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 Ralph Neighbour.

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 church. It is called the ‘G12' model and it is currently being administered globally under the leadership of Cesar 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 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 shows that Jesus choice of 12 to be his main disciples and apostles and to be the primary group he associated with throughout his public ministry.

Here are some suggestions why the number 12 is significant.

‘12' IS THE NUMBER OF NATIONHOOD (KEYWORD = IDENTITY)

The 12 of Jesus were going to sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel . These tribes make up the whole nation of Israel . The promise "I will make you into a great nation" was given to Abraham. Out of him came Isaac and Jacob and from him the 12 tribes of Israel . God was building a nation from the 12. This is the promise of Abraham. And we have been called into that promise.

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13-14).

Both the OT Vision and the NT Vision of God were founded on the principle of 12. The OT was founded on the 12 tribes of Israel , and the NT upon the 12 Apostles of the Lamb.

“Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:12-14).

God is building his nation through the principle of 12 today
As you win people to Jesus, you are building your nation for the Lord. Begin with a cell group and then you members reach out and start a cell and they grow and son on. A cell group is a ‘microcosmic' church, a tiny unit of church or ekklesia, and through these cells the multitudes come in. But this nation also affects all nations because God's plan is that all nations will flow into this nation of God.

Matthew 28 - Go and make disciples of all nations.
The key word in nation is identity. We are called to a national identity, with a common unity in Christ. The nation of God comprises all God's people together. God is Trinity and humanity is a family because God has made us all out of 'one blood'. The racial division, separation, exploitation and separation together with the individualism of our day have disunited the human race. But God is uniting us again in the Body of Christ. Cells show this community or ‘common unity' as part of the nation of God.

‘12' IS THE NUMBER OF APOSTLESHIP (THE KEYWORD IS AUTHORITY)

The Church is built on the foundation of Apostles and Prophets “…having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20)

The 12 were called ‘apostles' by Jesus. These are those who are sent with a (foundational) commission. The church of Jesus Christ is apostolic, built upon the foundation of apostolic authority. This is the NT revelation of the Gospel.

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1-2).

The foundation of the Church has been laid once for all by Christ and his apostles, but we still need apostolic ministries today. Ephesians 4 teaches that the gift of apostle functions in the body of Christ until we are all built up in the unity and the maturity of the fullness of Christ. All the ministries in Ephesians 4:11 are needed today and are available to the Church of today.

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

Apostolic leaders together with all the other expressions of the leadership of Christ (prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) are there to equip the church for the work of Christ. That is the true ministry. The body of Christ is to be equipped and enabled for this work. The word for this is, katartidzo which means ‘to thoroughly equip, furnish and make ready'. But this ministry is not a 'free for all' scenario. It is to be carried out in relation to the apostolic leadership that Christ has set in the church. People plead “the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit” as if to defend their disconnected actions. But the Holy Spirit never works against Christ. The Holy Spirit will lead you to work in submission to and under the authority of the care, nurture and protection of apostolic leadership. There can be no full expression of the ministry of Christ in the Church without this accountability.

Unfortunately apostolic authority is often missing from churches today. It operates through the apostolic message preached, apostolic power manifested in signs, wonders and miracles, and the apostolic method of making and maturing disciples so that the whole church may be mobilised to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ.

It is highly likely that the apostles carried the work out of Jesus through a form of cell vision. In Acts 4, we read that they broke bread daily in one another's homes which would have been very similar to the cells we know in the church today. On the Day of Pentecost 3,000 members were added to the church. The miracle was not just that such a vast number came to faith in Christ and were baptized in a single day, but that they all continued steadfastly in the faith. In other words they were consolidated and discipled as new believers and went on to evagelise and make disciples all over the world.

This is the genuine apostolic Christianity of the New Testament. Operating according the principle of 12 today can help restore apostolic order, authority and power to the church.

‘12' IS THE NUMBER OF DISCIPLESHIP (KEYWORD = INTIMACY)

Jesus discipled his group of 12 more than all the others. He had many followers - the crowds, the 70 and the 12. This last group were his intimate followers. Instead of trying to disciple the multitudes, Jesus worked with the 12 and finally released them to the world wide task of discipling the nations. When Jesus issued his command, "Make disciples of all nations" what would the disciples have understood him to mean? How would they have gone about doing this work? It stands to reason that they did it exactly the way they had seen Jesus do it. They began to follow the example of Christ and formed small groups, pouring their life into these people just as Jesus had done to them. There is no proof that the disciples formed groups of 12 (as if the number 12 is an absolute, biblical necessity) but it is perfectly reasonable to believe that they put into practice the model of Jesus. Jesus chose his 12, “that they might be with Him, and that he might send them out to preach the gospel” (Mark 3:13-15). Jesus wanted his 12: to hear His teaching, to see His actions/life, to see his miracles and to learn how to live and minister like him.

“Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

At the heart of discipleship is death because it lay at the heart of Jesus mission. To follow Him meant death. For some this would mean literal death but it is for all a real dying, none the less. His challenge was, "Take up your cross and follow me."

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honour” (John 12:24-26).

The principle of 12 gives us a real opportunity to achieve 100% discipleship in the modern Church. The Model of 12 is a model of intentional discipleship and it is a strategy that can bring the whole of a church or fellowship into the discipleship of Jesus.

‘12' IS THE NUMBER OF GOVERNMENT (KEYWORD = ORDER)

Government in the ‘natural order'
On the fourth day of creation God made lights – the sun and the moon to govern the day and the night (See Genesis 1:14-19). Although there are around 40 different calendar systems in the world, nearly all recognize the 12 hour division between night and day – and so we see the principle of the government of 12 reflected in the natural order.

Government in Israel
Israel in the wilderness was governed by the leaders from the 12 tribes (Numbers 1:5-16). Solomon administered the kingdom with a system ordered on the principle of 12 (1 Kings 4:7-18).

The Government of Christ
The world will ultimately be governed by the Lord Jesus ruling from 12 thrones along with those appointed to that governmental task (Matthew 19:28). The government of 12 is about Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church ordering his people apostolically through the totality of apostolic leadership and the full compliment of apostolic vision being revealed in the world today. The government of 12 can help bring this order into the Church of Jesus Christ today.