Rethinking Urban Mission: Reconsidering Strategic Cell Fellowships as Tools to Reach and Disciple the Unreached Sub-Saharan Urban Dwellers

Abstract

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