Study #5: Household Evangelism

How the Lord uses households to do His work.

Acts

Our case statement contains this value:

“Intergenerational. We do not want to break up the family, or to segregate people in order to reach them or build them up. The New Testament church did not segregate by age or culture, but reached people individually and in families.

            “We try to under gird the family in our worship by having children stay in the assembly for the first hour. They are dismissed for classes during the message time for adults (as we do, in fact, recognize that there are differences in levels of understanding and concentration). Each small group is free to structure for children as seems to work best for them. But we often ask the question, ‘how can we support and help the family, rather than breaking it up?’”

There are three or four levels of relationships for disciple-making in the New Testament. In order of priority, they are individual or one-on-one discipling, household or family discipling, and program or large group discipling.

Individual disciple-making is the first priority. Philip and the Ethiopian, Peter and John with the lame man at the temple, Aquila and Priscilla with Apollos, Jesus and the woman at the well, Paul and Timothy. All are examples of respectful evangelism, as a mentor brought another person along in the faith. These individual relationships predominate in the New Testament, and they are the primary means of disciple-making.

Households are the second priority. The goal is that every individual belongs to a household. A household, in our use of the word, is a group of people who are bound by love and commitment to one another. Most often, a household is made up of a nuclear family unit, plus those who are brought in as adopted members (whether legally adopted or not). But some of our households are communities of singles or couples who willingly bind themselves together in generous mutual dependence. Either way, all households have a head, and all must commit themselves to radical hospitality if they are to be disciple-making units. Household discipling is often much slower than individual discipling, but it can yield much more deep and lasting results, as members are equipped for a lifetime by those of their oikos. The Philippian jailer and his household, Dorcas and her friends, Lydia and her household, Cornelius and his family and friends, all are examples of households reached through one person and then brought to maturity through the ….

Keep in mind that households do not have to follow the traditional model of husband and wife with their biological children. In Bible times, households were also made up of extended families, including elderly grandparents and any household slaves and bond-servants, as well as orphans or others who were brought into the family unit. They didn’t have all of the nursing homes and orphanages and hotels back then that we have today, and so a family was the source of education, of medical care, of housing, and of hospitality. Today, there are also other non-traditional households, such as college fraternities or dorms, street gangs and close friendship circles and roommates, and other peer groups. Those peer groups may not have been as common in Bible times, but they are a fact of life today, whether or not they are ideal. So in reaching a person, realize this: almost everyone belongs to a household. Are you the head of a household? If you are a leader or influencer of others, you very possibly are. If you are a husband, you are already the head of at least a small household of two. The Bible word is oikos, which we could translate as “sphere of influence” or “web of relationship.” These oikoi are the key to changing society with the Good News of Jesus Christ, for it is in people’s nature to belong.

Large group evangelism also takes place in the New Testament church. That “large” group could be a relatively small cell group, or house church, or it could be a crusade or other massive event, or any group in between, including the weekly assembly of “when the whole church comes together.” Peter on the Day of Pentecost, Paul in Miletus, the sermon on the mount, Paul on the aeropagus of Athens, Stephen and the Sanhedrin, and other large group gathers would allow one or two speakers to address large numbers with the good news. These gatherings are often quicker and more effective at yielding numbers of converts, but the follow-up cannot be done in a large group.

In short, each individual is a disciple and a discipler. Each individual is backed up and belongs to a household, which provides support and collective witness. Groups of households make up a large group assembly which also provide entry points and indirect opportunities for mass discipling. All three are important, and none should be neglected. Probably the most neglected in the American, however, has been the household. The rest of this lesson will make the case for household-based ministry.

So, we purpose to be a “family-oriented” church. It’s hard to say what a family-oriented church is, but there are some books that define it well. See some quotes in the supporting document below. We have yet to see what the model will look like when ministering in Price Hill, where traditional families are very much the exception, but God’s Word seems committed to household ministry, and so we are committed to find ways to apply the principle in our culture today. In short, we want to support the family and keep it together, rather than segregating by age or affinity. We want as much family-application in messages and as much undergirding of the family in every way as we can.

The other important concept to understand here is grassroots-driven ministry, rather than top-down ministry. Again, see the circles above, going from individuals to whole-church. Specialized programs were to be grassroots-driven, meaning an individual might have a plan for some ministry (we’ll say prison ministry, as an example). He might just go by himself, or it might grow to the point where it becomes a whole family ministry, as he brings his sons with him and his wife bakes treats and makes thoughtful cards for the prisoners. It may become more costly or large as the opportunities expand, and that person’s cell group might want to join in to make that ministry their special project. Or, it may even become too big or too expensive for the group, and the whole church may take it on by supplying books and a team of many men going in. But it started, not from the top down, but from the individual, through the family and the small group, and eventually to the whole church. We haven’t yet found any churches where this kind of model is consistently followed, and where the church is flourishing, so we can’t see whether it can be successful in the long run. But these are the ideals from which we start.

Another way to illustrate our approach is to have three transparencies. The first has a series of dots, representing people. Some of the dots are mature believers, from whom emanate lines representing their mentoring influence on others. Generally, the older someone gets to be, the more his or her influence can grow. Like an upside down cone, our influence is greatest on those who are our peers or younger than us. I call this mentor discipleship.

The second transparency starts with the same dots. But on this one, circles are drawn to gather in the dots in groups of two to twenty. These circles represent households, and perhaps 50% of the dots are included in one of the circles. From some of the dots outside of circles we have lines or dotted extensions of circles, indicating that some individuals have been invited into a household through radical hospitality, so that they belong. This includes perhaps 20% more of the dots. Some of the circles are dotted lines, meaning they are informal relationships, rather than traditional households. The relationships can be a dating or engaged couple, a group of close college students or roommates, a gang of friends or peers, a youth group, or other informal but close connection of people. Notice that those dotted circles sometimes include people who otherwise are part of a traditional household.

The third transparency shows that we can break people down into affinity groups, with a ministry program leader targeting people with specific interests, such as age, location, occupation, demographic status, belief, or other interest. This system colors the dots and designates one or more of the colored dots as larger than others, to show the ministry leader(s). Notice that every dot is at least one color, but there is not necessarily a leader or ministry yet designated to minister to all of the colors yet in our model.

Without all three of these transparencies, someone gets left out, for each one would be incomplete in a truly diverse church. We need a proper balance of individual discipleship and peer mentoring, of household-centered ministry, and of program-based targeted ministry to truly touch everyone with the news about Jesus.

#1: We Are Christ's

#2: Becoming Community

#3: How People are Commissioned

#4: The Case for This Local Community

#5: Household Evangelism