Archive for September, 2008
“Going Public with Your Faith” by our pal, Bill Peel, is a great introduction to workplace evangelism as a process, not an event. It takes time to cultivate relationships that include an opportunity to present the gospel message, especially at work, where the majority of a believer’s time is spent.
We recently completed a series of podcasts in which Bill talks about evangelism built on sincere relationships. You can hear the podcasts on your computer here.
In his book, Bill quotes church growth experts Win and Charles Arn as saying, “Webs of common kinship (the larger family), common friendship (friends and neighbors) and common associates (work associates and people with common interests), are still the paths most people follow in becoming Christians today.” In a survey cited by the Arns, 14,000 people were asked, “What or who was responsible for your coming to Christ and your church?” The top response, given by 75-90 percent of the respondents was “a friend or relative.” We want you to be able to be that friend for a co-worker!
Our workplace training and workshops focus on all four elements of workplace evangelism:
• Relationship building — Living as a Christian in the Workplace
• Pre-Evangelism — Speaking their Language
• Evangelism — Sharing the Good News and Answering Objections
• Coaching — Guiding a New Christ-Follower
Read Bill’s book! Join us in our workplace training and workshops! Get ready!
God will use you!
What does EvanTell’s “workplace ministry” do?
EvanTell’s Workplace Ministries creates and delivers training, coaching, specialized materials, and worldwide networking for believers no matter where they work. Our goal is to help believers share the gospel clearly and simply, based on authentic relationships with their co-workers.
Can we even do evangelism at work?
At work a person is supposed to work! So we approach workplace evangelism as relationship evangelism. As a believer trying to live the Christian life at work, enjoy your non-Christian friends; treat them with kindness, concern, and fun! Learn to “go public” with your faith. You can pray for your friends and for opportunities to present the gospel outside of work time. We can help you (1) build the relationship, (2) present the gospel clearly and simply, and (3) coach and support a new believer.
How do you tailor workplace ministries to my kind of work?
Because an oilfield worker and a nurse face completely different environments and challenges, here’s what we are doing:
- We’re joining forces with associations and networks of Christian believers in many industries. You can see those connections at www.thegospelatwork.org. From truckers to authors, there’s an association for you. You can sign up for their newsletters, events, and service activities and get tips directly from folks who know your environment best.
- We’re writing special materials for you. A tract is in process for real estate developers that helps relate issues their colleagues face to the gospel. We can do the same for your company or industry!
- Online training, distance learning, and DVDs can help you and your network of Christians fit training into your busy schedules. We even have worship programs for people who work on Sunday!
The workplace has been called “The Next Great Movement of God in America.” Believers have unparalleled opportunity. A CEO I know gives his employees six hours leave per month to do something of service to others. By assisting those in need, helping widows, or volunteering in community service, Christian workers have opportunity to share the gospel. Many CEO’s want to see their workplace used to reach the lost.
Why should the workplace be viewed as a mission field?
Believers in the workplace are in full-time ministry. The essence of discipleship is not “Go there,” it is “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19). A plumber who serves the Lord as a committed disciple is in full time ministry just like preachers are. Exodus 31:1-3 speaks of Bezalel, a craftsman filled with the Spirit of God whom God greatly used in the workplace.
Your life in the workplace gives credibility to your message outside the workplace. Caution! A boss is paying you to work, not witness. Titus 2:10 tells employees not to steal from their employers. To steal an employer’s time is like stealing his money. Often the opportunity to witness comes during breaks, over the lunch hour, or visiting a co-worker at the end of the work day. The life lived on the job gives credibility to share a message outside the job.
People today are finding their most meaningful relationships at work. Many people are finding that co-workers become their dearest friends, mentors, or people they share their deepest struggles with. When we take those relationships, share the gospel, and use them to an eternal end, we are doing what Colossians 4:5 calls, “redeeming the time,” that is we are, “buying up the opportunity.”
Where does EvanTell fit?
Doing what we do best — training employers and employees how to share the gospel clearly in the workplace. Two kinds of people head off to work each day. One says, “I’m a person who happens to be a Christian in the workplace.” The second says, “I’m a Christian heading off to my mission field.” How do you see yourself? Are you letting God use you?
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A man who came to Christ, attributed his conversion to a very timid neighbor. The surprised neighbor said, “I never spoke to you about Christ the way I should have.” The neighbor answered, “No, you didn’t. But you lived me to death. I could refute arguments and upset logic, but I could not refute the way you lived.”
Your life can have a powerful impact. In Acts 2 about 3000 people were converted. We are told, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need” (Acts 2:42-45). The fellowship of believers was so close and so unified that they had all things in common.
Look at how their conduct impacted non-Christians. Two verses later it reads, “Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
Our lives in the workplace ought draw people to Christ, not drive them from Him. Unbelievers are often intrigued when they find out you’re a Christian and observe your work ethic, treatment of others, conscientiousness, integrity, and dependability. That opens up an opportunity for the gospel. Paul emphasized this when he wrote to the church in Philippi and commanded them, “Do all things without complaining and disputing that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14-15). Nietzsche, a philosopher who proclaimed God was dead, said, “Show me first that you are redeemed and then I will listen to you talk about your Redeemer.”
Too often non-Christians say, “My neighbor says he is a Christian but he only lives it on Sunday morning.” They ought to say, “My neighbor says he is a Christian and he lives the life he preaches.”Your life shouts. What does it say?
One thing all believers have in common is a personal testimony, and your own testimony can be the most effective tool for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Why? Because it is personal, identifiable, factual, unarguable, and engaging.
Your testimony can be the thing that turns the conversation to spiritual things and makes them receptive to the message you have to share. It may be the thing that the Holy Spirit uses either to convict them or soften them up to hear about the death and resurrection of Christ.
Whether you share your testimony in front of an audience or a single person, you will want to make sure that your testimony is encouraging and clear on the specific issue of trusting Christ. Some testimonies are dramatic and inspiring – touching heart strings and connecting with others, but if your testimony does not tell someone exactly how that can have what you have, then it has not really changed anything for anyone. How do you tell your story in such a way that a non-Christian might say, “God used your testimony to bring me to Christ?”
In Acts 1:8, Jesus says, “You will be my witnesses…” Give the eyewitness account of what Christ has done for you so that they can see what Christ can do for them.
It is personal.
It is a brief story of how you came to Christ… unique to you and your experience with Him.
It is identifiable.
It includes an appropriate part of your past that your non-Christian friend can identify.
It is factual.
It centers on the fact of the substitutionary death and resurrection of Christ.
It is unarguable.
They cannot argue with your experience, or the death and resurrection of Christ on their behalf.
It is engaging.
It draws them in and enables them to engage with you about Christ and their need for a Savior.
