Andrew S M Clark

In my previous blog article I reflected on David Lim’s idea of kingdomization: the spread of God’s reign through multiplying disciples who influence households, workplaces, communities, and society. What drew me to his vision was not primarily house churches or disciple multiplication movements, but its breadth. Lim looks beyond church renewal and asks what it would mean for God’s kingdom to become visible across a nation.

However, Scotland is not at Lim’s starting point. Much of his work comes from contexts where Christianity has been marginal or institutionally weak. Scotland, by contrast, still bears the legacy of Christendom, even as that legacy declines. We are not dealing with the absence of Christian institutions but with their inheritance – a complex inheritance.

We live among the ruins of Christendom, and that presents a different missional challenge. Lim’s vision is attractive, but how a church shaped by centuries of Christendom moves towards his type of vision is not simple. What transitions are needed before kingdomization becomes more than an aspiration?

The first transition concerns discipleship. Many churches have long operated with low expectations, equating faithfulness with attendance, serving, and giving. While valuable, these fall short of the New Testament vision which is, quite honestly, demanding! If the church is to become missional again, it must recover discipleship as the intentional shaping of life around Jesus. Before we speak of multiplication, we must recover discipleship itself. Thank God for the influence of this emphasis, but it is taking root slowly for all the refocusing on it, and the old patterns and mindsets are hard to break.

Closely linked is the shift from passive membership to active participation. Christendom often left ministry in the hands of a few while others received its benefits. Yet, I strongly believe the future of the Scottish church depends on recovering the ministry of all God’s people. The goal is not simply more volunteers, but Christians who see themselves as participants in God’s mission wherever they are. This is a theological mindset shift before it is an organisational one.

A third transition is from church-centred faith to everyday discipleship. Most Christian life is lived outside church buildings or the church gathering—in homes, workplaces, schools, and neighbourhoods. If discipleship remains tied to in-house church activities, it will never be transformative. We need a renewed understanding of vocation: following Jesus in the ordinary rhythms of daily life. The future of the church may depend less on Sunday mornings than on Tuesday afternoons.

A further transition concerns the relationship between church and mission. During Christendom, mission often became one activity among many, while institutional maintenance took centre stage. Buildings, committees, and structures consumed energy. Necessary though these are, they can become ends in themselves. The church exists because of God’s mission, not vice versa.

Recovering this truth requires a deep reorientation of purpose. This also affects how the church engages culture. Older models assumed a society where church held a central place. That world has largely disappeared. Attractional approaches are less effective because church is no longer where many people seek meaning or belonging.

The church must become more incarnational—dwelling among people, listening well, sharing their concerns, and embodying Christ where they already live. Only then does disciple-making become especially urgent. Lim insists that discipleship must not end with the disciple; disciples are called to make disciples. Western churches have often focused on personal growth without asking whether believers are helping others follow Christ. Yet discipleship that does not reproduce itself cannot generate lasting kingdom impact.

From there the conversation moves to multiplication. Multiplication is not merely a church-growth strategy but the natural, organic outcome of a culture where disciples make disciples and leaders develop leaders. While many churches think in terms of addition—more attendees, stronger congregations—Lim asks a different question: what happens when disciples naturally reproduce within their relationships and communities? The fruit of an oak is not acorns…the ultimate fruit is more oaks!

Finally, there is the shift from congregational thinking to kingdom thinking. Churches rightly care about their own health, but God’s kingdom is larger than any congregation. The key question is not simply whether churches survive or grow, but whether God’s reign becomes more visible in society. Are families strengthened? Communities marked by greater justice and compassion? Workplaces influenced by Christian values?

This is what most attracts me to Lim’s work. His vision reaches beyond church renewal towards societal transformation.

Whether the Scottish church is ready for such a vision remains uncertain, but perhaps that is exactly why we need it.

We need horizons larger than institutional survival and a vision that draws us into God’s wider purposes. If kingdomization is the destination, the challenge is not to copy someone else’s movement but to discern what faithfulness requires in our own context. The road from Christendom to kingdomization may be long, but it is a journey worth taking.