Everyday Evangelism: Living Like Jesus at Work

This summary and rewrite draws upon a conversation between Christine Caine and Kim Thomas, an executive leader, seasoned coach, and author of The Sacred Cubicle, focusing on the vital paradigm shift needed for Christians to view their professional environment—the marketplace—as their primary mission field.

The Urgent Need for Marketplace Ministry

For decades, there has been an artificial separation between the “sacred” (church life and vocational ministry) and the “secular” (corporate work). The conversation emphasizes that this distinction is a myth; all of life on Earth is sacred.

The vast majority of believers (99.999% of women, for instance) are not called to be full-time vocational ministers, but they are called to live on mission wherever they are. The marketplace—the workplace—is where the harvest truly is and where the majority of the world’s population spends their time.

The goal of ministry leaders, such as Christine Caine, is to train and equip the saints to do the work of the ministry in the real world—the marketplace—because that is where the people are.

Shifting from Separation to Being “Sent Ones”

A significant challenge for many Christians is believing that God will only use them if they become missionaries overseas or pursue traditional ministry roles. This mindset leads people to think that “being sent” only involves giving money to missionaries abroad.

The correct understanding is that every believer is a “sent one” (Acts 1:8, Isaiah 6:8), positioned strategically by God to be His witnesses in their immediate environment. The final instruction Jesus gave before ascending was that believers would receive power to be His witnesses in their local context (Jerusalem), their broader region (Judea and Samaria), and the “uttermost parts of the earth”.

Strategies for Living On Mission at Work

The book, The Sacred Cubicle, was written to provide practical, tangible ways for professionals to live out their faith in the workplace. This shift from viewing work as a means of personal development to seeing it as a mission requires greater intentionality and constant refinement.

1. Lead with Intentional Excellence and Integrity

Before explicitly sharing faith, a Christian’s behavior must reflect Christ. If the workplace testimony is inconsistent, any attempts to share faith will be ineffective.

Key Behavioral Shifts:

• Work with Integrity: Christine Caine assumed Kim Thomas always worked with excellence and integrity, even before her pivotal realization in 2015. This high standard of work is the foundation for influence.
• Acknowledge Consequences: Every action, word, and remark a Christian makes at work will either positively reflect the Lord or negatively reflect the Lord. It is crucial to monitor even “little things,” like making a snarky remark in a meeting, and listening to the Holy Spirit for refinement.
• The Fruit of the Spirit is the Greatest Tool: The core of effective everyday evangelism is embodying the fruit of the Spirit in the workplace. This involves being living examples of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

2. Build Relationships and Credibility

Evangelism in the workplace should not involve aggressive, unwise, or intrusive methods, such as hacking into company computers to send mass emails or handing out tracts.

Effective Witnessing Strategies:

• Build Trust First: It is essential to build relationships and establish credibility before sharing faith. Only after years of demonstrating care for a person’s work and career can a Christian transition to showing they care about the person’s life.
• Be a Witness, Not Just Doing Witnessing: The purpose of the Holy Spirit’s power is to make us witnesses, giving us the opportunity to do witnessing. Having terrible behavior while trying to “do witnessing” results in no one listening.
• Share Good News Wisely: The message must be good news, not condemnation or warnings of impending judgment. Being wise in how faith is shared is paramount, particularly in environments like California, where anti-Christian sentiment may be present.

3. Openly Integrate Faith in Small, Tangible Ways

Once relationships and credibility are established, faith can be integrated in simple, organic ways.

Practical Integration Points:

• The Intentional Use of Symbols: While one can place a Bible on their desk, it should not be used as a prop; it must be opened and used.
• Sharing Weekend Activities: Casually mentioning attending church or discussing a relevant insight gained from a small group can serve as a “carrot,” generating curiosity without belaboring the point.
• Intentional Training: After a personal crisis moment in 2015, Kim Thomas committed to leading her entire 50-person leadership team to attend the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) as professional development. She was transparent that it was a faith-based leadership conference and gave permission for people to step out if uncomfortable, yet nobody did.
• Post-Conference Engagement: Following the faith-based conference, the team read and discussed a conference book together as part of their learning and development.
• Prayer Integration: In one instance, Kim Thomas’s team, working within a faith-based Catholic organization, began praying before meetings and lunches, a practice led spontaneously by one of her direct reports.