A cell group meeting in a home can easily pass as a birthday party or a friendly social gathering in contexts where authorities routinely raid Christians meeting together. The cell group is also more conducive to discipleship or nurture largely because there is more interaction. The leader of a cell group is able to focus on the specific needs of a few people. Not all cell groups have succeeded, but then, not all church plants have either. Bypassing this step in our vision continuum will weaken the foundations of the movement.
Cells are the cement that bonds believers together.
The third building block in a church planting movement is the congregation. Converts or disciples must be folded into cell groups. Cell groups in turn must be incorporated into congregations. In extremely hostile environments the larger, more public gathering of believers may not be possible. In such cases the cell group becomes the church.