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WHEN YOU CROSS CULTURES - World Evangelical Alliance

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216 <strong>WHEN</strong> <strong>YOU</strong> <strong>CROSS</strong> <strong>CULTURES</strong><br />

4 th Critical Factor: DEVELOPING COMMUNITY<br />

What is needed:<br />

• Understanding “Church”<br />

• Concepts in the New Testament of “oikos”(household) 3 and “ekklesia”<br />

(church)<br />

• Understanding the difference between Form and Function<br />

Besides the question “What is the Gospel?”, another crucial question is:<br />

“What is Church?” Doing a bible study on this subject is essential.<br />

Questions:<br />

1. What was Christ’s promise about His church? Who will build it? (Matthew<br />

16:18; Ephesians 1:22-23)<br />

2. What are some descriptions or metaphors in Scripture for the church?<br />

What is the most common?<br />

3. Believers fellowshipped in homes. Who were some of these? (Romans 16)<br />

4. What positive attitudes and actions and “one-another’s” are important in<br />

order for believers to comfortably share their lives with each other? What will<br />

cause them NOT to share their lives?<br />

3 The early Church did not invent new forms. Instead, they made use of their existing social structure, the household (oikos).<br />

There were almost no church buildings for the first 300 years of Christian history. Homes were used. Estimates are that a church<br />

would consist of from 10 to 30 people.

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