We have a Marketplace Faith
April 22, 2009
Filed under Market place
by Peter Kentley
The Christian faith started outside the temple. Jesus grew up as a carpenter. When it was time for public ministry he worked in the marketplace with fishermen and a tax collector. His parables were marketplace stories and his healings happened often in marketplace situations.
Why is the marketplace important as a place of ministry?
Our work is important because that is where we earn our living, provide for our families and spend some 67% of our waking time Monday to Friday. It is also the place where we meet non-Christians the most.
Inhibitors
There are four main inhibitors to Christians being effective in the marketplace:
Fragmentation
denominationalism and insular local church attitudes inhibiting combined effort in the marketplace.
Isolation
feeling you are the only Christian in your company.
Intimidation
feeling overwhelmed by the forces of secularism.
Compromise
not “walking the walk”. If you don’t walk the walk, don’t talk the talk!
Witness
In Acts 1:4-8 Jesus clearly states that we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit to be empowered for witness. Jesus does NOT say, ‘go and witness’. What he does say is that after being filled with the Holy Spirit you will be his witness.
Wherever you work right now you are a witness. The question is this: are you a good or a bad witness?
God wants you to be a great witness for his son! The way to do this is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and work with other members of the body of Christ in your strategic area. Then you can hold each other accountable to building your witness on the right foundations.
Foundations
Marketplace ministry seeks to empower people to serve Jesus Christ where they are in the marketplace. The basis of being effective for Christ in the workplace is to put down the following foundations under the unction of the Holy Spirit, ie being:
- caring
- christian
- competent
- connected
- consistent
- creative
- credible
Put these attributes under the anointing of the Holy Spirit together with the Fruit of the Spirit and the Gifts of the Spirit and you have the greatest contribution that exists for the marketplace. This is how we can make our calling to be salt and light effective in the marketplace (Matt 5:13-16).
Accordingly marketplace ministry is not event driven but primarily focused on effectively using the time we already have in the workplace.
The Big Picture
From these foundations we can see the vision of the big picture of implementing the Kingdom of God in the ten main spheres of society (Matt 6:10), ie:
- business
- charity
- church
- creative Arts
- education
- government
- health
- justice
- media
- sport.
Transformation
For a city or town to be transformed paradigm shifts have to occur in the marketplace. What is the role of business and professional people in this process? There are four steps to Christian growth in penetrating the marketplace:
- to be a nominal or undisclosed Christian in the workplace (survival mode)
- to be a Christian who applies Biblical principles in their work and business relationships
- to be a Christian who brings the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit to their business or professional life
- to be a Christian committed to transformation of their business and city 1.
Christian World View
There is no person, marriage, family, organisation, workplace, profession, office, department, company, corporation or government where Jesus Christ cannot be pre-eminent (Matt 6:10, Eph 1:21, Col 1:15-20).
We are a movement proactive in raising the profile of Jesus Christ in the cities and towns of our nation. We are committed to honouring God 24/7.
Your workplace is strategic for the Kingdom of God.
Visit the Market Place Connections website to read more Kingdom articles.
1. “Anointed for Business” by Ed Silvoso, page 123 (Regal).
