DO YOU SEE YOUR OIKOS OPPORTUNITY?

Don’t miss the easiest opportunity you will have all year to invite your Oikos to church!

Have you taken a moment to observe the opportunity Christmas provides us with to share the hope of Jesus to our friends and neighbors in our Oikos? Think about it, no other time of year is there a holiday, let alone a religious holiday, that the majority of people embrace, celebrate, and participate in. People from all walks of life, nationalities, and religions celebrate Christmas with enthusiasm and vigor. I know it’s commercialized and the true meaning of Christmas has been lost - but what a huge open door that we could use to present the gospel if we are willing.

Lifeway conducted research of over 1,000 people in 2016. These were their results:

  • 61 percent of people attend church at Christmas time

  • Of those who don’t attend, 57 percent would be open to attending if invited by a friend

  • “Even among the “nones” (people with no religious identity) nearly three in 10 (29 percent) “had plans to go to church.” 

  • 77 percent said their primary reason for attending church during the Christmas season is “to honor Jesus.”

  • Even among the “nones” (people with no religious identity) nearly three in 10 (29 percent) had plans to go to church

  • 47 percent of “nones” who attended church named Jesus as their primary reason for attending in the holiday season

This shouts an Oikos opportunity to me. No other time of the year provides such a natural non-threatening opportunity to extend an invitation to church.

So I have one question for you. Who you are going to invite from your Oikos to our Christmas Eve gatherings?

I pray that God gives you divine insight on who to invite and provides a divine opportunity to extend the invitation. Do your part and trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest. I’ll see you, and hopefully those in your Oikos, on Christmas Eve.

Ken Rice