Can we take our faith to work?
I didn’t become a Christian until I was 30, and by then, my time on any given weekday was spent at work. I had debts and a family. I wanted to be a minister. I wanted my faith to matter. I wanted to work for Jesus and with his people. I kept asking God, “Please make me a minister.” My prayers weren’t answered by God sending me to a foreign land or placing me in the pulpit. He didn’t magically make my job or my bosses more enjoyable.
At the same time, I saw all these great Christian people in church on Sunday, but during the week, we all blended into the background. We didn’t seem to make much of a difference during the week.
My Faith Didn’t Fit
I felt like my faith didn’t fit. I felt like I had a lot to give, but no way to do it.
Have you ever felt underutilized as a Christ-follower? Are you concerned that if you really lived your faith daily you would have to be pushy or overbearing at work?
Once, one of my friends said, “But Mike, I don’t want to be ‘that guy’ at work.” Do you know what I mean?
Many of us would like our faith to make a bigger difference in our lives, but we also don’t want to come across as an arrogant know-it-all. How do we live our faith in a way that makes a difference without forcing our faith on everyone at work?
The First Three Years
Over the last 3 years, Follower of One has developed an answer. We created a 2-week exercise to help marketplace Christ-followers live their faith daily. It’s called the Marketplace Mission Trip. On this trip, you practice living your faith in a relevant, meaningful way right where you work. You don’t have to raise money or take time off work. You don’t need to get shots or a passport. This mission trip happens right where you work. Each workday for 2 weeks, you receive a brief devotional and a video designed to give you a single thought for the day. The thoughts are designed to fit perfectly into your present work environment. We talk about things you can do for others that help people see Jesus, but you don’t need to try to force any conversations.
How Marketplace Mission Trips Work
Each devotional challenges you to invite Jesus to invade your daily interactions with everyone you meet. The first week we prepare. The topics are our 5 daily activities, 1) Pray, 2) Appreciate others, 3) Know what we believe, 4) Serve others, and 5) Speak for ourselves. We can do these activities in any job, on any day. These activities put us “on-mission” with Jesus, but they don’t require us to become an overbearing jerk either.
The second week is Action Week. We become more action-focused. We want to practice our new activities in our workplace. And in the 2nd week, we have Zoom calls in the evenings to debrief and to pray for one another.
Over the last 3 years, over 440 people have taken at least one of the 18 trips we’ve organized.
Mission Trip 3.0
Now, beginning in 2022, the mission trips are built in a new tool designed to make the experience much more meaningful. Follower of One’s new platform allows us to interact with one another during the trip, making it easier to connect with others and pray for one another. The trip itself is easier when we do it in a community. We help others and we are helped as we integrate our faith and work.
Also, in this new tool, we can now host multiple trips at the same time. Once you’ve taken a Marketplace Mission Trip, you can lead your own trip with your small group, coworkers, or church friends! Follower of One will even assign a concierge to help you as you help your group take their faith to work.
Sign Up Now!
You can take part in the next Marketplace Mission Trip at no cost. Simply head over to https://community.followerofone.org and create an account. Then click Courses and select the next Marketplace Mission Trip to request access. You’ll be admitted quickly. Once inside, introduce yourself to the other trip-goers. Take a moment and pray for each person on the trip. Ask God to show you how to integrate your faith into your daily life.
You can become a full-time minister in any occupation or industry. Join us at https://community.followerofone.org to sign up for the next mission trip!
