Apostle Paul And Marketplace Ministry

For the past nine years, I have been attempting to run our business from an eternal perspective – effectively using it as a platform for Christian ministry. Unfortunately, this is not very common and therefore I often find myself explaining exactly what I mean by marketplace ministry. Today, in an effort to shed more light on this, I want to take a look at an example of marketplace ministry in the life of the Apostle Paul.

Paul The Tentmaker

We know from Acts 18:3 that Paul was a tentmaker by trade. We don’t necessarily know how much of his time was spent making tents versus doing ministry, but it is clear that tent making was his occupation. The following verse refers to Paul coming to stay with Aquila and Priscilla.

Paul came to them, and being of the same occupation, stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.
Acts 18:3

Because we don’t necessarily know how much time Paul spent making tents, I am not going to attempt to draw an exact parallel between Paul’s ministry and a current-day Christian business. That is not the point of this post at all.

Marketplace Ministry

Instead, I simply want to broaden your understanding and awareness of the existence of (and need for) marketplace ministry – dating all the way back to the days of early church. Then I want to give you some simple tips, based on Paul’s example, for following Paul’s example in your business today.

First, let’s take a look at another passage in Acts, only one chapter before the verse mentioned above. This passage is too long to include in this post, so I will ask you to take a moment and CLICK HERE to read Acts 17:16-34. It will only take you a minute!

Paul Was Troubled

What is the first thing you read about Paul’s mindset in verse 16? It says his spirit was troubled or that he was greatly distressed. His problem was the rampant worship of idols in Athens. I am not sure what exactly brought this to his attention or whether it was related to his tent making. It really is not important.

The point of this is that Paul’s spirit was troubled at the worship of idols in Athens and so he went into the marketplace everyday to reason with those who were there. Don’t you think Paul would feel the same way today if he witnessed our marketplaces? Don’t you think his spirit would be troubled?

Are You Troubled?

If so, is yours? Paul told us to follow his example as he followed the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). If this is indeed what we should be doing, don’t you think our spirits should be troubled as well by the worship of idols in our marketplaces? Shouldn’t we be distressed?

Let’s assume for the moment that you agree with me on this and your spirit IS troubled.

What next?

What are you to do about it?

Paul And Marketplace Ministry

Well, those are good questions. For the answer, let’s take a look at what Paul did. Going back to the passage from Acts 17, we see in verses 17-18 that Paul did not just sit still when his spirit became troubled. Instead he went right to the people (some in the synagogue, some in the marketplace) and met them where they were.

It is certainly possible that he did this by turning his tent-making business into a marketplace ministry. Unfortunately, there is not enough detail in this passage to determine whether or not that is true. All we do know is that he did put himself in the middle of the marketplace and began sharing the simple message of the gospel.

Initial Response

The initial response to what Paul was saying was curiosity. The people told him that they wanted to hear more about this “new teaching” he was proclaiming. As a result, Paul was given the opportunity to talk to the very leaders and authorities in the marketplace (the Areopagus).

Results?

What were the results?

Well, some sneered and mocked him. They were not interested in what he had to say and they made it clear with their response. Others, however, believed him and began to follow Paul to learn more.

They Need What We Have

Folks, when you break it down, it is really this simple. The majority of the people in the marketplace today need the message that we have. They need to know the truth and we have it! All that remains is for us to begin going into the marketplace and sharing this message.

Different Methods, Same Ministry

This will look different for some than it will for others. We all have different opportunities and skills for entering marketplace ministry. God has determined this according to His will and we are only charged with following His lead. I encourage you to begin praying about how He can use YOU in this effort.

In my next post, we are going to break down Paul’s actual 4-step method from this passage and try to apply it to our current day marketplace ministry opportunities.