Week of October 12th - Creating a Church Family

Key Thought:
The Greek word Oikos means house, household or family. As a result of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, we are all made members of a spiritual Oikos, also called the church. The church is not a building. When you drive by a structure where a church meets together, resist the habit of saying, “That is the 'such and such' church.” Instead, practice saying, “That is where 'such and such' church meets.” This correctly identifies the church as the congregation and not the building.

Fortunately for Mountain Vista Community Church this is already true since we do not have a building in which we meet for corporate worship. Our goal was, within three years, to establish a church in Buckeye that has a passion for God and a compassion for others. By his grace such a church exists today. We meet in a school gym and often in each other's houses. We’ve done baptisms in a public pool and, before this past Sunday, the last time we held a communion service it was at the various home groups. As a spiritual Oikos we simply recognize that we all share the same spiritual progenitor (Jesus). Additionally, we choose to gather together regularly anywhere and are committed to care for each other’s needs like a family is supposed to do.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Acts 2:42- 47
Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 16:19
Wednesday – Proverbs 31:27
Thursday – Matthew 18:21-35
Friday – John 1:12

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. In what ways did your family of origin act or not act like a family?
2. If a biological family is together and intact, why might they still not feel like a family?
3. What role does the structure and rules of a family play in creating the feeling of family?
4. Do the children view the family from a different perspective than the adults? Whose responsibility is it to create the reality and the feeling of family?
5. In a church are there people who have a child’s perspective and others with an adult’s perspective when it comes to the spiritual Oikos?
6. What have been the things that helped you embrace MVCC as your spiritual family?
7. What is one thing you are doing or will begin doing to help create Oikos at MVCC?