There is without exaggeration thousands of tips we can supply and it is difficult to start at a point, but below are some important principles that are common to all successful Cell Churches around the world. In order to structure our Churches correctly, we need to adopt these principles to make the Cell system strong and healthy:

1. Dependence on Jesus Christ Through Prayer.

If you had to approach our Senior Pastor and ask him what is the reason why it seems that you are blessed and that you have had minimal complications in transitioning a Church, he will without hesitation reply that it is only through prayer. The Bible says in Psalm 127:1 that unless the Lord builds the house, the people build it in vain. True Cell Churches depend on the Lord Jesus Christ to answer their prayers and trust God to build their Churches. This prayer is not just talked about, but is practiced by all the members of the Cell Church. Many of the successful Cell Churches have monthly half night prayer meetings. Many of these Churches gather on public holidays to fast and pray. Others have defined prayer strategies operating throughout the week. We can have the best Cell structure in the world, but without the power of the Holy Spirit through prayer, the Church will not grow. The Senior Man has to lead by example, our example used to pray every morning from 5-9am. Most of the senior leadership was with him. It is the biggest tip we can give you by far.

2. Motivation for Cell Ministry is Evangelism and Church Growth.

Although Cell Churches have 5 main goals namely, worship, evangelism, discipleship (training of believers), ministry (meeting peoples needs) and fellowship, the primary motivation for Cells is evangelism. The largest Cell Churches in the world strategically plan to conquer their cities for Christ and Cell ministry makes this possible. The main motivation for operating a Cell ministry is to evangelise the lost. Pastoral care, although of equal importance, comes secondary to this main motivation.

3. The Goal of Each Cell Group is to Multiply.

In every successful Cell Church the new Cell Leaders immediately know that their goal is to multiply their Cells. God calls Cell groups to evangelize, grow and multiply. Passion for the lost is the motivation that keeps everything in perspective. If rapid growth is maintained, new leaders emerge, close fellowship takes place, and the Church grows as a result. God’s commission to us was to make disciples of all men. We don’t place evangelism as the ultimate, it is on par with discipling every member, but primarily reaching the lost is just ahead in terms of motivation.

4. The Cell Structure is Controlled.

All successful Cell Churches have "quality control". Quality control means that all the Cell groups are monitored to see if they have similar components and characteristics. For example, spiritual growth, evangelistic outreaches (with the goal of multiplication), mentoring, transparency, worship and intimate connection with the local Church are the right characteristics for every Cell group. For this reason every Cell is closely monitored to see if they are maintaining these correct characteristics and all the Cells are following the correct pattern.

5. Emphasis on Goal Setting.

All growth in the Cell Church must be according to set goals. Goals are set in terms of how many new Cells we would like have at the end of a specific time period. God has given us a job of reaching our area, to do this we need to multiply Cell groups. God asks us "what do we want and when do we want it?" We set the Goal and every Cell leader is then constantly reminded of these goals and their completion dates. Similarly each member is individually challenged in terms of where they are going in terms of their spiritual walk and what they would like to do for Jesus.

6. Importance of both Cell and Celebration

Cell and Celebration attendances are both very important in the Cell Church. One is not sufficient without the other. Members should attend both the Cell and the Celebration service. In each Church at least 65% of those who attend the Cell Groups must attend the Celebration services. Unhealthy Cell Churches exist when the people only attend the Home Cell Groups and not the Celebration services.

7. Senior Pastors are Strong, Visionary Leaders.

Strong visionary leaders lead successful Cell Churches, because the authority of the Cell system flows from the Senior Pastor. Without exception all the Leaders in strong Cell Churches are men of vision and dreams. The Senior Pastor is the key to a successful Cell Church. He is the key person who determines the overall vision, goals and strategy and continually motivates the rest of the Church to pursue the Cell goals. The direction of the Cell ministry therefore, cannot be delegated to anyone else.

8. Cells follow up new Visitors, new Converts

In all successful Cell Churches, the Cells disciple the visitors and new converts. New visitor cards are collected in the Celebration services and are distributed to the Cell groups, which in-turn disciple the newcomers. The follow up system is then monitored to see if the new people are attending the groups or not.

9. Cell Lessons are Based upon the Pastor’s Sermon.

Although the style or format can be different, the main foundation of all Cell lessons is based on the Senior Pastor’s sermon. The lesson might be a summary of the Sunday message or four carefully designed application questions that follow the Sunday message. This ensures that the Cells are not following their own ideas and doctrines but are all in unity with the Word from the Senior Pastor.

10. They all focus on leadership development.