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The Principle of 12 [Vision of 12]
The Background of this Discipleship Model
Supplemental Notes borrowed from Cell Explosion Archives [edited by JR]
David Yonggi Cho of the Yoido Full Gospel Church pioneered the cell vision in the 20th century and, is so far, the most successful cell church leader in the world with his church 850,000 members. This model, now known as the ‘5 by 5’ model has been developed by other leaders such as Ralph Neighbour, etc.
In the 1980’s a new cell model began to emerge building on the principle of 12. As the Holy Spirit led Cesar Castellanos and others in Bogota, Columbia. This model carries a new and fresh anointing for cell churches. It is called the ‘G12’ model and it is currently being administered globally under the leadership of Cesar and Claudia Castellanos.
The Model of 12 released into the world
The Bible says “give honour to whom honour is due” (Romans 13:7) and we give honour to Cesar Castellanos as the pioneer of the G12 cell church model. The Model of 12, however, is the property of the Holy Spirit and not of any one person or ministry. Every prophetic and apostolic vision belongs to the whole body of Christ as the Lord leads.
God is raising up multiple expressions of the Model of 12 which are true to the principles and values of the G12 strategy but are being expressed through different apostolic ministries in the world. We are seeing this happen in the USA, India, Africa and Europe and other parts of the world.
This development in the Cell Vision according to the Model of 12 (Principle of 12) will mean that there will be many expressions of what the Holy Spirit is doing through the Cell Church movement. These expressions will be culturally relevant and adapted to the specific needs and circumstances of the people being ministered to.
The Principle of 12
At the base of the Model of 12 is the underlying Principle of 12 and this is an important development in the concept of cell church that the Spirit has been speaking to the Church of Jesus Christ about in recent decades.
It is important neither to exaggerate nor to minimize the scriptural significance of the number 12. There are important principles to be learnt from Scripture about this number. However, we must be careful not to elevate the principle of 12 into a theological imperative, because the Bible never does that. Cell models should build on the principle of 12 without reading too much back into the text of Scripture.
The number 12 does not exist in the NT as an elaborate model for cell church, but the scriptural principle of 12 can be applied to church life today under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is important not to impose any one single model on the whole church or to say that there is only one way of applying the principle of 12.
Numbers in the Bible often have significance. For example, the number 3, is associated with the Trinity, 7 speaks of divine perfection and 6 is the number of man. Clearly these insights are limited in value and cannot be taken too far by reading into Bible texts meanings never intended by the Holy Spirit. However, the number 12 does have clear significance in Scripture.
Jesus chose 12 to reach the multitudes (Matthew 9:35-10:5). He wanted to reach the multitudes but began with a group of 12 men he had previously selected and was training to do the job. Why did Jesus choose12? Why not 11? Why not 13? And why did the apostles replace Judas with Matthias restoring their number to 12 after the loss of Judas?
The significance of the number of 12 in Scripture is demonstrated by Jesus’ choice of 12 to be his main disciples and apostles and to be the primary group he associated with throughout his public ministry.
The key is to understand that Jesus spent most of his time with these 12 chosen disciples, and majored on discipling, training and ultimately releasing them to do the work of the kingdom of God. If this is what Jesus did, who are we to try and do it any other way? Surely the Lord’s example is something we can follow. True, his situation was spiritually and historically unique. His 12 were to become the foundation of the New Testament Church and the foundations of the City of God. But Jesus’ method in fulfilling these things can also be an effective model for what he calls us to do today.
There have been many uses of the principle of 12 in Church history. Britain was evangelized by monks who built cells around the principle of 12. Wesley had his groups of 12, and Robert Coleman, 40 years ago in his book, “Master Plan of Evangelism”, pointed out the reasons why Jesus concentrated on his 12:
“Here is the wisdom of his method, and in observing it, we return again to the fundamental principle of concentration on those he intended to use. One cannot transform a world except as individuals in the world are transformed, and individuals cannot be changed except as they are molded in the hands of the Master. The necessity is apparent not only to select a few helpers, but also to keep the group small enough to be able to work with them… All of this certainly impresses one with the deliberate way that Jesus proportioned his life to those he wanted to train. It also graphically illustrates a fundamental principle of teaching: that other things being equal, the more concentrated the size of the group being taught, the greater the opportunity for effective instruction.”
(Robert Coleman, Master Plan of Evangelism 30th Anniversary Edition, pages 29-31).
The principle of 12 is therefore clear. Whatever other significance of the number 12 holds, it is the optimum number for intense and personal discipleship. This is shown by the Lord’s example as well as the work of sociologists today who confirm this principle.
The Model of 12 builds on this principle of 12 and organized the cells into groups of 12. This is where leaders are discipled, nurtured, trained and mentored. Each person in a group of 12 is encouraged to have their own cell where they fulfill their call as leaders – to evangelize the lost, nurture new believers and raise up leaders of their own – who in turn become part of their group of 12. And so the process is repeated. Once this multiplication according to the factor of 12 sets in, rapid growth begins to occur. The 12 grow to 144, and then to 1,728, to 20,736 and so on.
One of the greatest advantages of the Model of 12 is that everyone can be personally mentored and discipled into leadership. It is a relational, not a supervisory model, and that is characteristically how discipleship happens. People can make great progress in their Christian life and ministry, knowing there have the support and back up the Model of 12 gives them.
==== this article is printed as a supplementary reading for our SOL 2 training at HLM
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The Vision of 12 at His Life Ministries
interested to know more about the Vision of 12?
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The Vision of 12 at His Life Ministries