Manchester Cell Church Forum

Some years ago I heard Bill Beckham talking about the way Jesus prepared his disciples before they became the Church. He gathered about 70 who really understood the message of the Kingdom and sent them out in pairs to the towns and villages of Israel. Within the 70 were the 12 and the inner core were Peter, James and John. Bill described these 70 as being the critical mass within a big red circle around Jesus.

Bill suggested a way of starting cell church with the leader discipling first the inner core, then working with the 12, then testing if they have "got it" with the 70. Eventually, when the DNA is well established the church will start to multiply.

At St. Mark's we are still in the big red circle. Our cell groups do not yet have the full DNA needed to replicate. Many of our members have never really been discipled and so they do not yet know how to make disciples. We have about 35 "warm bodies" (to use Bill's terminology) and various "lukewarm bodies". We have not yet reached the critical mass necessary for expansion.