“What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future.”
N.T. Wright
Breaking Stereotypes: Ministry Beyond the Pulpit
Even though ‘mission’ and ‘missional’ are buzzwords in churches nowadays, it can mean a million different things. For example, some talk about mission as outreach while others describe certain Bible verses as missional. To complicate matters further, the definition of mission has more often than not come from those in vocational ministry instead of from the Bible or the Spirit.
It’s important for all Christians to get a new understanding of the concept of mission today. In the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, the mission was never the task of the institutional Church. It was the task of every faithful disciple of our Lord. So to be clear: when your pastor prays, studies the Bible, shares the gospel with someone, or disciples someone, your pastor does those things as a Christian not because they are a pastor.
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.”
– Acts 1:8
Because of the way that Jesus commissioned normal people – a few fishermen, a doctor, and a tax collector – Biblical scholars have identified the term Missio Dei to describe God’s sending action. It is not the mission of the Church, it is the mission of God that is given to ALL who take up their cross and follow Him (Mat. 16:24)
What’s needed is a reinterpretation of the whole concept of ‘mission’ to see what it looks like in everyday Christian life and not just in the pulpit.
The Everyday Mission Field: Seeing All of Life as Worship
Western Christianity is finding that missional strategies that worked a decade ago are no longer so reliable. It is clear that there is space for a new understanding that looks like living as a disciple in every area of life.
“Following Jesus means joining God in His mission
in the everyday places that you live, work, and play.”
– Missional University Faculty
A great question to ask is: “What am I already doing?”
And then ask God: “What are you doing in this space? How can I join you in what you are doing?”
Note that the question above is not a demand. It is not saying: “I am doing this! God better bless it!”, or something. The first step in the question is surrendering to God’s will. So, we don’t twist or mold God’s mission to fit our own.
There is not a single area of life or field of interest that cannot be pulled into alignment with God’s mission. Every single second of your day is holy ground if you tune into what God wants to do in and through you to establish His Kingdom on Earth.
God’s Truth in Action: Living Your Faith at Work
Work is probably the sphere of life where the divide between the secular and the sacred is most evident. It can be incredibly challenging for modern believers to figure out how to authentically live out their faith in the workplace.
Today we often see the mission as the task of those few who work in full-time ministry, but we’ve forgotten that was not true in the Early Church and the practical effects of the Gospel-centered mission were evident:
“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
– Acts 4:44-47
Your Role in God’s Plan: Embracing the Call Everywhere
When God made you, He carefully wove together all your passions and joys. He got excited about His masterpiece and He wrote you into His grand narrative. He does not love some of His children less so He gives them boring jobs – No, that’s not the kind of Father that He is! God infuses meaning and purpose into even the most ordinary tasks that we do when it is done for His glory.
This does not mean you need to add the title “Christian” to your business cards. It just means you bring a dialogue with God into your every day activities – even at work.
- What would it look like if you prayed in the mornings and asked God to help you see everybody you cross paths with through His eyes?
- Ask God for a Word for your workplace or office.
- Pause before hitting ‘send’ on that email and ask God if He wanted you to add anything to it.
- If you have an issue with conflict in the workplace, see what the Bible says about resolving conflict and bring those tools in to de-escalate the situation.
- Learn to see your sphere of work in light of God’s mission – Are you in the work of law and justice? Caring for Creation? Bringing renewal? Offering redemption and care? Facilitating reconciliation? Healing and restoration? Sharing renewal and hope?
- What is God sending you to do today?
“The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”
–Martin Luther
Equipping You for Impact: Training for the Marketplace
The mission is yours.
Not only your pastor’s or minister’s – There is a unique invitation for you that nobody else could do anyways because they don’t have access to the people and places that you have access to.
So, what now? How do you actually live out the Mission of God in your workplace, home life, and among your friends? How can you learn to see your sphere of work in light of God’s mission?
Missional University’s School of Missional Practice is dedicated to equipping Christians to integrate the mission of God into their everyday lives and professions, rather than limiting this engagement to traditional ministry roles. The program aims to transform lives and communities by empowering individuals to live out their faith authentically in various workplace and community contexts. Check out our course guides to dive deeper into why it’s everyone’s mission.
Eljoh Hartzer is combining theology and art to nurture faith journeys across generations. She is a masters-level practical theologian with the University of Stellenbosch. She is also a writer and editor in the niche of Christianity and children’s content and she illustrates children’s books. Eljoh resides in the Swartland area in the Western Cape province of South Africa. She is a staff writer at Missional University focusing on missional theology and practice.
