Getting ready for "church"

Matthew 16:13-20 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ. 
When did Christ first mention the church?  It was here, when Peter first blurted out his believe that Jesus was the Christ.  Understanding what the church is all about begins when we understand Who Christ really is.  This information, this conviction, comes from the Father.  In fact, Jesus says elsewhere that it is all about knowing Him and the Father.   Let's go back, all the way back, to this core conviction: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, through Whom we are brought into fellowship with the Father.  When and where that happens, there is church.