated two chapters to highlight twelve case study churches. Of those twelve, ten adapted the G-12 strategy to their particular situation, applying the underlying principles rather than the entire model. Two examples I did not include in my previous book are Cypress Creek Church in Wimberley, Texas and Liverpool Christian Life Centre in Liverpool, Australia (greater Sydney area).

 

The Model Approach  

Some churches have chosen to follow the entire ICM model. This approach is summed up by pastor Larry Stockstill who when talking about the G-12 model said:

If you try to Americanize everything, it will not work. There is no reason whatsoever to alter what you see. We’ve been around that mountain for a long time. There is no reason to alter what you see in the Word and in the pattern. As you implement, you will immediately see the results of it. If you don’t, you’re not going to see any results.[9]  

    For Bethany, this means following the exact configuration of Bogota, training track, emphasizing twelve as God’s chosen number, and the same care structure.[10] God is blessing Bethany in an amazing way and helping them to reap the harvest like never before.[11] 

    Harvest Assembly in Virginia Beach, Virginia is another church that has followed the G-12 model in its entirety. One of the staff members said,   “We understand that we must accept the whole package,  that we cannot pick and choose.”^[12] Mike Osborn, the youth pastor, has made over thirteen trips to Bogota, vacationed personally with pastor César Castellanos, and received step-by-step counsel on how to proceed. Harvest Assembly does the exact same Encounter Retreats, the School of Leadership, and the follow-up system as ICM.

The Christian Center of Guayaquil, Ecuador faithfully followed the classic 5x5 model and had grown to become the largest church in Ecuador. Even so, when pastor Jerry Smith witnessed the explosive growth in Bogota , he decided to adopt the G-12 model.  CCG has sent over 50 pastors and leaders to Bogota in order to understand the G-12 model and then implement it at CCG.

CCG asks all cell leaders to commit themselves to three meetings per week. Each cell leader meets with his or her G-12 leader (first meeting), meets with his own G-12 members (second meeting), and leads an open cell group (third meeting), just as they do at ICM. CCG has also patterned its leadership training after ICM in Bogota. It holds similar Encounter retreats and their school of leadership is identical lasting nine months and having three trimesters.^[13]       CCG has radically changed to embrace ICM's G-12 model.

The Me t ro Church International, located in Su n d e r l a n d , England, is led by Ken and Lois Gott. This is also an ICM G-12 church. In 1998, Pastors Ken and Lois met Pastor César Castellanos at the Assembly of God national conference in Prestatyn, Wales and were challenged by Castellanos to dismiss the crowds in order to build the church through disciple-making.  This they did, and from that time onward began the transition into G12. Pastor Ken is now a member of Pastor Castellanos' international 12 and travels to Colombia twice each year to meet with Pastor Castellanos and the other members of his G12.[14]

In Chile, the IPETRI, an independent Pentecostal church , represents ICM.  Senior pastor, José Rivas, identifies himself as  International G12 of César Castellanos. He wrote in a conference brochure,  “One of the first things we learned in the vision was: you must adopt; not adapt. We must not forget this premise. To adapt the vision reveals pride, vanity, and self-sufficiency. Pastor Castellanos says this: ‘why should we try to re-invent the wheel, when  it’s already been invented.’ He is right.”[15]    

Those who choose to follow this approach usually:  

·        Establish a covenant relationship with Bogota to follow the G-12 system in its entirety. More recently, ICM had asked people to sign a written agreement with ICM to follow the system exactly. This written agreement allows churches to use ICM’S material.

·        Follow the exact same training track, which includes

o       Pre-encounter

o       Encounter Retreat

o       Post-encounter

o       School of Leaders

·        Promote the number twelve as God’s special number

·        Become part of the ICM network of churches, which normally includes multiple trips to Bogota each year.

Some churches will follow the ICM model in its entirety and do it successfully. These churches are sold on the G-12 vision, and believe that God has anointed ICM in a special way and thus willingly submit to ICM’s covering.

If you choose to go this route, you may want to visit an ICM G-12 church and read the literature that promotes this approach (e.g., Rocky Malloy’s Groups of Twelve: Launching your Ministry into Explosive Growth, César Castellanos book Leadership of Success through the Group of 12, the first six chapters of Joel Comiskey’s book Groups of Twelve).[16]        

Cautions of Model Approach

Be Prepared to Adapt  

      We must always remember that pastor César Castellanos and his team in Bogota have reached their current success by constantly adapting. ICM began its ministry by totally following pastor Cho’s cell system. For example, ICM organized small groups geographically throughout Bogota, just like pastor Cho did in Seoul.

As pastor Castellanos reflected back, however, he acknowledged that the early system needed fine-tuning because he had failed to adapt it to his own cultural context. ICM plodded along from 1986 to 1991, hoping for success but sensing that something was missing. Their cells grew, but they grew very slowly. By the end of 1991, there were only seventy cell groups.

It was in 1991 that pastor Castellanos heard from God about G-12 principles and began to adjust his cell system to meet his church’s unique needs. Since that time, the International Charismatic Mission has been changing continuously. I’ve witnessed startling, radical changes from 1996-2002, having personally visited most of those years.

I remember in 1997, I saw César Fajardo, the ICM youth pastor, busily preparing for a youth Encounter Retreat. I asked him if we could use some of his Encounter material. He told me that he would gladly give it to me, but that the Spirit of God was giving them such fresh illumination that as soon as they wrote something down, they would receive new insight and thus need to change it. As a result, he had nothing to give me. 

Normally, the founder of any given model understands the principles/values behind the model. There is complete liberty to change the model when the need arises. Those who follow one model completely, on the other hand, often don’t possess the same creativity.

I believe, in fact, that if you copy someone else’s model in its entirety, there is the danger of always being several steps behind, which will force you to play “catch-up.” For example, if you try to copy ICM’s model, what will you do when they change? Will you have to go back to ICM and re-learn their new adjustments? (and in this situation it’s even more difficult since they speak a different language and come from a different culture).

You need to be sensitive to your church context, to where you are in the transition, and to the receptivity of your people. Trying to place an entire model over your church could be disastrous, especially is it does not fit properly.  

The Latest Anointing  

We have a tendency as pastors to follow the latest anointing, the latest church growth model. One pastor believes that ICM had a special ability to transfer God’s anointing to others and this explains their success. He encouraged pastors to get under their “anointing,” so that it might trickle down to them. 

But, is it so simple? One cell church pastor described the current situation like this: 

We in Europe and North America, who are struggling with being successful, might believe that if we only will find the right thing, we will have the breakthrough that we so badly desire and that we see happening in other parts of the world. This creates some kind of "wave-hopping." From Power Evangelism to Willow Creek to spiritual mapping to Toronto Blessing to Cell Church to G-12. The hope is that the next wave may just be "it". After the initial excitement fades and the results are less than expected, we can be sure that the next wave will come around to save us.  I am excited about G-12 principles. And attending a Conference with César Castellanos was one of the most blessed experiences for me. We are using G-12 principles in our new church plant in Germany. This, in my opinion, is one the greatest strengths of G-12. Reducing it to one closed model that you have to follow as an exact blueprint (because we hope this finally will be "it" and will solve all our problems) is to lose one of the   greatest strengths that we have in G-12. I am completely sold on cell church, and I am excited about G-12. However, what really matters are New Testament values and principles. I believe very strongly that Jesus and the values and principles of His kingdom should be our focus. If we focus on models and waves, we will get sidetracked.[17]   

Like Larry Kreider said, “We must fervently pray that our visions and goals are birthed by the Holy Spirit, not copied from the latest church appearing to be successful.”[18] As I’ve studied cell churches around the world, I’ve noticed that they follow specific foundational principles, common to all of them, while adapting those principles to their own context.  

The Principle-Oriented Approach  

I teach cell seminars around the world and teach G-12 principles under the cell church strategy. My cell seminars are filled with G-12 principles, but I’m not teaching the G-12 model. Rather, I teach a cell church strategy that has been fine-tuned by G-12 principles.[19]

My ongoing burden is to find cell church principles that apply in any culture, so I’m eager to accept the best G-12 principles within the cell church strategy. The whole cell church philosophy has united the body of Christ across different cultures and denominations. We’ve been able to network with one another, encourage one another, and learn from one another.

I received an e-mail from a church representative leader who had previously invited me to speak at his church but then changed his mind, deciding that he would not have me come speak at his cell seminar after all. He wrote:  “The primary reason is in the last couple of months that we have been chatting we have decided to move aggressively towards a G-12 model and really consider the impact that has on our church.  That being the case we feel that any presentation of the cell model of ministry may be a touch premature for us.” [1] 

I wrote him back saying:  “I was just wondering how you differentiate the G-12 model from the cell model. Are you saying they're two different models? If so, where did you pick up that they're not the same?"

Perhaps the general confusion has come from the misconception that cell church meant following a particular oversight and support structure–like pastor Cho’s Jethro model that is organized around geography (some call this the 5X5 model). If this was ever true, it was only because of the lack of alternative care structures.

It’s worth remembering that cell churches that follow distinct care structures have also grown very rapidly.[20] The 5x5/Jethro model that originated with pastor Cho’s structure in Korea catapulted that church to become the largest church in the history of Christianity. Dion Robert, senior pastor of the Works and Mission Baptist Church in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, developed his own oversight and support structure and grew to 120,000 with 21 other nations touched by their missionary teams.

The Elim Church in San Salvador , El Salvador , adapted the 5x5 model by adding  two meetings a week: one for cell members only and the other to reach out evangelistically as a normal cell group. This model has produced a church of 120,000 in a small nation.  

Applying G12 Principles  

Most cell churches that admire the G-12 model take the best G-12 principles and apply them to their individual settings. I’ll be highlighting G-12 principles throughout this book, as well as churches who have done an excellent job applying them.

Those churches following G-12 principles—as opposed to the entire model—are too numerous to name. They have each discovered fresh ways to fine-tune their cell-based church by using G-12 principles and values. Churches that follow the principle-oriented approach are primarily concerned about becoming better cell churches and are excited about how certain principles or values of the G-12 approach can make this work.

 The dictionary describes a principle as “an important underlying law or assumption required in a system of thought.”  We in the cell church movement, for example, believe the principle that the cell is just as important as the celebration and that both of them must be equally emphasized. We find this principle in the New Testament church. The early church celebrated together in large temple gatherings and then met from house to house (Acts 2:42-46; 5:42; 20:20). Later, due to persecution, this pattern became nearly impossible and the house church movement became the norm (Acts 12:12; Romans 16: 3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15: Philemon 2). Although we don’t have a lot of specific details about how the New Testament cell approach looked, the principle of cell-celebration guides our thinking.

We must humbly admit that none of the current cell church models are perfect. I wouldn’t promote Yongii Cho (Seoul, Korea), Ralph Neighbour (Houston, TX), Mario Vega (San Salvador, El Salvador), Larry Stockstill (Baker, LA), Dion Robert (Abijan, Ivory Coast), Billy Joe Daugherty (Tulsa, OK), or César Castellanos (Bogota, Colombia) as having the only true biblical cell church model. The pattern, or principle, is cell-celebration. The application of the cell church for today is varied and changes from culture to culture and church to church. 

The same could be said of the New Testament teaching on worship. Paul didn’t promote one model of worship. Rather, he laid down guiding principles for worship in the house of God. Paul said that when someone spoke in tongues, there should be an interpreter (1 Corinthians 14:13) and that spiritual gifts should be exercised in an orderly fashion (1 Corinthians 14:26-32). Paul’s instructions were broad enough to apply to a variety of circumstances. Paul set forth principles, rather than promoting exact models.

Church government is another example. I don’t believe there is one exact church government model (e.g., Presbyterian, Congregational, combination, etc.). Paul, rather, gave principles or characteristics upon which to base the choice of leadership in the church (1 Timothy 3: 1-7; Titus 3), but Paul did not write down step by step instructions on how to run a church.

You’re reading this book because you want to know how to do cell church better. My advice is to follow the common patterns or principles of the major cell churches. In my book Reap the Harvest, I catalogued common principles and patterns found in all of the fastest growing worldwide cell churches. These principles include:

·        Dependence on Jesus Christ through prayer.

·        Senior pastor giving strong, visionary leadership to the cell ministry.

·        Cell ministry promoted as the backbone of the church.

·        Clear definition of a cell group (weekly, outside the church building, evangelistic, pastoral care/discipleship, clear goal of multiplication).

·        The passion behind cell ministry is evangelism and church growth.

·        Reproduction (multiplication) is the major goal of each cell group.

·        Cell and celebration attendance expected of everyone attending the church.

·        Clearly established leadership requirements for those entering cell ministry.

·        Required cell leadership training for all potential cell group leaders.

·        Cell leadership developed from within the church itself, at all levels.

·        A supervisory care structure for each level of leadership (G-12 or 5x5).

·        Cell leadership promoted to higher leadership positions based on past success.

·        Follow-up system of visitors and new converts administered through cell groups.

Cell lessons based on pastor’s teaching to promote continuity between cell and celebration (although flexibility might be given to meet the needs of specific homogeneous groups). [MB4]  In later chapters, I’ll be amplifying several crucial G-12 principles such as:

·        Everyone can become a cell leader.

·        Every leader can disciple and supervise other leaders.

·        People need to be set free (liberated from strongholds) in order to serve as harvest workers.

·        A clear training track must immediately follow the Encounter Retreat.

·        There must be fervent prayer and total commitment to Jesus Christ.  

God is using the cell church throughout the world. The cell church strategy will constantly need refinement and adaptation to improve its overall quality and effectiveness. G-12 principles help us refine the cell church strategy—not replace it.