A thesis submitted in fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree of MA cum bude in Communication Science University of Zululand, 2002. / In this thesis I describe the development of the Cell Church from a movement to an organisation, based on empirical data analysis, in comparison with three similar religious movements that developed from movements to church organisations, namely the early Christian church, the Protestant Reformation and the Millerite Advent movement. My conclusion is that the Cell Church is at the early stage of changing from a movement to an organisation.

<p>This licentiate thesis is written at the multi-disciplinary research school Identity and Pluralism−and also within the subject of Church History−at the Department of Culture and Communication, University of Linkoping, Sweden.</p><p>In the thesis the rise of the Cell Group Church is explained. Further the Cell Group Church is analyzed with help of questions regarding identity and pluralism. The author conceives a basis of identity, an approach to define cell-structured churches. This basis can in turn constitute a premise for continued research. Furthermore adequate criteria to evaluate the movement are put forth.</p><p>The dissertation poses three main questions. How was the Cell Group Church formed? Is it possible to identify the Cell Group Church with help of identity markers? What criteria are appropriate to use for an evaluation of the Cell Group Church?</p><p>The concept of the Cell Group Church was coined by Dr. Ralph W. Neighbour and it is he and his book ‘Where Do We Go From Here?’ which are the eye-catchers in this thesis. In what way might Neighbour’s own personal development have affected the design? The intention is not to make a psychological study of Neighbour’s persona, but to weigh in some decisive events that are found in Neighbour’s own biography and that might have affected the design of the Cell Group Church. But influence also has occurred from the outside. What has happened when the Cell Group Church has met the congregations of reality in Korea, Singapore, The Ivory Coast and Columbia? What has Neighbour modified and what in the Cell Group Church has endured? Within the given frame, 1965-2006, there has been an interaction going on between Neighbour and his personal development on the one side and his encounters with reality on the other. In this tension a process of reform is growing. The author will highlight what is lasting in this process, what stands for continuity, and what means a change of identity. The method is to begin with historically descriptive but devolves into being analytical.</p><p>This thesis contributes to the basic research in the field of the Cell Group Church. The movement of the Cell Church is a part of a forceful global course of events within Christianity. There are historians of religion and sociologists of religion who mean that a new kind of Christianity is forming in our times. The manner in which the Cell Group Church relates to its contemporary period is interesting both from international as well as Swedish conditions. Is the Cell Group Church an alternative that will replace the churches of old? Can the Cell Group Church contribute to the survival of the churches of old?</p>

This licentiate thesis is written at the multi-disciplinary research school Identity and Pluralism−and also within the subject of Church History−at the Department of Culture and Communication, University of Linkoping, Sweden. In the thesis the rise of the Cell Group Church is explained. Further the Cell Group Church is analyzed with help of questions regarding identity and pluralism. The author conceives a basis of identity, an approach to define cell-structured churches. This basis can in turn constitute a premise for continued research. Furthermore adequate criteria to evaluate the movement are put forth. The dissertation poses three main questions. How was the Cell Group Church formed? Is it possible to identify the Cell Group Church with help of identity markers? What criteria are appropriate to use for an evaluation of the Cell Group Church? The concept of the Cell Group Church was coined by Dr. Ralph W. Neighbour and it is he and his book ‘Where Do We Go From Here?’ which are the eye-catchers in this thesis. In what way might Neighbour’s own personal development have affected the design? The intention is not to make a psychological study of Neighbour’s persona, but to weigh in some decisive events that are found in Neighbour’s own biography and that might have affected the design of the Cell Group Church. But influence also has occurred from the outside. What has happened when the Cell Group Church has met the congregations of reality in Korea, Singapore, The Ivory Coast and Columbia? What has Neighbour modified and what in the Cell Group Church has endured? Within the given frame, 1965-2006, there has been an interaction going on between Neighbour and his personal development on the one side and his encounters with reality on the other. In this tension a process of reform is growing. The author will highlight what is lasting in this process, what stands for continuity, and what means a change of identity. The method is to begin with historically descriptive but devolves into being analytical. This thesis contributes to the basic research in the field of the Cell Group Church. The movement of the Cell Church is a part of a forceful global course of events within Christianity. There are historians of religion and sociologists of religion who mean that a new kind of Christianity is forming in our times. The manner in which the Cell Group Church relates to its contemporary period is interesting both from international as well as Swedish conditions. Is the Cell Group Church an alternative that will replace the churches of old? Can the Cell Group Church contribute to the survival of the churches of old?

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo a análise da concepção de ensino da Igreja em Células, à luz do modelo de Ralph W. Neighbour Jr., adotado pelo Ministério de Igrejas em Células no Brasil, sob a perspectiva da formação cristã continuada na fé da Igreja Reformada. A visão da Igreja em Células é de que a estrutura e os valores da igreja tradicional não observam o modelo de igreja do Novo Testamento. Em novo odre, a educação perdeu a importância, e o ensino, em sua concepção pedagógica, voltou-se a ciclos de estudo e treinamento chamados de trilhos e finais de semanas, para formação de discipuladores e líderes, com foco na multiplicação das células e crescimento da Igreja. A escola bíblica, nesse ambiente, perdeu a importância, e a formação continuada na fé foi descaracterizada. O membro tornou-se apenas reprodutor de si mesmo. Neste estudo, adotou-se o método de pesquisa bibliográfica a partir da revisão das principais obras sobre o assunto, com ênfase na exploração das fontes existentes sobre o conteúdo em exame. O trabalho está estruturado em quatro partes. A primeira parte aborda panoramicamente a educação cristã a partir da reforma protestante, destacando os aspectos históricos gerais da formação cristã da Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil. A segunda parte incursiona pelo conceito de educação cristã e pelos aspectos teóricos dos Quatro Pilares da Educação. Tais concepções teóricas alinham-se à proposta pedagógica de ensino cristão da Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil, como identidade de escola calvinista a partir de seu fundamento evangélico. Na sequência, aborda a escola bíblica como práxis pedagógica de formação cristã na igreja tradicional, destacando a Presbiteriana, com ênfase na educação como ministério da Igreja. A Terceira parte analisa a concepção pedagógica adotada pela igreja em células à luz da práxis de ensino cristão concebido por Neighbour Jr. e adotado pelo Ministério Igreja em Células no Brasil. O exame parte do estudo da formação da igreja em células e dos pressupostos eclesiológicos e teológicos. A quarta e última parte examina o estudo da práxis instrucional dos trilhos de treinamentos de discipuladores e líderes na Igreja em Células. Em seguida, apresenta as características e as considerações críticas do exame realizado e sugestão de proposta de modelo pedagógico de formação cristã continuada na fé para igrejas tradicionais que migrem para o modelo de igreja em células, cuja concepção privilegia a formação de discipuladores e líderes. Conclui-se no sentido de que a prática pedagógica da igreja em células não é um instrumento de educação cristã continuada e integral na fé. Não visa tratar o indivíduo e formá-lo como um todo para a vida e atua na desconstrução da escola bíblica. / The present research aim to analyze the conception of teaching of the Cell Church, according to Ralph W. Neighbour Jr.s model, used by the Cell Church Ministry in Brazil, under the perspective of the continuous Christian education in conformity to the faith of the Reformed Church. The understanding of the Cell Church is that the structure and values of the traditional church do not observe the church model of the New Testament. In a new leather bottle the education lost its significance and the teaching, in its pedagogic conception, returned to the study cycles and training, named trails and weekends, to the formation of leaders and disciple makers, concentrating the forces on the multiplication of the cell and in the growth of the church. In this environment, the biblical school lost its significance and the continuous education on faith was uncharacterized. The member became just a self reproducer. In this study the method of bibliographical research has been chosen starting from the reading of the main works on the subject, emphasizing the exploration of existent sources on the content. The present study is structured in four parts. The first part approaches widely the Christian education starting from the Protestant Reform, highlighting the general historical aspects of the Christian formation of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil. The second part walks through the concept of Christian education and the theoretical aspects of the Four Pillars of Education. Such theoretical conceptions join to the pedagogic proposal of Christian education of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil as identity of Calvinist school starting from its evangelical foundation. As too approaches the biblical school as pedagogic praxis of Christian formation in the traditional church, featuring the Presbyterian Church and the education as Church Ministry. The third part analyzes the pedagogic conception adopted by the cell church according the Christian education ideated by Neighbour Jr. and used by the Cell Church Ministry in Brazil. The research starts from the Cell Church formation and ecclesiological and theological presuppositions. The fourth and last part the study analyzes the formation praxis of training and disciple makers trails by the Cell Church. The last part also presents the characteristics and critics of this research and the proposal of pedagogic model of continuous Christian education on faith for traditional churches which decide to migrate to the cell church model whose conception privileges the disciple makers and leaders formation. The present study concludes that the pedagogic praxis of the cell church is not an instrument of continuous and integral Christian education on faith. It does not seek to treat the individual and prepare him or her for living and it acts in the deconstruction of the biblical school.