If evangelism feels like something for other people, you may be missing one word.
Oikos: the word
Oikos is Greek for "household" — but in the first century it covered extended family, workers, and close friends. Your relational world.
- "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:31)
The gospel spread through relational networks, not mainly through strangers on street corners.
Why this matters
Most Christians feel guilty about evangelism because they picture a cold conversation with a stranger. The New Testament pattern is warmer: the people already in your life.
It's invisible until you write it down
Write 5–10 names of people who don't know Jesus. Not categories — names. "Lost people" is an abstraction you can ignore. "Mark, going through a divorce" is a person you'll pray for tonight.
That's why we built Oikos Map — free, to map your world and pray by name — and Kingdom Base to actually track follow-up.
Three steps for a normal week
- List them. Five names.
- Pray for them by name. Daily.
- Serve one this week. "Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:18)
You aren't responsible for anyone's conversion — "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth." (1 Corinthians 3:6)
Seek first. Stay ready.