A silk merchant in China in 200 B.C. would have faced a months-long journey to get his goods to what is now the Middle East and Europe. Over the centuries, the routes traveled by merchants from the East became known as the Silk Road—a vast network of trade routes on land and by sea. The Silk Road became one of the earliest attempts at globalization of markets.

Today, a Chinese silk merchant would put his goods on one of many websites where buyers from around the world could shop. What used to take months on the Silk Road now takes only minutes on the “Internet road.” The same is true for spiritual enterprises. We can now get the Gospel around the world in a fraction of the time it used to take. The global task of the Great Commission has been changed dramatically by technology of various kinds.

But in neither case—commerce or evangelism—has technology eliminated the human element. Behind every piece of merchandise available for sale on a global website is a merchant—a person who had an idea, created a product, and brought it to market. In the same way, behind every digital presentation of the Gospel presented somewhere around the world is an individual Christian who is telling that story—a Christian who lives in a home, a neighborhood, and a community.

Let's be clear: Jesus gave His Church a global task. And yet, to whom did He deliver that task in its initial format? A small group of individuals. No matter how large our global task is, it all starts at home. If we ever separate the Gospel from the lives—from the lifestyles—of those to whom it is entrusted, it will be no different than a global marketing campaign for a widget or a commodity. Evangelism is a lifestyle enterprise. It began with the life of Jesus Christ, and it continues with the life of Jesus Christ in us. 

Mapping the Mission

Jesus gave His disciples a global commission: Go into all the world; preach the Gospel; make disciples by teaching new believers all that I have committed to you (Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:45-49). But He also gave them a map, a plan, for how to proceed: “And you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Those words were spoken by Christ to His disciples while He was in Jerusalem, just before His ascension into heaven. Jerusalem was home to Christ and His followers at that time, so the message was, “Begin here, at home, and then make your way into the surrounding regions and eventually to the ends of the earth.” All global enterprises—commercial or spiritual—begin in someone's home or hometown.

We could say that the book of Acts is a record of the Early Church following the map of the mission Jesus gave them. They lived the message of the Gospel in their homes, then their neighborhoods, then their communities, and finally beyond the borders of Jerusalem into the Mediterranean regions and beyond to the known world.

Living the Mission at Home

One of the most popular ways to refer to how the Early Church evangelized the world—and especially Jerusalem in the post-Pentecost years—is called oikos evangelism. Oikos is the Greek word for household, and oikos evangelism refers to the central role of families, or households, in spreading the Gospel through normal lifestyles of sharing, interacting, and communicating. In fact, “gossiping the Gospel” is another phrase used to describe how oikos evangelism worked. Think of neighbors “gossiping” (sharing) good news with one another “over the back fence.” Not gossip in the negative way it is usually considered, but gossip as neighborly chats by which good or important news is passed from household to household.

That’s how the Gospel began to spread in Jerusalem. After Christ’s ascension, the Church at that time appears to have consisted of around 120 believers (Acts 1:15). They retreated from the Mount of Olives to an “upper room” where the disciples were staying (Acts 1:12-13). So they started in a house, or building of some sort, to sort out their next steps. They appear to have remained there for ten days until the Holy Spirit fell on them on Pentecost.

Just think: The global Christian movement began in a house with around 120 Christians gathered together. And that model has not been replaced. Remember: Global movements begin in someone’s house, garage, or around a kitchen table. Oikos evangelism is still the most likely, most convenient, and most natural way to spread the Gospel ever seen. It takes advantage of existing relationships and streams of communication, into which the elements of the Gospel can be dropped and then spread. When the jailer in Philippi heard the Gospel from Paul and Silas, he and all his household were baptized as new believers (Acts 16:31-33).

Who is in your oikos—either your immediate or your extended family? How many of them have received the Gospel and embraced Christ as Lord and Savior? Global movements are made up of individuals who hear and embrace the Gospel one person at a time. Don't let visions of the globe block your vision of the world at your doorstep.

 

 

Living the Mission in Your Neighborhood

Once we grasp the idea of our global mission beginning with our home and family, it’s just a short step out the front door to think about our neighborhood. A neighborhood is, in the simplest of terms, a collection of oikoi (households, the plural of oikos). You no doubt have relationships with many of your neighbors—relationships that would allow you to engage with them over the Gospel in a non-threatening way.

For instance, in Acts 10 we have the story of a Roman centurion named Cornelius who lived on the coast at Caesarea. A God-fearing man, Cornelius had a vision that instructed him to bring the apostle Peter to his home. Sensing something important was going to happen, Cornelius “called together his relatives and close friends” (Acts 10:24)—a large group of people (verse 27)— to hear what Peter had to say. And something important did happen! It was a repeat of Jerusalem at Pentecost: Peter preached, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were there (verse 44), and the whole group was saved and baptized.

This large group was more than Cornelius’ own family; it was relatives and neighbors and friends. All these individuals would then return to their own homes and families bearing the grace of God in the Gospel message. And Caesarea would no longer be the same because Cornelius extended an invitation for others to gather together.

Think about your neighborhood, who you know and don’t know. What could you do to extend the influence of your household for the sake of the Gospel?

Living the Mission in Your Community

First your home, then your neighborhood, then your community. We may not be able to travel halfway around the world to impact another nation for Christ, but we can certainly impact our own community. Because we will have fewer relationships in the wider community than in our neighborhood, our good works may be the bridge for gaining a hearing for the Gospel.

The early chapters of Acts are filled with examples of the Early Church’s good works. They met together daily in the temple courts where they met one another’s material needs, performed miracles, prayed, and listened to teaching (and did the same in their homes). And the result? The Church gained “favor with all the people” and saw many saved (Acts 2:42-47).

The apostles preached about Jesus in the streets and the temple and testified before the Sanhedrin (the “city council” of Jerusalem) (Acts 4). For all the Church’s good works, “the people esteemed them highly”—and people continued to be saved (Acts 5:13-14).

Letting our good works be seen in the community is a proven way to help the community see the God who gives us love and a desire to serve (Matthew 5:13-16).

Yes, the Great Commission is a global task. But it begins at home in our own household, our neighborhood, and our community. In other words, lifestyle evangelism—a lifestyle of revealing Christ in us—can become a beacon of hope for those in our corner of the large world.