The Oikos Challenge

The oikos principle is already alive and well in every local church, including yours. It’s the reason that 95% of the people who already attend already attend. Our job has never been to introduce the principle to a church, but to significantly accelerate its efficiency through clarity and intentionality. So, the centerpiece of many of our trainings and resources is a simple five-step process we call The Oikos Challenge. 

If you feel as if your job is to witness to everyone, you probably won’t witness to anyone. (Which is why most believers never do.) Being intentional about the eight to fifteen people sitting in your front row brings a much clearer focus to our efforts to change our worlds for Christ. 

STEP 1: Simply make a list. Recognize how God is already managing circumstances to connect us with certain people on a regular basis, then write their names down. It’s only a dream, until you write it down. Then it becomes a goal. 

STEP 2: Pray every day that God would make Himself known to each person on your list. Ask God how you can be available to them as an instrument of truth and grace. 

STEP 3: Invest in those relationships. Look for ways to spend time with your oikos. Being available and present allows you to be used by God in your relationships.  

STEP 4: Invite the people on your list to experience environments in which the body of Christ is engaged in faith-filled conversations. This could be a church service, a social event, or even a private get-together. Keep your eyes open for the opportunities God presents.  

STEP 5: This step could be simply understood as “going to church.” Never forget that your own personal growth makes you more available to God to fulfill your personal mission. The better we know who God is, the better we can effectively represent Him in our daily lives.  

On the one hand, sharing the love of Christ with anyone anytime is every believer’s responsibility, regardless of who is or isn’t inside an oikos. On the other hand, without at least two people’s permission, no meaningful conversation ever takes place. Cold evangelism (that is, sharing Christ with someone you haven’t previously known) can provide very powerful encounters, but successful experiences are rare because it is unnatural for people to grant that kind of permission on the spot. Which is why, after healing the demon-possessed man, Jesus told him to “go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19) The Greek word translated “your own people” is oikos.  

The tactics that Jesus taught were simple—get saved and go home.  

You can read more about the oikos principle and The Oikos Challenge in any of the books available on our resources page, as well as find downloadable Oikos Prayer Cards for Adults, students, and kids.