What is Oikos Bible Fellowship

     Oikos Bible Fellowship (OBF) is the main strategic focus of our ministry. OBF is a regular in-home gathering for fellowship and Bible study, taking place among families and individuals, who live together in the same neighborhood or community (oikos in Greek). The national shepherd is key person, whom God uses to provide spiritual, social and physical help to every member of an oikos – as much as he can. The size of such group ranges from 3 to 12 adult individuals, and if new people keep joining in, then we encourage the missionary to launch a new group.  

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     Where you can sponsor an Oikos Bible fellowship?

     At this moment in most states of former Soviet Union we have established network of pastors and lay preachers, who are ready to start Oikos Bible Fellowship or already doing such type of service. With your payers and financial support  you may become the answer for a prayer for God’s shepherds in such countries, as: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Republic of Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Latvia. Besides them, we are in process of preparing the ground for OBFs in Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and other countries of Middle East and North Africa. It is important to note, that in some countries we are working with different people groups. For an example, in Armenia you may support ministry of OBF conduct for not only ethnic Armenians, but also for Kurds, Iranians, Yezidis, refugees from Syria and Russian-speaking expats.

     In most cases, with you donation of $150 you may support weekly Bible study meetings during one month for a group up to 12 adults. A major part of these funds would be spent for transportation expenses of the local missionary, as he reaches remote places of his area. Also, money needed to buy some basic food items or simple welcoming meals for every attendee. In some areas the same amount would be enough for monthly meetings of 2 and even more OBFs – it all depends on conditions of each shepherd. As you will get regular updates, you would see more clearly, what God is doing though our common efforts.

 

     Why it OBF so important?

     The social surveys around the world bring us alarming statistic of growing number of people, struggling with the extreme sense of loneness. Ironically, the overwhelming increase of our engagement into social nets and other online activities makes that problem even worse. We are simply alone in the crowd. No mater of nationality and cultural background, we all want to belong – be connected with other people and get closer to God. Two thousand years of the Church’s history show us, that in all times the small family-type gatherings of Jesus’ followers and the seekers were the best place for any people to obtain all kind of relationships they ever needed. That is what Oikos Bible Fellowship is all about – when native God’s shepherds assist their people to be fully connected with each other and with God.

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      How are these gathering conducted?

     Each gathering kicks off with a little meal or refreshments, shared together. While that time, all group members are encouraged to voice their praises to God for what He has done since last gathering, including their progress in fulfilling personal assignment they determined for themselves while last meeting. And then Oikos Bible Fellowship goes to pivoting around a Biblical text, which local pastor systematically explores with his group. Usually, they study one of the Gospels, following a simple order (three How):

      1)    How do I see God in this passage? What attributes of His character I can identify in these Biblical verses?

      2)    How does God see me (us) in this text? What Bible tells me here about myself?

      3)    How do I need to live now? What I believe God wants me to do now and during the next 7 days?

      At the end of each Oikos Bible Fellowship every participant is invited to tell others, how they can pray for them until next meeting. Naturally, we instruct every missionary we are supporting to chose the method of Bible study, which matches the best the spiritual needs of their group. For that reason we train and equip pastors with at least three types of discipleship tracks (courses), starting with the simple Bible exploration and going up to teaching basic fundamental Christian doctrines to help them to be better prepared for the water baptism.

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     What do we expect?

    It must be noted that role of local pastor is not to do lectures or pronounce sermons while these fellowships. In fact, the shepherd’s role here is just to facilitate the open discussion around a story from the Scripture and engage everyone into it. Praying for each other, sharing joys and concerns, and, of course, exploring Bible together helps every person in the group to experience real connection – to God and with each other.

   We believe that such types of gatherings create the best environment for spiritual growth, discipleship and lunching a new church plant in the observable future. For every missionary, who wants to start an Oikos Bible Fellowship group, our staff organizes specific training and makes sure the sufficient feedback and testimonies would be systematically provided.

   Do you feel God leads you to assist a native pastor to conduct these meetings on regular basis? Or maybe you want to go personally there and help to lead these fellowships for a while? If so, please contact us now and we will help you to get all the benefits after following God will for your life.