Preparing Abiding Church for the Expansion of God
Preparing Abiding Church for the Expansion of God
On March 1st, I came into the room with a very clear sense that the Lord had given us a strategic assignment to shift into a place of expansion.
At the beginning of this year, we gathered as leaders and charted the first quarter. When we reached the month of March in our planning, we said it would be a month to march into the prophetic. This would move us directly in to annual passover dinner on April 3rd and then it became clear that from this point, God would bring about great growth to our church.
Growth is coming! Are we ready for it?
I’m not talking about hype or simply our own human ambition. I’m talking about a momentum, brought about by the move of the Holy Spirit.
When authentic Kingdom movement finds expression, growth is inevitable. Acts 2:47 says, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” When the apostles remained steadfast in doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer, multiplication followed.
We are not chasing crowds. But if we remain faithful to presence, discipleship, and obedience, growth will come. The question is whether we are building in a way that can carry what God releases.
The Theology of Making Room
There is a Hebrew root word that captures this season we are in. The word is rachav. It means to enlarge, to broaden, to make room.
It shows up in Genesis 26:20–22, where we see Isaac digging wells. The first well is called Esek, meaning contention. The second is Sitnah, meaning hostility. This is because after they were dug they were ultimately overtaken by others, seized from Isaac’s control. Yet Isaac and his servants continued to move forward and dig and the Lord’s instruction. When the dug the third well…something different took place.
Genesis 26:22 says, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
It was here that God blessed them, make room for them, and brought about great fruitfulness. They were faithful in making room and God was faithful in bringing the fruit.
We also see this principle in Joshua 2 with Rahab, whose name is the same root hebrew word. She was an outsider who was not initially apart of the covenant of Israel, living in a doomed city, yet by faith she aligned herself with the God of Israel. Joshua 2:11 shows her confession of faith and Matthew 1:5 places her in the lineage of Christ. God made room for her in His covenant story through her obedience of making room for God and becoming a guardian of his covenant people. When Jericho fell, she and her family remained and thrived. She became a part of the family bloodline of Christ!
Then there is the warning of Rehoboam. This is where we must take pause and heed to God’s wisdom. Because growth can happen outside of the blessing of God…if our hearts are not aligned with the will of God, we can grow in the wrong direction.
Second Chronicles 12:14 says, “And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.”
Preparation is key! That preparation starts with our soul, yielding to the mission of God and moves outward in the physical preparations needed to receive the harvest God is bringing.
Jesus reinforces this in Luke 14:28, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost?” He continues in verse 29 saying, “lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?
We must refuse to be a people who start well but fail to finish strong! We will prepare before the expansion and walk in the promises of God!
What We Must Build Now, and Here’s Some of Necessary Preparations
1. Invest In Building A Solid Children’s Ministry
Psalm 127:3 tells us children are a heritage from the Lord. Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to Me.” We cannot speak of multiplication without speaking of children.
If we are going to expand, we must intentionally build for the next generation by:
Creating intentional spaces of learning for children from infancy through youth
Equipping parents to disciple at home
Raising up children marked by the presence and power of God
Building environments where the Holy Spirit moves among young and old
Parents carry the primary responsibility to disciple their children. Deuteronomy 6:6–7 commands parents to teach the Word diligently in the home. But the church must reinforce and strengthen that work. We are not quarantining children from the presence of God. We are raising them in it.
If babies are being born among us, we must prepare the nest before they arrive.
2. Nourish Financial Strength and employ a Storehouse Strategy
At the beginning of 2026, God gave us the word storehouse. This is our mandate as a church. We see this clearly in Genesis 41:33–36 where Joseph built storehouses before famine struck. He did not wait for a crisis to prepare infrastructure.
If we are stepping into expansion, we must become financially fortified. This means:
Becoming not just financially viable, but financially equipped through biblical teaching on Kingdom finance and through outrageous generosity.
We must embrace a culture of consistant giving
We must building business initiatives and streams that multiply resources that are brought into the church
We must form a storehouse model for future sustainability, including resources on hand and a diplomatic council of business leaders and influencers.
Hiring and equipping administrators and ministry leaders
Malachi 3:10 speaks of the storehouse. Matthew 25:14–30 shows that multiplication is expected of faithful servants. First Corinthians 9:14 teaches that those who minister should live from the ministry. We have a mandate in front of us that needs our focus. To be able to facilitate the growth we need to scale our leadership structures, and this will take financial investment.
Acts 6:1–4 reveals what happens when growth outruns structure. Distribution channels become clogged. We will build systems before strain.
We are not afraid to talk about resources. The world funds unrighteousness aggressively. We will underwrite righteousness with equal conviction.
3. Amplifying the Vision
Habakkuk 2:2 says, “Write the vision and make it plain.” Joshua 4:6–7 describes Israel building memorial stones so future generations would remember what the Lord had done. We must do the same!
We must capture and document what God is doing here and amplify our mission through
Investing in media, documentation, and storytelling
Capturing what God is doing for future generations
Creating blueprints and infrastructure for long-term impact
Leveraging technology to extend the message beyond the room
We are building monuments of remembrance. If we do not document what God is doing, our children may forget. Documentation fuels faith and testimony strengthens vision for generations to come!
This is not vanity. This is stewardship of the movement.
4. Appointing and Affirming Ministry Gifts
Ephesians 4:11–16 teaches that Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for the equipping of the saints until the body grows into maturity.
Because growth without alignment leads to confusion, we must identify who labors among us and deploy the gifts God has given us in order to equip those he is bringing into our midst. This means that by summer 2026, we will be:
Identifying elders, pastors, prophets, evangelists, and teachers among us. We will have a consecration service to identify and appoint leaders throughout the church.
This includes preparing for multiple house churches. Our focus is and will remain with discipleship in living rooms and around tables.
First Corinthians 3:10 speaks of wise master builders. First Thessalonians 5:12 tells us to recognize those who labor among us. We will follow these principles to honor leaders and move with integrity in a model of collaboration and accountability.
Ordination may come from heaven, but recognition must happen on earth. If we are going to expand into multiple house churches and apostolic hubs, we must put order in place now.
5. Consecration and Fasting
This may be the most important aspect of our preparation!
Before major movements in Scripture, there was consecration. Joshua 3:5 says, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” Joel 2:12–15 calls for a sacred fast. Jesus said in Matthew 6:16, “When you fast.”
So we are calling the church to fast. We will fast collectively in order to cover 6 days of the week and then gather on Sundays to feast at the table of the Lord! Here’s the rundown:
Choose one day (Monday-Saturday) per week to fast from sundown 6 pm to sundown 6 pm the next day. This has proven to be the most effective way to fast. Fasting is defined as abstaining from food. So this is a water-only fast for those 24 hours that you select each week.
For those who will be participating, please let us know which day you’re choosing. We want to see the whole week covered in fasting and prayer.
This fast will help us build spiritual capacity before expansion comes. We will fast in this rhythm from now until our Passover Dinner on April 3!
Remember, fasting does not move God’s hand. It moves us into alignment with his hand. It silences noise and sharpens hearing. We need this in order to prepare for the expansion happening at Abiding Church and also the expansion that God is releasing into your life.
If rain falls on unprepared soil, there is no harvest. We are preparing the soil now for the rain the God has promised.
Growth Is Inevitable When the Kingdom Moves
Let me say this clearly.
We are not chasing crowds. If we make attendance our goal, we will adopt the strategies of man. That is not our path.
But in Acts 2:42–47, when doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer were present, the Lord added daily. In Acts 6:7, “the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly.”
Authentic Kingdom movement produces increase….it’s clear all throughout scripture.
In other words, if we remain faithful to presence, discipleship, and obedience, growth will happen. The issue is not whether it will happen. The issue is whether we are prepared to steward it.
We are building now so that when enlargement comes, it does not divide us like it did under Rehoboam. We will prepare our hearts to seek the Lord so that expansion strengthens us rather than fractures us.
We are entering a broad place.
The Lord has made room for us.
And we shall be fruitful in the land.
God bless you all!