Who’s Your Oikos?

When you hear someone talk about the “Great Commission,“ Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:18-20 to “go and make disciples,” what comes to your mind? Do you think to yourself, “I don’t know what steps to take to carry this out!” I know it’s something that I’ve struggled with in the past. But I’d like to suggest one thing you can do over the next few weeks.

If you look up the word “oikos” in Strong’s Bible Tools, it’s defined in part as a literal or figurative dwelling or family.  Basically, your oikos are the people in your life. But what does it have to do with the Great Commission? Throughout the Bible, we see God’s heart to expand His kingdom through oikos. From Noah and Abraham to Cornelius, Lydia, and others, we see God using people to reach their oikos.

So here’s something simple you can do: write your name in the middle of a piece of paper. Around your name, draw some circles for the different “dwellings“ or “families” in your life. Maybe it’s your workplace, your biological family, your Cub Scout family, your art class family, your friends from college, etc. Write some of the names of people in these oikos. Then pray over it. Everyday. For two weeks. Or maybe one week or three weeks.
 
When I tried this earlier in the year, the Lord showed me that my neighbor may be interested in knowing more about Jesus. I realized that she always tried to chat with me when we passed each other while out walking. The next time I was out walking and spotted her, I quickly started walking in her direction (but not in a stalking way of course). After talking for a bit, she shared that a close relative was the first in her family to accept Christ, and that she and her family, too, had become Jesus followers. She, however, knew almost nothing about the Bible. We wound up doing an outdoor Bible study!
 
Pray over your oikos and listen for God to give you some direction. Pray for people in your oikos to have soft hearts towards Him. Pray for the Holy Spirit to make you aware of who is open to Him. Pray for God to move in mighty ways within your oikos. And stay tuned for a future post suggesting a simple next step.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028%3A16-20&version=ESV
https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Lexicon.show/ID/G3624/oikos.htm
https://www.missionfrontiers.org/issue/article/the-oikos-hammer-you-your-household

Author

Mary David is the pseudonym for a global worker from PCC. She enjoys spending time with her family, sharing the Gospel, and watching God work.