“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The call to mission and to share the gospel with those around us was at the Heart of Jesus’ ministry on earth. Jesus wants us to go and share the good news of the gospel with people who are around us and this starts at home. Sharing your faith at work might seem scary, I definitely found coming from University, a fairly easy place to share the gospel, to a working office a hard jump. After a year in the office, I have learned some ways of engaging with colleagues that I’ve found helpful. I’ve shared below some practical tips that have helped me:
1) Talk about your Weekend plans
This one may sound easy and you might be wondering why I have included this at number one, however, realistically, many of us struggle to share what we have done at the weekends with our colleagues. Saying that we went to Church can seem difficult or daunting. I have found In my work, talking about my weekend and sharing that I have been at church has been one of the easiest ways to open a true gospel conversation- give it a try.
2) Join your Equality and Diversity Group
Equality and Diversity is on the lips of every major business and workplace these days and most employers will also have an E & D policy or even better, a working group that you can join. I am part of the Group at my work where I am able to share my thoughts and opinions on work policies as a Christian. This often includes being able to write blogs to share with my colleagues around major Christian events such as Easter & Christmas. I have found it to be such a great encouragement joining the E&D group at my work. If there is no group or policy at your work, it would be worth enquiring about one or about the opportunities you might have.
3) Sensitively Find Opportunities
In each person’s place of work there are always opportunities to share the gospel no matter what we do. In my work, I often deal with death and those who are grieving, although we have to be sensitive around sharing the gospel with clients, patients or those we work with, we can relate difficult human experiences to God’s grace and goodness in all situations. We can ask God to help us to speak sensitively and wisely into the situations of Colleagues and those we work for.
“ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” 1 Peter 3 v 15
4) Live for Christ
How you deal with stress and allow colleagues to see this has a massive bearing of a Christian witness. Living a life of grace everyday as Christ freely gives us grace everyday is so important. We must live for Jesus at all times, not just on a Sunday or when with our friends. We must show colleagues and those we work for the utmost kindness and grace, just as Christ has shown us. Oftentimes colleagues notice that I will deal with a particular confrontation in a different way than they would or that I don’t get involved in certain conversations. People are always curious about this and that often allows for an open and honest conversation with colleagues about faith.
5) Be Wise
“ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” 1 Peter 3 v 15
We must be wise when interacting with our work colleagues and particularly we must ask God for wisdom to speak into our colleagues’ lives in the right way. We should pray expectantly that God will provide us with opportunities to share the gospel and that many lives would be changed through his saving Grace.
