the building, pastors, budget, vision, or brand. But those people become a church in part by gathering in a place. That place, that gathering, is the geography of Christ’s kingdom, as I’ll also argue in chapter 1. One might as well say, “A basketball team is a people, not a practice or a game.” Again, true, but it misses something crucial. The players become a team by practicing and playing together. No practicing and playing as one, no team. For a church, likewise, a physical togetherness, an assembly,