Kingdom Report
www.kingdomvision.co.za
Week of 1 November 2025
Building a Generational Expanding Church
When we have an eschatology of a generational growing Kingdom of God to fill the earth then we need an Ekklesia that is structured to accommodate that growth. There are 7 structures in scripture that give us blueprints for the future church of the 21st century.
Within Kingdom eschatology the real issue is not the usual Replacement Theology of “does the church replace Israel”. We are beyond that. The issue for us is the replacement theology is this: “The kingdoms of the world have become the Kingdoms of our God and of His Christ” as Revelation and the great Handel’s Messiah hymn proclaim. And as scripture says Christ is to inherit the nations.
In my coming book on the Ekklesia of the 21st Century I ask myself what does a church look like that is able to “inherit the nations for Christ”? My approach is not conquest or domination or political power. My approach: A church that grows to fill the earth. The world system dies out, we live thrive and grow.
In this model I have identified for my book 7 examples inn scripture that God uses to describe “His people” and what that relationship looks like and how those people as they grow find new ways to express the love and purpose of God in all the earth.
My growth model is from the small one to one intimate relationship of Bride to Bridegroom and from there larger relationships af growth to structures and relastionships of God’s people as a nation. This is a generational growth strategy to fill the earth with the glory and the Kingdom of God.
Let us, therefore, cast off the paralysis of a short-term mindset and embrace the generational mandate God has woven into the very fabric of the Church. Let us be a people who not only long for His return but actively build for it. This is “occupy” ever increasing spaces of the earth through organic growth
In each of these structures that I list in order of growth, structure and purpose we will need to find new and creative ways to create and perfect these structures to reflect the will of God in all the earth. A lot of this is going to be new Promised Land territory.
New ways to network and connect and relate to one another will need to be developed by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. I give this outline to those of you p[raying for the Lord’s guidance on church growth. There lots more to say on each of these 7 levels and will give my ideas in future blogs and books.
Shifting from a Short-Term to a Long-Term Kingdom Mindset
Biblical Metaphor |
Short-Term "Rapture" Mindset |
Long-Term "Occupy" Mindset |
1. Bride |
A fleeting romance before the end. Focus on emotional experience. |
An eternal covenant. Focus on faithful preparation, building structures of purity and fruitfulness for a long future. |
2. Family |
A temporary support group. Focus on current members' needs. |
A multi-generational household. Focus on discipleship, legacy, and passing down a spiritual inheritance. |
3. Body |
An informal gathering of individuals. Focus on personal gifts. |
A divinely organized organism. Focus on building systems where all parts work interdependently for long-term health and growth. |
4. Temple |
A temporary meeting place. Focus on the spiritual "feeling" of God's presence. |
A permanent spiritual house on an unshakable foundation. Focus on co-laboring with the Spirit in a divine, long-term construction project. |
5. City |
A private refuge from the world. Focus on internal programs. |
A public "city on a hill." Focus on building visible, culture-shaping institutions that shine the light of God's governance. |
6. Tribe |
A loose affinity group. Focus on personal belonging. |
A people with a shared destiny. Focus on creating a rich Kingdom culture and identity to pass down through generations. |
7. Nation |
A scattered, stateless people. Focus on individual salvation. |
A "holy nation" with a global mandate. Focus on building the comprehensive infrastructure of a contrast society to represent God to the world. |
This is the ultimate expression of love for our King—to faithfully "occupy" and expand His dominion on earth until He returns. Building for the long haul is not a distraction from our blessed hope; it is the very substance of it.
So let’s give some scriptural support for each of these expressions as aspects of a growing church from 1) Bride to 7) A nation.
1) The Church as the Bride of Christ: A Covenant for the Ages
The most intimate of all biblical metaphors for the Church is that of the Bride of Christ. This beautiful image, rooted in God’s covenantal language with Israel in the Old Testament, finds its glorious fulfilment in the relationship between Jesus and the people He redeemed. In passages like Ephesians 5:25-33, 2 Corinthians 11:2, and Revelation 19:7-9, we see a love story of divine proportions. But this is not merely a picture of romance; it is a portrait of covenant. The relationship between Christ and His Church is an "unbreakable promise of faithfulness and unity," a sacred and enduring commitment. Christ's sacrificial death was not just an act of love but the very act that inaugurated the New Covenant. This covenantal reality is the bedrock of the Church's identity and provides a powerful mandate for building lasting institutions.
2)The Church as the Family of God: An Inheritance to Pass Down
The Scriptures declare that through faith in Jesus Christ, we are given the profound privilege of being adopted into the very family of God. We are no longer orphans but have received the "Spirit of adoption" by whom we cry, "Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15). We are called "children of God" (John 1:12), members of the "family of believers" (Galatians 6:10), and part of "God's household" (Ephesians 2:19). This is not just sentimental language; it is a description of an institution. A household has a clear structure, a shared identity, and a recognized head—the Father. The New Testament applies this structure to the Church, exhorting believers to relate to one another as fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters (1 Timothy 5:1-2), creating a "deep familial, communal structure" that serves as the very "backbone of community".
This family model has direct implications for building institutions with generational endurance. First, God's design for discipleship has always been multi-generational. The command in Deuteronomy 6 to teach God's laws diligently to one's children, and to their children's children, establishes the pattern.
3)The Church as the Body of Christ: An Organism Designed for Growth
One of the most powerful and descriptive images of the Church in the New Testament is that of the Body of Christ. In passages like 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul lays out a detailed theology of the Church as a living, breathing organism, with Christ Himself as the Head. Some, in a well-intentioned effort to prioritize relationship over regulation, have argued that the Church is an organism, not an organization. This presents a false choice. Any living organism, especially one as complex as a human body, is a marvel of intricate organization. It has a skeletal structure for support, a nervous system for communication, a circulatory system for resource distribution, and a leadership centre in the head that directs the whole. Without this divine organization, the organism would be a formless, non-functional mass. The Church is a divinely organized organism, a living entity designed by God with a specific structure for a specific purpose.
The institutional implications flowing from this metaphor are vital for building a church that lasts. First, the health of the Body is predicated on the interdependence of its many parts. Paul is emphatic: "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you'" (1 Corinthians 12:21). Every member has been sovereignly placed in the Body by God and equipped with spiritual gifts for the common good. This reality demands an organizational structure that moves beyond the "one-man ministry" model, which is biblically and practically insufficient. A healthy church requires a clear structure of leadership—pastors, elders, deacons—whose primary role is to "equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12). This is a systems-based approach where leadership creates pathways for every member to discover their gift, find their function, and contribute to the health of the whole.
4)The Church as the Temple of God: A Foundation Built to Last
Throughout the Old Testament, God's presence was localized in a physical building—first the Tabernacle, then the Temple in Jerusalem. With the coming of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a glorious transition occurred. The dwelling place of God is no longer a structure of stone and gold, but a living community of people. The Church is now the Temple of God, the sacred space where His Spirit dwells. Paul asks the Corinthians, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). This metaphor reveals that the Church is a divine construction project, built upon a permanent foundation and designed for eternal purposes.
The institutional nature of the Church is embedded in the very architecture of this spiritual Temple. First, it is built upon an unshakeable and permanent foundation: "the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:20). A foundation is, by definition, a fixed and stable reality intended to support a structure for the long haul. This apostolic foundation, preserved for all generations in the Holy Scriptures, means that our institutions must be built upon the unchanging rock of biblical truth, not the shifting sands of cultural relevance.
Second, this Temple is an ongoing construction project. Paul tells the Ephesians that the whole building "grows into a holy temple in the Lord" and that they "are being built together into a dwelling place for God" (Ephesians 2:21-22). Peter adds that we, as "living stones," are "being built up as a spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5). This is not the language of temporary encampments but of a divine, long-term building program. It is a clear mandate for institutional growth, expansion, and development, a project in which we are called to be active participants.
5) The Church as a City: A Centre of Kingdom Governance
The Scriptures expand our vision of the Church beyond an internal community to that of a public, governmental entity. In Revelation, the Church is ultimately revealed as "the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God" (Revelation 21:2). And Jesus Himself declared that His followers are a "city on a hill" that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). A city in the ancient world was far more than a collection of residences; it was a centre of governance, law, culture, and authority. The New Jerusalem is the ultimate administrative headquarters of God's universal Kingdom, for within it is "the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Revelation 22:3).
This metaphor has powerful implications for how we structure ourselves. Each local church is called to function as a "miniature of the New Jerusalem," a visible outpost of heaven's government on earth. It is meant to be an embassy of the Kingdom of God, demonstrating to a watching world a different way of life, a different source of authority, and a different quality of justice and mercy. This requires the establishment of clear, righteous, and effective leadership structures that reflect the loving rule of our King.
Furthermore, a city on a hill is inherently visible. Its purpose is to shine a light into the surrounding darkness. Jesus commanded, "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). This is a direct mandate for public engagement and cultural influence. We are not called to retreat into a holy ghetto but to build institutions that serve and bless the wider society. This includes establishing schools that champion truth, businesses that operate with integrity, arts guilds that create beauty, and relief agencies that embody compassion. This was the original vision of the Puritans, who, though their project was later politicized, sought to build a community that would be a model of a godly society for the world to see.
6) The Church as a Tribe: A People with a Shared Destiny
In the Old Testament, God organized His people into twelve tribes, a national family descending from a common ancestor, Jacob. The New Testament reveals the Church as the fulfilment of this pattern, a new spiritual people drawn from "every tribe and language and people and nation" (Revelation 5:9) into a single, unified "tribe" in Christ. A tribe is bound by more than proximity; it is a people group defined by a shared story, a common culture, a deep sense of belonging, and a unified destiny.
This metaphor instructs us that building lasting institutions requires more than just efficient organizational charts; it requires the intentional cultivation of a Kingdom culture. If the Body and Temple provide the institutional "hardware," the Tribe provides the cultural "software" that gives it life. An institution is merely an empty shell without a vibrant, compelling culture that gives its members a reason to belong, to serve, and to sacrifice for the common good. The tribes of Israel were bound together by their shared memory of the Exodus and their shared hope for the Promised Land. Likewise, the Church must be a people bound by the story of the cross and the hope of the New Jerusalem.
This requires us to build institutions dedicated to cultural transmission. We need schools that teach a biblical worldview, arts and media guilds that tell our story with beauty and creativity, and publishing houses that preserve our theological heritage. We must establish traditions, rhythms, and liturgies that embed our identity and values into the hearts of each new generation. In a fragmented and lonely world, people are desperately searching for identity and belonging—for a "tribe" to call their own. The Church is God's answer to that cry. Our institutions should be designed as welcoming gateways into this new spiritual lineage, giving people a powerful sense of who they are in Christ and the eternal family to which they now belong.
7) The Church as a Nation: A Holy People with a Global Mandate
The capstone of all these biblical images is the declaration that the Church is a "holy nation". In 1 Peter 2:9, the Apostle Peter takes the very titles that God bestowed upon Israel at Mount Sinai and applies them directly to the followers of Jesus: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession" (cf. Exodus 19:6). The Church is the "Israel of God" (Galatians 6:16), a corporate body that inherits and fulfils Israel's divine calling on a global scale.
A nation is the most comprehensive form of human institution. It possesses a citizenry (the people of God), a King (Jesus Christ), a constitution (the Scriptures), a distinct culture (holiness), and a foreign policy (the Great Commission). This metaphor integrates all the other institutional aspects we have explored. A nation is founded on a covenant (Bride), is composed of tribes and families (Tribe, Family), has cities (City), is a body politic (Body), and has a foundational law and sacred identity (Temple). This grand vision inspires the kind of sacrifice and long-term commitment needed to build the infrastructure of a holy nation on earth.
This national identity has vast institutional implications. As a "royal priesthood," every citizen of this nation has direct access to God and a priestly role in representing Him to the world. This truth demolishes any concept of a clergy/laity divide and demands that we build institutions—training centres, Bible colleges, and robust lay discipleship programs—that equip all God's people for their ministerial work.
As a "holy nation," we are called to be "set apart" from the other nations of the world. This requires us to build alternative institutions that operate on Kingdom principles. We must establish businesses renowned for their justice, schools celebrated for their truth, and communities known for their love. We are to be a contrast society that functions as a "light to the nations," demonstrating the goodness and wisdom of our King's rule.