Rethinking Urban Mission: Reconsidering Strategic Cell Fellowships as Tools to Reach and Disciple the Unreached Sub-Saharan Urban Dwellers
Eric Jean-Ive Abrahams-Appiah 
Issue: Vol.8 No.10 November 2022 Issue Article 3 pp 301-313
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20228103 | Published online 22nd December 2022.
© 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
In the face of rising urbanisation, the urban church in Sub-Saharan Africa tackles the immense burden of reaching and discipling the unreached urban dwellers. Due to psychological overloads, social isolation, and social invisibility, urban residents shield themselves from casual and shallow relationships. Given the importance of true relationships in urban living, this article focuses on strategic cell fellowships as the most appropriate missional instrument for the urban church. It argues that for effective urban missions, cell fellowships strategically woven around vocational, recreational, and social networks must be explored. The article belongs to the discipline of missiology. It employs a transdisciplinary approach that incorporates the disciplines of theology, demography, sociology, psychology, and small group management, to identify practical ways to efficiently reach out to urban dwellers. This article demonstrates that God’s purpose to the unreached urban dwellers in the rapidly evolving Sub-Saharan region can be fulfilled when their relational needs are intentionally met through well-structured and specialised strategic cell fellowships.
Keywords: urban mission, strategic cell fellowship, social invisibility, psychological overloads
Abrahams-Appiah, Eric J.., The Ark Strategy Booklet:The King’s Strategic Fellowship Center Details, The King’s Generals International Church Strategic fellowship records booklet, Unpublished, July 17, 2021.
Amoo, Darku Nii., Holistic City Evangelism: Accra Perspective, Eshcolit Ghana Ltd, 2005.
Bakke, Raymond J., Evangelization of the World’s Cities, in An Urban World: Churches Face the Future, ed. Larry L. Rose and C. Kirk Hadaway.Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1984.
Cho, David Yonggi., Successful Home Cell Groups, Florida: Bridge-Logos 1981.
CityMayors Statistics., The world’s fastest-growing cities and urban areas from 2006 to 2020-Urban areas ranked 1 to 100, < http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/urban_growth1.html> Accessed September 13th, 2021.
Engen, C.Van., God’s Missionary people, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991.
Foli, Richard, Towards Church Growth in Ghana, Accra: Trust Publishers, 1996.
Guder, Darell., Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 1998.
Harries, Emma., Social Isolation and its Relationship to the Urban Environment, accessed 24 November 2022, https://docplayer.net/92189976-Research-to-practice-paper-social-isolation-and-its-relationship-to-the-urban-environment.html
Hove, Tann vom., By 2030 Africa will change from rural to urban society,< http://www.citymayors.com/society/urban_africa.html >, Accessed September 13th, 2021.
Matthew, Crawlings., African Cities: A Case Study in Urbanization and the Rapidly Changing Missions Landscape, [posted 01/03/2017] <https://www.imb.org/2017/03/01/african-cities-a-case-study-in-urbanization-and-the-rapidly-changing-missions-landscape/>.Accessed July 19th, 2021.
Michael, Green.,Evangelism in the Early Church, Eastbourne: Kingsway Communication ltd, 2003.
Mims, Gene., Kingdom Principles For Church Growth, Nashville: LifeWay Christian Resources, 2008.
Loubser, Gys M., Being Transdisciplinary Theologians in and Beyond Apocalyptic Environments, HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies 72(4), a3473 (2016):2, accessed November 24, 2022, http://dx.doi. org/10.4102/hts.v72i4.3473
“Sub-Saharan Africa” according to the UN statistic department on Geographic regions, https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/, Accessed September 28, 2021.
Thomas, Veronica G. et.al., Toward an Urban Psychology: Research, Action, and Policy, Report of American Psychological Association’s (APA) Task Force on Urban Psychology (TFUP), < https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/urban-taskforce.pdf >. Accessed July 20th, 2021.
Wagner, Peter C., Leading Your Church To Growth: The Secret of Pastor/People Partnership in Dynamic Church Growth, Ventura: Regal books, 1984.
Winter, Ralph D. and Koch, Bruce., Finishing the Task: The Unreached Peoples Challenge, In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, 4th Ed., 531-546. (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library), 2009.
Apostle Eric Jean-Ive Abrahams-Appiah is a holder of a Masters in Arts and Ministry from the Trinity Theological Seminary, Accra Ghana and is presently a second-year Master of Theology student in the same seminary. He also heads the Holy Worldwide Revival Missions, Achimota, Accra Ghana. His research focuses on Urban Missions.
Abrahams-Appiah, E J. “Rethinking Urban Mission: Reconsidering Strategic Cell Fellowships as Tools to Reach and Disciple the Unreached Sub-Saharan Urban Dwellers,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 8 no.10 (2022): 301-313. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20228103
© 2022 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Others