{"id":945,"date":"2018-04-03T17:17:28","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T17:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/?p=945"},"modified":"2018-04-03T18:07:51","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T18:07:51","slug":"oikos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/2018\/04\/03\/oikos\/","title":{"rendered":"Oikos"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The New Testament Reality of Relationship Evangelism<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Most people come to Christ because of relationships\u2014not events. We need to reexamine our strategies.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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Approximately eighty percent of churches in the United States have now either plateaued or are in decline. Though this fact is disheartening, there is a New Testament phenomenon that can educate and engage\u00a0us in a strategy of effective evangelism, that is human relationships.<\/p>\n

Every one of us\u2014regardless of age, culture, ethnicity and economic status\u2014live in a world where we participate in relationships. More than 75 percent of individuals who come to know Christ have experienced salvation as a result of a direct relationship.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There is a Greek word that is found many times in the New Testament that can provide tremendous insight and revelation to our evangelism productivity. Oikos defines an individual\u2019s primary base of relationships and relational sphere of influence. For example: family, neighbors, friends, and co-laborers.<\/p>\n

Let’s consider some of the biblical passages that contain or reference this New Testament phenomenon.<\/p>\n

In the ministry of Jesus: \u201cThe man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,\u2018Return home and tell how much God has done for you.\u2019 So, the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him,\u201d (Luke 8:38\u201339 NIV).<\/p>\n

This man experienced a mighty deliverance and his desire was to immediately go with Jesus. Jesus would not allow him, but<\/em> instructed him to return to his community and share all that had been done for him. Let\u2019s look at examples of this principle in the New Testament:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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1. ZACCHEUS.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhen Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, \u201cZacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.\u201d So, he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, \u201cHe has gone to be the guest of a sinner.\u201d But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, \u201cLook, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.\u201d Jesus said
\nto him, \u201cToday salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham,\u201d
\n(Luke 19:5\u201310).<\/p>\n

Zacchaeus accepted Christ and demonstrated the change in his life, and Jesus declared the impact on his business relationships.<\/p>\n

2. THE CENTURIAN\u2019S SON.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe royal official said, \u2018Sir, come down before my child dies.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Go,\u2019 Jesus replied, \u2018your son will live.\u2019 The man took Jesus at his word and departed…Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, \u2018Your son will live.\u2019 So, he and his whole household believed,\u201d (John 4:49\u201350, 53).<\/p>\n

The centurion\u2019s son was miraculously healed. This official\u2019s entire household was impacted and they all believed.<\/p>\n

3. HOUSE CHURCHES AFTER PENTECOST.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.\u201d (Acts 2: 46\u201347).<\/p>\n

This provides the most descriptive insight into the life and activity of the early church, after the day of Pentecost. It is obvious that life in believer\u2019s homes played a most significant part.<\/p>\n

4. THE RELATIVES OF CORNELIUS.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAt Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly…The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends…’Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.’ So, he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.\u201d(Acts 10: 1\u20132, 24, 47\u201348)<\/p>\n

In this passage, Cornelius the Gentile and his household received the gospel, were baptized in the Holy Spirit and<\/em> with water.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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5. LYDIA IN PHILIPPI.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOn the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul\u2019s message. When she and the\u00a0members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. ‘If you consider me a believer in the Lord,’ she said, ‘come and stay at my house.’ And she persuaded us” (Acts 16:13\u201315).<\/p>\n

Lydia experienced her conversion during Paul\u2019s ministry in Philippi. She and the members of her household believed and were baptized. Take note, she was also a seller of cloth and had a sphere of influence in the business world.<\/p>\n

6. THE FAMILY OF CRISPUS.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThen Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in\u00a0the Lord; and many of the\u00a0Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized,\u201d (Acts 18: 7\u20138).<\/p>\n

Crispus was the synagogue leader, not only did he influence his family, but the synagogue as well was a part of his sphere of influence.<\/p>\n

All of these give clear and undeniable evidence that our multi-relational levels of influence are a primary and obvious target for sharing and expanding the gospel. It is a strategy and responsibility that we must not ignore, but take full advantage of.<\/p>\n

We must instruct new believers and communicate to them the great privilege and responsibility to understand their sphere of influence. We must help them share the testimony of their salvation.<\/p>\n

Could we not become more intentional in targeting these already developed and active relationship opportunities? Let\u2019s remind ourselves according to the instructions of Jesus, the issue is not with the harvest. He said it is ripe! The issue lies with the laborers.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s rise to a new place of revelation and activation, seeing our own oikos<\/em> as a ripe field ready for harvesting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Written by: Bishop Garry Bryant<\/p>\n

Article originally showcased in Encourage Magazine<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New Testament Reality of Relationship Evangelism Most people come to Christ because of relationships\u2014not events. We need to reexamine our strategies. Approximately eighty percent of churches in the United…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[108,265,68,199,264,73,274,275],"class_list":{"0":"post-945","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-evusa","8":"tag-bishop","9":"tag-bryant","10":"tag-encourage","11":"tag-evangelism","12":"tag-garry","13":"tag-magazine","14":"tag-oikos","15":"tag-relationship","16":"entry"},"title_es":"Oikos","content_es":"","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/04\/Oikos.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/sbhxDC-oikos","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}