In my last post, I described the life of a missionary family I know that is living in Cusco, Peru. I told you about their basic plan, from start to finish, and how God’s call on their lives is not at all different from His call on your life or mine. In this post, I want to explain that idea further.
My family had the awesome privilege to host a missionary family in our home. This family is serving in Cusco, Peru through an organization called Mission To The World. Along with close to 20 guests, we heard about the challenges and victories inherent in the work of a missionary. We also learned that the only difference between us and them is location.
If you have been reading this blog for very long, you know that I most often write from the perspective of the Christian business owner or leader. Today I am writing about how to be a missionary without leaving your job. Instead of writing to the Christian business leader or owner, I am writing to those who are employees.
For years, ministers and pastors have preached about heroes of the Christian faith that have left their “secular” jobs to go into Christian ministry – maybe even as a missionary. We are told they are no longer working for a paycheck, but are now serving the Lord in Christian ministry.
I am sorry if I offend you in this – especially if you have preached this before – but this is hogwash! To believe that you have to leave business or another professional industry before you can serve the Lord as a full time missionary is erroneous. It is simply not true.
Right now, right where you are, you are able to be a missionary. You can do full-time Christian ministry work right in the job you have – no moving required! You will have to change your approach, but not your location or employer.
Below are some steps I think you need to take if you want to make this happen.
You may notice that virtually every first step I list in my blog posts has to do with prayer. Quite simply, that is because that is the best way to access the purest wisdom available to you.
In this case, I am suggesting you pray for several things from God. First, pray for the vision to see your job as a mission field. Pray that He would open your eyes to the harvest that is available right where you are. You can’t work where you can’t see!
Next, pray for a desire to grow in your faith and knowledge of Him and His Word. What you need is consistent time in His Word and an open heart and mind that can absorb AND apply what you read. Pray that God will give you a hunger for His Word so that you find ways to study rather than reasons not to!
Finally, pray that God will equip you for the specific ministry that He wants you to do. Don’t predetermine how this will look. There are innumerable ways for Him to equip you as a missionary because there are also countless ways for Him to use you in ministry on the job. Also pray for the faith to trust this equipping since you will likely face doubts when the time comes.
In the spirit of the last part of Step #1, the next step is to begin looking around in earnest for opportunities for Christian ministry. Sure, you are still in the learning phase of your ministry, but you will eventually figure out that this phase never actually ends!
Begin looking at the people around you. These people could be your customers. They could be your co-workers or even your boss. Unless you work with weather balloons in Antarctica, you likely work around people! Even if your contact with them is mostly over the phone or by email, I promise you can influence them.
As you look at and study these people, look for their needs. If the people you work with are anything like the rest of the people on this planet, then they have needs! Some of these needs may not be obvious to everyone, but I guarantee you will begin to see needs that others cannot see.
As a missionary, you are looking for opportunities to meet these needs in a way that conveys God’s love for them and points them to Him. Initially, you do not need to preach about your “Why” for serving them. You don’t need to do anything at all that explains your reasons. Just show love as you meet the needs.
This is the best part of being a missionary as an employee in your job. There are rarely, if ever, any company policies against this kind of behavior. Meeting the needs of others in a way that conveys God’s love will not get you in trouble with the HR department!
You don’t need a Bible on your desk or a cross screen saver on your computer. You don’t have to be allowed to pray out loud in a meeting or anoint anyone with oil. You can do exactly what you need to do within your employer’s guidelines!
No matter how restrictive your job happens to be, showing God’s love like this will be acceptable. So rather than hiding behind the “rules” of your employer as an excuse for not being active with your Christian faith at work, begin spreading God’s love today.
Meet needs in creative ways and allow the real joy that is in your heart to shine through. Eventually, the opportunity will likely present itself for you to share your reasons. When it does, God will give you the words and the timing. Trust Him for this. Trust Him for the results.
Keep one thing in mind here. I am a strong proponent of digging into God’s Word for learning and equipping, but I am also in favor of acting NOW! Please start praying, reading, and studying now, but do NOT wait until you feel fully qualified before you start DOING Christian ministry.
Too many times, we make the excuse that we must know more before we do more. To some degree, this can be true. However, it can also be an excuse! Start acting in love and let God guide you AS you are also learning at the same time.
Pray – Learn – Act – Pray – Learn – Act.
Rinse, lather, and repeat.
If you are not already acting like a missionary at work, why not?
Do you see how simple this can be regardless of your restrictions?
What should be your next step?
For the past year or so I have been writing this blog, one of the ideas I have been trying to explain is that we are all called to play the part of minister or missionary. I believe that, as Christian business owners and leaders, we are just as called to ministry as those on the church staff. While I have argued this from several angles, the following quote from C.H. Spurgeon makes our mission clear!
Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.
– C.H. Spurgeon
What is your reaction to that quote? Do you say, “Yeah! I buy that!” or do you say, “Huh? That can’t be right.” when you read it?
I think most of us would agree that the truth of this quote rests on how we define one word – missionary. If we immediately assume that a missionary is someone living in a hut in the jungle of South America, then I would have to disagree with Spurgeon. I personally do not believe we are all called to leave our homelands and run off to some remote region for mission work.
Another thought from many is that a missionary may be someone that stays in their homeland, but they certainly quit their job and live off of the support of others. Maybe they volunteer full-time in a ministry or even live on the streets in an effort to reach those who have no other choice.
What does the dictionary say?
Most people think that being a missionary requires leaving wherever they currently live and work to go somewhere else and spread the gospel. As you can see, this definition does not specify leaving anything. We can be missionaries if we are (1) on a mission, and (2) in a territory! Who says your “territory” can’t be where you are right now?
Most people have never considered this possibility that THEY could actually be a missionary without changing their address or their job.
I have to admit I was a member of that group at one point! In fact, I went so far as to try to walk away from our family business because it never occurred to me that I could do ministry and business at the same time! Once God showed me the two can coexist, I have been a missionary in the marketplace!
In light of this revelation, I see Spurgeon’s quote as on target. If we are truly disciples of Jesus Christ, then a change has occurred in our lives. If this change is real, then there is no way we should be able to stay quiet about it. If the love of God is in us, then we cannot help but spread that love to those around us.
David Platt described it this way. Imagine a friend of yours walked up to you and apologized for being late to meet you for dinner. Imagine they offered the excuse that they were changing a flat tire on their car when an eighteen-wheeler hit them from behind. They go on to tell you that though it really hurt, they got up, dusted themselves off, and finished changing the flat tire so they could finally meet you for dinner.
Would you believe them? Would you think they were nuts? Certainly someone that has been hit by an eighteen-wheeler would look and act differently after that impact, don’t you think?
Well, Platt asks, shouldn’t someone that has come face to face with Jesus, the creator of the universe, look differently as well? Should we not be forever changed as a result of our salvation?
If this is true, it would be reasonable to expect someone that experienced a life-saving experience with Jesus to share that experience with others, regardless of the setting or circumstances. Someone filled with God’s love should be eager to share it with anyone in their immediate circle of influence – and beyond!
Today, I encourage you to be a missionary right where you are! I am not suggesting you take a bullhorn to work, but that you start spreading the love of God wherever you go – work, school, or the soccer fields. Spread this love to anyone that needs it. You do this and you are full-fledged missionary!
Have you already realized this truth?
What are you doing differently now versus before?
What is God leading you to do next?