"I will build my church"

Have you ever wondered why Jesus hardly ever talked about "church"? In fact, the word church occurs only twice in the Gospels, both times in Matthew. What Jesus talked about repeatedly was the Kingdom, and it's not until we get to Acts that the word ekklesia/church is used as the usual way to describe the people of God.

I'd like to explore what Jesus meant by "church" when He said "I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18).

• What exactly did Jesus intend to build?
• Is this reflected in the way anyone actually does church?
• Is it reflected in Christadelphian ecclesias?

I may not actually post very much on this over the holidays, but when I do it should also tie in with what I'm posting about the characteristics of Christian leaders (i.e what leadership means in the church Jesus is building) and the earlier posts on the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Lord's table.