Reaching the “Oikos”

oikos (ancient Greek: οἶκος, plural: οἶκοι) is the Greek equivalent of a household, house, or family.

When I first read the word oikos in the Bible, it was in the passage of the Phillipian jailor and his family believing in Jesus and being saved and baptized (Acts 16:30-34). It is one of many examples of households or families believing together. You may remember the examples of Cornelius and Lydia as well.

 

Part of my ministry in Brazil is to train church members in evangelism. One of the ways I have done this is by leading workshops in Bible Storying and Oikos Evangelism.  I thought it a rather clever name… Oikos Evangelism.

 

Unfortunately a quick google search showed me that Oikos has become another buzzword in the vein of: Missional, Emergent, Catalyst, Paradigm, Worldview, Metanarrative, Organic, Purpose Driven, and Praxis. So, my apologies in advance for using it.

 

I do intend to use Oikos as a label in the blog’s sidebar for post about reaching families rather than just individuals. Since I am short for time, the first practical post will have to come later.