Mark 5:18-20

This is an article about personal evangelism. Now, before the cold sweat comes or you begin to sink into the quicksand of guilt (Catholic or otherwise), I will say that my aim is to take a little different approach than many, if not most, contemporary churches.

I’d like to ask the question, “What does the New Testament say about how God’s church impacts culture?” For some this may be a review but for many, this could be a whole new paradigm.

The big picture overview that can be seen in the NT is that it’s not about launching a program, it’s about (re-) initiating a lifestyle perspective regarding the people that God has already placed in our lives.

Consider Mark 5:18-20 “As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. ¹⁹ But Jesus said, “No, go home [oikos] to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” ²⁰ So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns [Decapolis[1]] of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.”  

Three thoughts about evangelism related to this passage…

1. To take a quick look at the Greek word “oikos” (which is at the heart of this passage.)
2. To help us consider who “our people” are.
3. To provide some biblical perspective on how to identify begin to pray for, and to practically love and serve the people that (I would say) God has sovereignly placed in our lives.

Consider them one at a time…

1. The (Greek) word “oikos”

You might know oikos as a popular brand of yogurt, but I would like to introduce what many theologians and church historians refer to as the oikos principle. The word oikos is used 120 times throughout the NT and is most often translated house or household—not the structure but the inhabitants. Here’s my best and most concise description (or definition) of oikos: Oikos is a social system composed of those connected to each other through shared ties and/or tasks. (Your sphere of consistent connections.)

I would point out here that anthropologists have identified three universal units of every society and every culture throughout recorded history, which are social systems based on 1) common kinship, 2) common community, and 3) common interests.

So, why are we talking about our oikos’? Because, in the NT the oikos principle became oikos evangelism, which became the chief strategy that God used to expand the KOG and populate the church. Michael Green, in his classic book, Evangelism in the Early Church, (1970) observes that the NT Church vigorously adhered to the oikos principle as its primary strategy for the advance of God’s kingdom. 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 dramatically.

Epistle to Diognetus—a letter to a friend explaining why Christianity was growing so quickly. It has been dated between 130-200 AD… “Christians busy themselves on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They live in their own native lands, but they live as aliens. For every foreign country is to them as their native land, and every native land is as their foreign country. They marry and have children, but they do not kill unwanted babies. They share their table with everyone, but they don’t share their bed with everyone. They love everyone but are persecuted by all. They are poor and make many rich. They are short of everything and yet have plenty of everything. They are treated outrageously but behave respectfully. They are mocked and blessed in return.  When they do good, they are attacked. When they are attacked, they rejoice as if being given new life.”^[2]

What we see is that life change—or life transformation—catches the attention of people. One of these days you might have someone at work say to you, “You’re kind of a jerk, so why are you being so kind to me?”

2. Who are “our people”?

This shouldn’t be too hard to figure out…Our oikos consists of all the people we come into contact with on a regular consistent basis. It encompasses our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, the other parents of your kid’s sport team, your hairstylist, your golf buddies, your business associates, your mechanic, your carpool buddies, your dentist, etc.

In other words, we would say that every person likely has a distinct and measurable oikos. Husbands and wives certainly have overlapping oikoi but each one also has a distinct and separate oikos—and your children also have an overlapping oikos with you but they also have a growing distinct and separate oikos. Statistically, the vast majority of us have between 8-15 people in our oikos who are unchurched unbelievers, or “de-churched” people.

3. How to pray for and practically love and serve the people that God has sovereignly placed in our lives.

Write down the names of the 8-15 people that you encounter regularly that are unchurched or de-churched. Again, they could be relatives, neighbors, co-workers, fellow club or gym members, golfing buddies, barista at your favorite coffee shop, etc. After you’ve written down the names, place the card somewhere where you’ll see it consistently – your Bible, on the refrigerator, the dashboard of your car, or your bathroom mirror. Then pray for them. When you have the opportunity to interact with people on your list be fully present with them. Listen well. Don’t try to fix them or give advice that isn’t asked for. Empathy is a better relational connector than sympathy. The universal longing for full acceptance and belonging is the core issue that must be addressed (and hopefully experienced) in our evangelistic efforts. Remember what Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” It is always helpful to keep in mind that when we were at our worst, on the most depraved day (or season) of our lives, Jesus was loving us at that very moment.

The oikos principle or oikos evangelism is not a program that needs to be introduced to try and grow a church. Church growth is the fruit, not the goal. What I’m talking about here is our desire to get back to the basics of the Christian life, which is to love God, love people, participate in the expansion of God’s Kingdom, and serve faithfully in a local church.

[1] A federation of 10 Greco-Roman cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire where Greek settler-soldiers and their families lived and had their own court system, currency, temples, theaters, and armies. There was no love lost between the Jewish people and the inhabitants of the Decapolis.

[2] Epistle to Diognetus. Dated between 130-200 A.D. The anonymous author of this Epistle gives himself the title Mathetes, which means “a learner, pupil, or a disciple.”