Select Page

What are the origins of the Seven Mountain Mandate?

by | May 5, 2022 | CARM

The origins of the Seven Mountain Mandate (7M) began sometime around 1975 when Lauren Cunningham of YWAM and Bill Bright of the Campus Crusade for Christ both claimed to have received a revelation from God. It dealt with how to turn the nations of the world to God. They both said that God had given them a list of areas that need to be dominated by the Christian worldview. They are, basically, as follows: 1) the home, 2) the church, 3) schools, 4) government and politics, 5) the media, 6) arts entertainment, and sports, 7) commerce science, and technology.1

“The first recorded reference to the Seven Mountains that I can find originates with Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade. In 1975, Bright was having lunch in Colorado with Loren Cunningham (who founded Youth with a Mission)” (https://rayedwards.com/the-seven-mountains/

“In 1975, two Christian leaders, Dr. Bill Bright and Loren Cunningham, got together to give each other a message from God.  To their amazement, each had the same message, independently given to them by God, to give to the other.”(https://christianinternational.com/blog/2016/7/8/origin-of-7-mountain-concepts-and-7mki)

So you can see that the origins of the Seven Mountain Mandate rest mainly with these two men. However, they have slightly different categories that they said they got from God. Here’s what I found.

Loren Cunningham2 Bill Bright3
  1. The home
  2. The church
  3. Schools
  4. Government and politics
  5. The media
  6. Arts, entertainment, and sports
  7. Commerce, science, and technology
  1. Religion
  2. Family
  3. Education
  4. Government
  5. Media
  6. Arts & Entertainment
  7. Business

Dominion Theology

Dominion theology is a teaching based on Genesis 1:28 where God tells Adam to take dominion of the earth. From that verse and from the great commission found in Matthew 28:20, many Christians believe that they are obligated to take dominion over every area of secular life in the whole world. This combined with postmillennialism inside the New Apostolic Reformation movement has urged many believers to get involved in politics, school boards, education, etc. This is a good thing. However, though I agree that we need to get involved in all areas of society, the primary goal of Christians should be the glory of Jesus Christ and the conversion of sinners.

References

References
1 https://www.the7mountains.com/history-of-the-7-mountains
2 https://www.the7mountains.com/history-of-the-7-mountains
3 https://www.livewithpurposechurch.org/about/seven-mountains

SUPPORT CARM

Thank you for your interest in supporting CARM. We greatly appreciate your consideration!

SCHOOLS USER LOGIN

If you have any issues, please call the office at 385-246-1048 or email us at [email protected].

MATT SLICK LIVE RADIO

Call in with your questions at:

877-207-2276

3-4 p.m. PST; 4-5 p.m. MST;
6-7 p.m. EST

You May Also Like…