2026
From the Monocultural Garden to the Multicultural City
01 Jan 2026Church Planting Theology - Dale
“Thinking Theologically About Church Planting” series by Dale Little
This article by Dale for the missionary community in Japan was published in Japan Harvest (Winter 2026), the magazine of Japan Evangelical Missionary Association.
When we think of cities, we probably imagine crowds of people perhaps much like the ones we jostle through at Shinjuku Station, and that might not thrill us. But the future heavenly city will be very different than our earthly cities. For one thing, its architect is Jesus Christ, who is preparing it for his people (John 14:2–3). For another, the city is his beautiful, pure bride—the church (Rev. 21:9). Furthermore, one of its key features is the river that flows through its center. On both banks of this river is planted the tree of life (Rev. 22:1–2) that miraculously produces twelve different “crops” throughout the year. So this divine city transcends our metropolitan image because it also seems very much like a wonderful garden or park based on our Lord’s master plan. It will be qualitatively different than any city we have experienced.
Read More…
This article by Dale for the missionary community in Japan was published in Japan Harvest (Winter 2026), the magazine of Japan Evangelical Missionary Association.
The opening pages of the Bible depict a monocultural earthly garden (Gen. 2:4–14) and the closing pages a multicultural heavenly city (Rev. 21:9–22:5). This means that God’s people through the ages, both in Old Testament and New Testament times, are journeying toward a multicultural metropolis. We might as well get used to an eternal urban motif, albeit one perfected by God himself.The TMC church-planting project reflects the future multicultural heavenly city with a vibrant, diverse community of believers.
When we think of cities, we probably imagine crowds of people perhaps much like the ones we jostle through at Shinjuku Station, and that might not thrill us. But the future heavenly city will be very different than our earthly cities. For one thing, its architect is Jesus Christ, who is preparing it for his people (John 14:2–3). For another, the city is his beautiful, pure bride—the church (Rev. 21:9). Furthermore, one of its key features is the river that flows through its center. On both banks of this river is planted the tree of life (Rev. 22:1–2) that miraculously produces twelve different “crops” throughout the year. So this divine city transcends our metropolitan image because it also seems very much like a wonderful garden or park based on our Lord’s master plan. It will be qualitatively different than any city we have experienced.
Read More…