How A Church Really Grows: The Oikos Phenomina

Oikos Evangelism

Introduction:

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the potential most churches and individuals have in terms of impacting their worlds with the gospel is far greater than the achievement. Program after program is launched but the results hardly ever come close to meeting the expectation. We still see almost 80% of churches either plasteaued or in decline.

There is a strategy however that has worked in every church, in every culture, and in every time frame. It is true in growing and non growing churches. The reason for its working is that each of us has a relational world and that relational world has been responsible for 90% of all the peoples who have become Christians and part of the church in their journey to faith.

How People Come To Christ and His Church

The Biblical Concept Of The Oikos

Oikos is a Greek word that is often translated "household" in the New Testament.  In English, "household" means the nuclear family.  In Greek, however, its usage was much broader and included family, neighbors, co-workers and friends and those with whom we come into regular contact.
Today it is called many things by the pastors and churches who are seeking to intentionalize this principle. It is your 8-15, your extended family, your fishing pool, your world, and sometimes simply by the Biblical world your Oikos

                       

Examples Abound Throughout The Scriptures:

• Luke 8:39 The demoniac was told to return to his household and described the great things done for him
• Luke 19:9 Zacchaeus was told salvation had come to his household
• John 4:53 The centurion's whole household was saved following the healing of his son
• Acts 10:2  This records that Cornelius was a righteous man who feared God with all his household.  When Peter arrived to preach the gospel, we see that Cornelius had a broader understanding of oikos than simply his relatives. 
• Acts 10:24 When Peter arrived Cornealius had invited his relatives and close friends
• Acts 18:8   Luke describes how Crispus, leader of the synagogue at Corinth, believed in the Lord with all his household
• 1 Corinthians 1:16Paul baptized the household of Stephanas

In addition to these direct usages of the term oikos the principle is taught throughout scripture

• Mark 2:14-15 describes how Jesus called Matthew, the tax collector; and the scripture records that soon after many other tax collectors were following Jesus and dining with him
• Luke 7:37-8:3 records how the prostitute came to Jesus, and soon after many other "sinful women" were following Christ
• Luke 15  In the three parables about a lost coin, a lost sheep, and a lost son, all tell of the rejoicing when the lost was found.  In all three cases they told their friends and family.  The message of hope was passed on through the oikos
• John 1:40-41 tells of Andrew bringing his brother to Christ
• John 1:44-45 tells of Philip bringing his friend Nathanael to Christ

In these and many other passages we can see how the natural webs of relationships, which comprised the oikos of the early Christians, became the primary means for the spread of the gospel.

Michael Green, in the book, Evangelism In the Early Church, observes the New Testament Church rigorously adhered to the oikos principle as its primary strategy for the Christian advance.  The early Christians knew when the message of faith was heard and demonstrated by friends and family who were known, and trusted barriers to the gospel were removed and receptivity to the message increased tremendously

Oikos Evangelism Definition

Oikos evangelism is God's natural method for transmitting a supernatural message

Pastor Tom Mercer Leads the
High Desert Church one of
the best examples of the
 oikos principle

The Key To Oikos Penetration

• Integrity. The person’s in our oikos will see any lack of integrity on our part as disproof of the life transforming power of the Gospel. 
•  Life transformation: What we were is well known by our oikos. What we have become and are becoming is the testimony of Christ’s transforming power.  “If any man is in Christ he is a new creature. Old things pass away and all things become new.”  II Corinthians 5:17

The Principle Today

How People Come To Christ And The Church

      In the past 30 years I have asked over 100,000 Christians in over fifty denominations in 28 countries this question: "What factor has had the greatest influence in your decision to become a Christian and become part of the church?"  The answers have never wavered more than a point or two from the ranges shown.

SPECIAL NEED                                                                          1 - 3%

WALK IN                                                                                        2 - 4%

PASTOR OR CHURCH STAFF                                                 0 - 3%

VISITATION/TELE-MARKETING                                               1/2 - 1%

SUNDAY SCHOOL/SMALL GROUP                                        4 - 6%

EVANGELISTIC CRUSADE                                                       1/2- 1%

All OTHER CHURCH PROGRAMS                                          2 - 4%

FRIENDS AND/OR RELATIVES     (Oikos)                             75 - 90%

It is interesting to note that these statistics were just as true in declining churches as well as growing congregations.  The statistics explained growth but did not cause it.  In growing congregations a greater percentage of Christians take seriously the reaching of their oikos.

It is also interesting to note that the statistics tell why people come, not where or to what they come. The two most common places were the oikos member of a Christian first touches the church and its ministry is either through the worship service or a small group. My research shows that in those churches that are primarily cell based the oikos principle works by people inviting their oikos to the cell. In America it tends to be most often the worship service or a special church program. A Cell-Church oikos strategy goes from small to large while non cell based churches tend to go from large to small. Both however recognize the necessity of people being connected to the worshipping community and being a part of a cell/small group.

Developing an Oikos strategy

The four worlds of church members

• Biological World — related to me by blood or marriage
• Vocational World — work associates
• Geographical World — immediate community, neighbors
• Volitional World — the world of my choice, leisure activities, sports etc.

The average Christian has between eight (8) and fifteen (15) people in their oikos who are:

• Presently not Christians or active in any church, and
• Live within a reasonable driving distance of the church of that member

                       

New Christians have a few more contacts; older Christians a few less. Just for a moment consider our evangelistic potential; if we take our average attendance and multiply it by 8 we will see that our potential growth just from oikos contacts is 8 times larger than our present congregation. The Gallup organization, as well as George Barna,  and Tom Rainer have documented that more than 50% of people, if simply given an invitation by a Christian they knew, would attend a church service or small group activity.  The issue has never been a lack of opportunity.  Jesus was clear: the need is for laborers.

Applying an oikos strategy

When we look at not only why people come to Christ but when three additional facts become apparent we can fine tune our strategy.

•  First, the majority of people who become Christians do so in the first 18 years of life. When developing your oikos strategy don’t neglect either the children or youth of your church and community. This means encouraging parents Sunday School teachers in the reaching of children during these formative years. The most important part of this phenomina is to note if you look at the oikos source it is primarily a family member God used when you look at the conversion of Children
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•  Second when you look at adult conversions the majority of these converts would point to a friend as being the bridge. As churches we often either keep people so busy in the church they do not have time to build these relationships across which the gospel can travel or we actually discourage people from having these relationships with the misguided fear that those persons will draw the Christian away from the Lord and his mission.
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• Third, Jesus told us to look at fields that are white unto harvest. Studies have proven that individuals who have become Christians most often do so in a time of stress or transition. As we apply this practical fact with the truth of scripture there are some simple things we can do to focus on the harvest. When Jesus sent us out into our world the place where we were to have a harvest He told us to look at the fields that were “white to harvest”. How do we tap into this principle of receptivity.

DDIS is it. this is a simple way to think about receptivity as the persons in your oikos go through change or transition

• Death of a family member or friend
• Difficulty or problem that does not seem to have an easy solution
• Illness
• Situation change. Job, marriage, divorce, birth of a child etc.

The times of receptivity

• The calendar:  People tend to be more receptive at certain times of the year. Examples include: Christmas, Easter, beginning of the school year, anniversary of a loved ones death, etc,
•  Relationship.  The stronger a relationship a Christian has with a non-Christian the greater the receptivity to the gospel becomes. One or two hours per week invested with someone in your oikos is part of the process of increasing their receptivity Gospel.

The Holmes/Rahe Scale

There is a stress test developed by two doctors that was given to 750 people.

In the study two conclusions emerged.

First, the more stress inducing things that a person had in their life in the previous six months the more receptive they were to the life transforming message of the Gospel. Persons who have accumulated 150 points of greater in the previous six months are most receptive. After six months has passed most people go back to their previous life patterns unless they are converted.

Second, People in very stable situations are unlikely to make any change including their religious beliefs, 

When you look at the persons in your oikos focus first on those persons you sense will be most responsive to the Gospel at this time based on what has been happening. Theologians call this the preveinent grace of God. God is working with us so is at work in our oikos seeking to bring them to a point of readiness and receptivity.

The sovereign move of the Spirit of God

At various time in the past 100 years we have seen God moving in miraculous ways to bring in the harvest. In the period from 1952- 1970 following the Korean war there was a mighty harvest resulting  in the city of Seoul alone two churches over 500, 000 in size each and 9 additional churches over 30,000 each. Less than 2% of the population was Christian then. Today it approaches 50%.

God’s Spirit has been moving sovereignly in Africa as well. South  of the Sahara most countries have nearly 50% of their people saved.

People who look at missions and ask where is God’s Spirit moving today  point to South America. There is presently a tremendousspiritual hunger for God and the churches that see the fields as white to harvest are seeing hundreds of persons becoming Christians. The number of churches in South America over 3000 seems to be increasing every year. A Church in Bogota has become the world’s 2^nd largest church A church in Chile has over 80,000. A river village in the Amazon Basin of 19 households has seen 17 of them become Christians in the past 3 years. Everywhere you look there are signs of God’s moving to bring in the harvest.

Seven Steps in Oikos Evangelism

1.    Identify the persons in your oikos

Biological

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Vocational

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Geographical

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Volitional

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2.    Learn as much as possible about your oikos contacts

Knowing a person beyond simple biographical details is an essential part of effective disciple making. The more we know about their interests, hobbies, past experiences, etc. the more effective we will become in our effort to reach them

3.    Pray regularly and specifically for your oikos

·      We have been commanded to pray

·      It stops the work of the enemy. We do have the authority to bind him

·      It gives us wisdom in our witness. If we lack wisdom God promises to give it

·      It protects the seed of the gospel. The parable of the sower says the enemy seek to steal the seed

·      It changes my character. God will reveal any obstacles in your life that are hindering the clear transmission of the message

·      It recognizes I am a co-laborer. Without us God won’t. Without God we can’t. We need his power and presence if our witness is to be effective.

                       

4.    Focus your efforts

·      Different people are at different points of receptivity Focus on the most  receptive

·      I have limited time. We are stewards of our time. Investing the time we have where there is the greatest opportunity for a harvest is good stewardship.

·      God's prevenient grace is at work. God’s Spirit has been working. Be sensitive to it and look for it.

·      My relationships are a different stages. Those with whom I have had the longest relationship may be more receptive than those I have just recently met.

·      God's Spirit will lead me to the most receptive.

·      Our church can best support our witness to specific individuals. Look at your church. Does it have programs that relate to specific needs of persons in your oikos? Are there people in your church who would relate easily to the unreached needs and interests?

5.    Develop a disciple-making plan

Caring: link great commission and the great commandment. Jesus stated that people would know that we were His disciple by the way we love. Loving one another only is not enough we like God need to love those who are not yet part of His family.

Strengthening of the relationship. Receptivity increases as the relationship grows.

Involvement of other Christians. The more Christians a non-Christian knows the more complete their understanding of the Christian faith becomes.

Providing a variety of exposures to the gospel. Most persons hear the gospel many different times and in a variety of ways. The evangelistic Bible studies, your personal testimony, church services, Gospel films, are just a few examples. The research provided by Flavil Yakley shows that 6-8 exposures to the gospel are normally required before a commitment will be made. It really is a process. Most of us know that our own conversion occurred after hearing the gospel a number of times and in a variety of ways.

6.    Work the disciple-making plan

·      Attentive listening If we will listen our unreached friend will communicate to us so we can best communicate the Gospel to them.

·      Relate to needs. The door of entry to a persons real spiritual need is often through the door of their felt need.

·      Identify receptive moments.

·      Appropriate timing. Look for God to open the door. It may come through a question or comment your friend makes.

·      Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. The scriptures teach that it is His responsibility to draw people to Christ.

·      Use understandable language. Most of our unreached oikos is not familiar with church or, religious language.

·      Be patient. Jesus used farming parables about seeds. They take time to grow. We need to nurture, and water the seed and wait for it to grow.

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7.    Incorporate them into the church/group

·      Disciples, not decisions, is the goal

·      Unincorporated converts rarely stick. The advantage of reaching people through a small group is that they already belong and the decision they make is rarely if ever regretted.

·      Incorporation begins before conversion. We often think we need to reach people and then bring them into the life of the church. The reality is we need to bring them in love and accept them and in that environment they will come to faith.

 

 

Resources For Oikos Evangelism

My favorite books

The Master’s Plan For Making Disciples Win and Charles Arn

 Oikos Your World Delivered Pastor Tom Mercer

The Best Oikos Church To Visit And Learn From

High Desert Church

Contacts Re Oikos Help for Your Church Or Region

http://www.oikoschurches.com

http://www.churchgrowth.net

Staying Ahead Of The Curve

Dr. Larry Richards

When I was a seminary student in the 70's the text book I was assigned for one of my courses was Dr. Larry Richards' "Theology Of Christian Education". Never in my life would I have ever imagined that Dr. Larry would become a friend and colleague in the starting of a new kind of seminary. The past few years have found my life enriched through the personal times we have spent together and the wonderful information he gladly and freely shares with us all through his blogs. (Check out the links in this article). Dr. Larry Richards is according to Talbot Seminary one of America's most gifted teachers and the most prolific author in Christendom. He has authored over 300 books and if you are a pastor I know you probably have one or more of his books in your library. His books and study guides are widely available at any Christian Book Store, Amazon.com or from one of Dr. Richards websites.

I would particularly like to recommend the new Invisible War series. These are historical Biblical novels that trace the story of angels and demons from the beginning of creation up to the modern time using the clear teaching of scriptures throughout in a can't put it down reading format. http://invisiblewarnovels.com/

We have had the privilege of having Dr. Larry come to our school and teach a course on the Spirit World and hold a Freedom Workshop for our students and people from all over the Southern California area.  The experience of everyone attending was one of deep appreciation for our lives were deeply touched and changed in a way that we are today more effective in ministry.

Dr. Larry is the most knowledgeable person in helping us understand and deal with the spiritual world. It's easy for us to take too lightly Paul's exhortation that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood". The real battle we are fighting is a spiritual one.

If you are a pastor or denominational executive you would be blessed as will your people by having Dr. Richard's come to your church or region. He truly is a resource to "the church" and a gift to us from the Lord of the church.

I asked Dr. Richard's if he would like to write something for my blog. I knew in asking Dr. Richard's would be willing. I asked him to write on whatever he felt the Lord was leading him to write that would be helpful to the church.

You and he don't know this, but this blog is read by pastors and leaders in over 25 countries around the world. Included are countries were it is illegal to convert to Christianity to countries in the 10/40 window where the majority of the unreached persons are. Perhaps through this post all of us can better understand our mission and ministry and that through our ministry we will do as Jesus desires and see people become truly free.

Ahead of the Curve

The other day a friend gave me the dust jacket of Chuck Swindoll’s latest, The Church Awakening, subtitled ‘an urgent call for renewal.”  My friend kept the book. But as he handed me the jacket he remarked, “It’s about forty years late.” He was referring to the fact that I’d been calling for church renewal and writing on it in back in the 1970’s. But of course, what moved Chuck to write today is his awareness that “everything has changed.” Today we live in a postmodern world, what Swindoll calls a “new dark ages.” And “doing church” in the old way will no longer do.

Ray Steadman

Of course, it didn’t “do” forty years ago either. We run church as an institution, but the church is a living organism, the Body of Christ, the Family of God. Only as we rediscover the dynamics of what another old time renewal proponent, Ray Steadman, called “body life,” with the local body led by servant leaders, will the church prosper in the present postmodern era.

But I’m not going to take this opportunity to write to look back on the 70’s and 80’s. Instead I want to look ahead a few decades, sketch something of the challenge we’re about to face, and suggest how we can prepare to meet it.

Postmodernism

C. S. Lewis

“Postmodern” is a peculiar term, but it’s outline was predicted by CS Lewis a half century ago in the third book of his space trilogy, That Hideous Strength.  The age Lewis foresaw was be one in which humans lost their confidence that science could generate a better future. It would be an age without faith, as trust in the institutions that gave society its structure, government and religion, had been discarded. Words such as truth, loyalty and commitment would lose their meaning. Morality would no longer have an anchor, absolutes would be relativised so that what is right or wrong for me need not be right or wrong for you, and your truth need not be my truth. Left wandering in a swirling world of illusions, totally out of touch with reality, human beings would look to the occult, and the old paganism would rush in to fill the void.

Most Christians are totally unaware that Lewis’ predictions are being fulfilled today. The world is changing around us . . . in fact it has changed. Today at my last count there are some 60 weekly television series that are rooted in the occult or paranormal. Some are dramas on broadcast channels, such as “Medium,” while many semi-documentary programs such as “Paranormal States,” play on A&E and other cable channels. 


The Pew research organization recently found that some 25% of those who attend evangelical churches hold pagan beliefs, such as a belief in reincarnation, with no awareness that such beliefs conflict with the Bible. Neopagan faiths and beliefs are growing rapidly in our culture, as people see themselves as “spiritual” but have no well-formulated belief system. Wicca, a faith which emphasizes witchcraft, is the largest of the dozens of neopagan “paths” welcomed by a population increasingly unfamiliar with biblical Christianity. And the general population increasingly perceives evangelical Christians as intolerant, judgmental, and as an essentially political group intent on imposing a restrictive morality on all.

Dr. Chuck  Swindoll

Yet Swindoll is wrong in viewing postmodernism as a new dark age. Postmodernism is a return to a worldview that characterized the first century, an era in which human beings felt both isolated and helpless, and in consequence turned to the supernatural. In the first century nearly everyone relied on the occult for aid or protection. The supernatural beings referred to in the New Testament as rulers, principalities, powers and authorities, familiar titles then for demons, were called on to help achieve personal goals and to curse rivals and enemies. The spirit world was very real to the people of the first century, and demons maintained a grip on both the culture and individuals.

The Pauline Perspective

California State Christian University
Dr. Richard's is on our Academic Advisory Committe
and serves on our faculty

In his letter to the Ephesians Paul expresses a perspective which is generally absent from the church in Western world, and especially in the United States. Paul wrote, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph.6:11,12). Today most Christians are ignorant of the devil’s schemes, have no notion of spiritual warfare, and would be amused if told that demons called rulers, authorities and powers, were active in their churches and in their lives.

I sadly fear that many pastors would share their amusement, even though they may struggle with dissention and criticism in their congregations, and refer increasing numbers of their people to counselors (who are just as ignorant of spiritual warfare) to deal with bitterness, anger, abuse and martial breakdowns.

The attitudes, beliefs and values of Christians are as vulnerable to postmodernism as those of the general population. And many in our churches currently experience a demonic oppression which is unrecognized and to a great extent ignored. Our struggle, Paul teaches, is “against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Though we believe the Bible, we’ve done little or nothing to arm believers for this kind of struggle.

A Look Ahead

My wife is currently taking a Masters in Counseling Psychology at Mars Hill Grad School in Seattle. Yesterday I met one of her professors. He looked puzzled, and then said, “Are you that Christian education guy?”  It turned out that he had used several of my books in the churches he served, and I had to admit, “Yes, I’m that Christian Ed guy.” Or I was.

Dr. Dale Salico, Dr. Larry Richards and myself when
Dr. Richards came to teach at our University

The first 20 years of my ministry I wrote in Christian education and church renewal.. The next 30 I devoted to developing Bible study resources, such as the NIV Encyclopedia of Bible Words, Zondervan’s Teen Study Bible, and curriculum for all ages. Now, as I reach the ago of 80 this year, I’m devoting the rest of my life teaching and writing on spiritual warfare and deliverance. I also conduct weekend Freedom Workshops, which teach  and apply the Book of Ephesians, with a view to delivering Christians and others who have fallen prey to Satan’s schemes.

It’s strange to be launching on a new ministry at my age. But just as over 40 years ago I saw the need for church renewal, I now see a need for deliverance ministry. I am convinced that in the coming decades Satan will intensify his attacks on believers and churches. And I am convinced that the development of a biblical deliverance ministry will be increasingly vital for local churches who are concerned about the spiritual growth of their members and reaching postmoderns.

The Bible is rich in teaching on Satan’s schemes and on the tactics of demons. The Bible is also identifies those truths we need to impart if we’re to equip believers to stand against the wiles of devil. And I believe that Christ has equipped us with authority over the demonic.

If you’re not acquainted with what I call “biblical deliverance ministry,” I recommend you look at two books. The first is How to Cast out Demons, by Doris M. Wagner, and the second is Two Hours to Freedom, by Charles H. Kraft. Each of these inexpensive paperbacks is available on Amazon.com, and together will serve as an introduction both to Satan’s strategies and deliverance ministry itself. They will also balance the impression of deliverance ministry you may have gained from some of the more theatrical practitioners on Christian television.

An additional resource you may find helpful is my weekly blog on biblical demonology www.demondope.com,  And if you’d like to consider offering a Freedom Workshop in your church or community, go to www.freedomworkshop.info/ 

Dr. Richards Teaching
The Freedom Workshop

Another potential resources is ISDM, the “International Society of Deliverance Ministers,” also available on the web.

Back in the 70’s I was one of the first evangelicals to write on church renewal. To date I can’t say that the church in the United States has been renewed. But many of the things I wrote about are common practice in many churches, and the “whole package” is being implemented in movements like the Organic Church. Back then I was, as my friend with the book dust jacket implied, ahead of the curve. I’m convinced that today we are rushing into a future in which Satan and his demons will become more and more active, in society and in the Christian community. Postmodernism provides a cultural climate that is ideal for the implementation of Satan’s schemes.

If you and your church want to be ahead of the curve, preparing and prepared for the attacks of those forces of evil in the heavenly realms, it’s time, now, to become familiar with his schemes. And to begin to take seriously the development of a biblical deliverance ministry.