Christian Faith In The Workplace Survey
We asked each group different questions and tried to draw insight from the responses. Analyzing the results let me to a few conclusions. For example, while I left the term “sharing our faith” undefined, almost everyone understood that to mean that we talked with someone. I was also unclear about the definition of the term “on-mission,” yet 69.8% of the respondents who were employed by a church or para-church organization estimated that fewer than 1 in 5 Christians in the workplace were on-mission at their work.
Lack of Practical Ideas
The biggest surprise for me has been what has happened over the last 4 years since that survey. I continue to ask people for practical ideas about how we might carry out our daily marketplace ministry. can live our faith at work. Because the word “share” seems to be speech-related, and “marketplace ministry” seems vague, I’ve changed to asking how we can live our faith.
How do you live your faith? Informally, because I haven’t kept a tally since the survey, my estimates are that most, if not every, Christian I have asked says something like, “I let my light shine,” or “I share the love of Jesus.” Almost every answer, while good and accurate, is seldom practical or actionable. What people say means something to followers of Jesus, but it is seldom explicit. Most new believers wouldn’t have any idea what we were talking about.
Practical Idea #1 – Pray
Can we get more practical? What actionable things do you do that you could encourage others to do?
Do you pray for your coworkers and friends regularly? Would you say you do that 5 days a week, 3 days, or once? Do you pray for your coworkers’ spouses and children? Do you know names and interesting facts about the family members of people on your team?
Have you ever asked a coworker about one if their kids’ accomplishments? Do you know what your coworkers take pride in? Do you know about their hobbies or what interests them?
Our job as Christ-followers is to actively consider others more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). Paul goes on to show us in detail how Jesus laid aside his deity and became a common baby, lived, suffered and died for us. We didn’t even know we needed a savior. Jesus is the only Savior. Everyone else is a guide.
Give God’s Grace Away
Our service to others needs to be above and beyond what others would expect. We have the grace of God and our job is to give it away.
Stay tuned for more. This is part 1. What other practical ideas can you suggest? Please explain below. Let’s stir one another up to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).
Do these questions seem over the top? Have you taken the Ministry Mindset Challenge? Ask God to show you the truth about your workplace ministry. Then, if your ministry to your coworkers is less than you think it should be, act. Let’s act like the people of God every day, even when those actions make us uncomfortable.
