Life; an adventure, a journey with Jesus!

Oikos

We have had the privilege recently to be guests of an Oikos group – a family group – from Bridgeway Church in Georgia. Small groups are common in many churches. They have different names, some catchy, others according to age, subject, or activity. They may meet for different reasons, have different goals, and provide different things for different people. This year at Bridgeway, the Oikos groups are meeting in homes, mid-week. In modern society these social groups focus on quality time spent with one another, face to face. Thus enriching the lives of those devoted to the group meeting regularly.

Looking in scripture, Acts 2:42-47 a passage that is often called the Fellowship of the Believers is quoted here below

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every 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.

The Oikos in Acts met daily in the temple and they met in their homes. They ate together, devoted themselves to the Word and one another, and they were of one accord, meeting one another’s needs. The result of this was that they were full of thankfulness, praised God, and enjoyed favor.

Our recent experience has re-enforced our opinion that small groups are so very important in reaching and teaching one another, caring and sharing with one another, ultimately growing together – as a family, or part of a larger family, as in the case of the local church. The Oikos group we attended met for food, fun, fellowship, conversation, study of a book, prayer, and genuinely cares for each member of this small part of the large family (Bridgeway). Families consist of several generations, related in different ways, and often include others who have similar interests or live nearby. In this group the age ranged from a child not quite a year old to some in their 70’s. Children of all ages, teenagers, young adults, both single and married adults, as well as parents, grandparents and great grandparents all met together. One can very easily understand the multitude of experiences, different walks of life, and myriad of challenges facing each other are too numerous to list, but they make up a vast resource for each member to tap into, lean on, and learn from.

In our busy lives today, we find we don’t have time for this and that. Family often takes second place to our activities. This is sad. It is unfair to our children. When miles distance us from our parents/children there is still a longing for acceptance, family, and those who care. That family is often close friends, co-workers, neighbors, or members of a group we share many hours with. It’s natural to become family (loosely defined) with those who have similar interests.

However, when we are born again, we become part of the family of God and that’s a huge family! How do we function in this new family? Where do we fit in? Oikos helps members soon become attached and involved. The first time I visited, I felt it was an opportunity to get to meet new people and reconnected with friends of years gone by. The second visit was totally different as I was no longer the new kid on the block. Learning about one another continued during the fellowship time and dinner; with mixed ages it was easy. During our study the younger children were in a separate area watching a video, doing homework, and coloring. Sound familiar? Same as in your household when family gathers. The teens and adults exchanged thoughts and ideas in a lively conversation about the book “Radical”. Truth is, we read scripture that was important to the subject at hand, and discussed what we know we should do and why we don’t do it! As a family we were able to acknowledge the areas we tended to fear, shy away from, or conquer! Hearing from one another was encouraging and comforting!

Oikos, family, small group are all very similar. If you are not involved in one, start one yourself and begin to enjoy your place in this little part of the big family of God.