Be a Missionary in Your Workplace

No matter what you do for a living, you can use your workplace to further God’s Kingdom by using your business contacts to spread the Gospel and bring glory to God.

I once got a call from a German man who was the president and CEO of a major international sports apparel company. He said that he had just read The Purpose Driven Life and that it changed his life. He told me, “I’ve read this book, and I am now a Christian. I just need to know one thing: Should I resign as CEO of my company and become a pastor?”

I said, “No way! Let me show you how to use your job for the Kingdom, how to be a Kingdom builder and not just a wealth builder. Do you have an executive team?”

He said that, yes, there were six of them, and two of them were also Christians. I said, “Start meeting with those two and praying for the other three. Your first ministry is to win your three coworkers to Christ. How many employees do you have at your company?”

He said they had about 25,000. I responded, “That’s called a megachurch! You’ve got 25,000 members in your congregation. Start praying for them. Be available to them. Establish good Christian principles in your business.

“Do you want to influence other CEOs? Then you need to stay a CEO because you’ll have far more influence on them as a CEO than as a pastor or missionary.

“Would you like to influence culture? When you do celebrity endorsements with pro athletes, sit them down and tell them that you’re not just their sponsor; you are their friend. Give them your business card and tell them to call you whenever they have a need.”

In today’s global economy, the new missionaries are businessmen and businesswomen. Many countries won’t let a pastor or missionary in, but they’ll gladly welcome your business.

When you use your business for the one thing that’s going to outlast everything else—the Kingdom of God—you are being a Kingdom builder and not just a wealth builder.

There is nothing wrong with using your work to build wealth. But Jesus said in Matthew 6:20, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (NIV). The only way you can invest in heaven is to invest in people who are going there. When your work points people to God, you are storing up treasure in heaven to use for eternity and you’re advancing God’s Kingdom!