“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28: 19-20
In the 1970’s two leaders of prominent Christian organizations, Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ and Loren Cunningham of YWAM, compared notes to create a strategy for bringing about Godly change in the nation. They identified seven spheres of cultural influence the Church should infiltrate in order to transform the country into a Christian nation, followed by the world, bringing God’s kingdom on Earth. These spheres, now known as The Seven Mountain Mandate, include education, family, religion, business, government, arts/entertainment, and media.
Leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation such as Bill Johnson, Mike Bickle, and Cindy Jacobs have incorporated the mandate into their dominionist theology: A belief that Christ cannot return until Christians have taken control of the world. In his book, Invading Babylon, Bill Johnson writes,
Before the Church was established as a place people “came to”, Jesus instituted it as an army that brought transformation to society, starting with salvation and continuing with seven spheres of influence: church, family, education, government, media, arts, and commerce”
While I agree that we have enormous cultural needs and deficiencies that can only be remedied through hearts turned toward Christ, and I appreciate efforts to see that happen, the 7MM approach gives me pause for several reasons.
- The 7MM gives significant of power to these spheres of influence implying God cannot change culture without these pieces, even though He has many times.
- It seems to be contrary to the methods and priorities modeled by Jesus.
- The 7MM comes dangerously close to theocracy.
- Strategizing the Great Commision to this degree takes what can only be accomplished by the Spirit and makes it man’s work.
The commands within the Great Commission are more of a rough outline than specific plans: Make disciples, baptize, teach, and He is with us. That’s the what. God was in charge of the how. The first church just had to do their part: gather, pray, teach, anticipate, and obey; and the Lord used the persecution they endured to spread the gospel to the surrounding nations organically. Every great movement of God when He handles the how and His people respond in faithfulness, becomes something far greater than man could ever plan.
Is taking over the how a Tower of Babel situation where we say, “Here, God, let us show you how it’s done”?
| Seven Mountain Mandate | The Gospel | |
| What | – Establishment – Strategy – Earthly Theocracy – Man-forced | – Movement – Kingdom of God already here with individual believers as ambassadors and temples of the Holy Spirit – Spirit-led |
| Methods | Change culture to make converts | Make converts and culture changes as a result |
| Goals | – Christian rule and dominion – Bring about the return of Christ and Armageddon – Rid society of sin | – Individual surrender and obedience to the Lord – Seek and save the lost |
Not a Chicken or Egg Situation
The radical cultural change the first church brought was the fruit of lives being transformed by Christ from the inside out. “Good trees cannot ‘influence’ bad trees to produce good fruit” (Luke Hulley). For a tree to produce a different fruit, its DNA has to be transformed.
Culture-led conversion:
- Has been tried (Christian Roman Empire, Crusades, Christian British Empire, puritans, etc).
- Sin and unrighteousness doesn’t go away, it just masks better.
- Religion and power become inseparably intertwined.
Conversion-led culture:
- Repeated success (Acts 2:43-47, the early Roman believers, reformation, the great awakening, etc.)
- Causes rapid organic growth.
- Belief drives genuine repentance and behavior.
Jesus as the Model
The priorities and approach modeled by Christ stands in stark contrast to the seemingly wise strategy of 7MM. Jesus chose the lowly (prostitutes, fisherman, tax collectors) instead of the influential to carry out His ministry. He elevated the qualities of mercy, gentleness, peacemaking, humility and persecution (Matthew 5:3-12). He emphasized interpersonal relationships between fellow image-bearers, reconciliation, and loving others (Matthew 5:22-26). Jesus spoke of internal change like loving your enemies, lust being equal to action, and not loving money (Matthew 5-6).
Jesus modeled service in the face of shame (John 13:1-17), empathy (Mark 1:40-41, Luke 7:13, Matthew 14:14-21, John 6:10-13), and sacrifice (Luke 22:39-23:56). He held the religious accountable for their corruption (Mark 12:38-40) yet did not condone sin (Luke 13:3, John 8:10-11).
For consider your calling, brothers and sisters, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the insignificant things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no human may boast before God. – 1 Corinthians 1:26-29
The Sacred/Secular Divide
I am by no means advocating for the abdication of our calling as Christians in any of these areas or industries, nor do I believe Christians should cater to calls for the sacred/secular divide. Christians should show up in these spaces, performing our work “as unto the Lord” (Colossians 3:23-24), exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5), and living a life reflective of an ambassador of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). We should be “salt and light” (Matthew 5:13) in these spheres, performing with excellence and creator-inspired ideas, ready and available to give an answer for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15).
We are commissioned to seek and save the lost which cannot be done if we conceal ourselves within religious bubbles and only practice our faith in private. But there are no shortcuts. A culturally Christian hostile takeover puts this work onto these spheres of influence instead of individual believers resulting in a nation that is Christianized without Christ.
The gospel is good news, and people long for something real; to know and be known by their creator. God doesn’t need a PR team and 7-point marketing plan. People need to see God at work in the lives of those who claim His name. This living-proof is the hope of good news for the world. We can trust God to figure out the how and do our part to be faithful with what He gives us to do each day. He wants to spread His kingdom on Earth even more than we do, and He is much, much better at it.
Brown, M. (2020, March 5). Is the “7 Mountains Mandate” Biblical or Heretical? | Articles | AskDrBrown. Is the “7 Mountains Mandate” Biblical or Heretical? | Articles | AskDrBrown. https://thelineoffire.org/article/is-the-7-mountains-mandate-biblical-or-heretical
Hulley, L. (2021, March 23). The Danger of the Seven Mountains Mandate & Dominionism – Four12 Global. Four12 Global – Equip . Restore . Advance. https://four12global.com/articles/the-danger-of-the-seven-mountains-mandate-dominionism/
King, K. (2025, March 6). What Is The Seven Mountain Mandate And Can It Help Society? Positive Pensées. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/positivepensees/2025/03/what-is-the-seven-mountain-mandate-and-can-it-help-society/
Or, W. (2016, November 16). Who or what is the origin of the Seven Mountain Mandate? Christianity Stack Exchange. https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/53680/who-or-what-is-the-origin-of-the-seven-mountain-mandate
Reflections of a Variant 
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