YOU CAN BECOME A WORKPLACE MISSIONARY: HERE’S HOW
Highlights from our 2020 conference VISION NEW NORMAL: YOUR WORK AS GLOBALOCAL MISSION.
We are called to go into all the world to proclaim the Gospel. But not many are even making their faith visible in the workplace. If we are not a missionary here at home, how can we be ready for tentmaking mission in another country, another culture?
GOD CARES ABOUT OUR WORK. PERIOD.
It has taken years for me to shake the notion that working a full-time job is merely a distraction from the fully committed Christian life I ought to live.
Recently my manager gave me an assignment. The Holy Spirit prompted me with a line of thought: If Jesus commands me to work with all my heart unto Him, and in service of my manager, then Jesus is a key stakeholder in getting this problem solved.
A VISION FOR WORK AS GLOBALOCAL MISSION
In recent years, the Faith@Work movement has grown in momentum mainly in the parachurch space. But some churches are also helping their people integrate faith and work.
Family and work are the two major arenas of life where we live out our faith. Marriage and family ministries have come a long way since the 70’s, and we are familiar with the concept of the family altar. Why not the workplace altar?
WORK IS MISSIONS?
Is tentmaking missions just about being a self-supporting missionary like Paul, who financed his pioneering work at Corinth through his trade? Is it just about having a work visa so you can stay and serve in a certain country?
WORK AS MISSION: REACH CITIES, TOUCH LIVES & IMPACT CULTURE
In 2000, half of the world became city dwellers. In 2012, China’s urban population surpassed its rural counterpart. Economic migration is a global phenomenon. Over the last few decades, hundreds of millions in China have left the countryside for the cities with millions of Christians among them.
ARE TENTMAKERS SECOND CLASS MISSIONARIES?
Even though traditional missionaries cannot go into most of the 10/40 Window countries where the gospel is most needed today, tentmakers can.
WORK THAT IMPACTS A SCHOOL, A CITY, AND THE COUNTRY
Recently Lance and Donna were tagged in a photo from friends in the US that said, “We love spend- ing time with this family from East Asia”. After ten years abroad, it makes sense that they are seen as from Asia and not America. China is home. It is where they work, do life, and serve as missional professionals.