“I fear it’s confusing for new Christian converts in hard-to-reach places to understand what life looks like after conversion.”
That’s what a missionary friend of mine once told me. When asked to explain, he added, “The unreached people I meet with only know me through one-on-one meetings at a local coffee shop, but I don’t know if they know how to take these conversations into their workplace.”
God calls all believers to serve God in all areas of their lives, including in their workplaces, families, churches, and communities.
A theology of vocation is the felt need he was expressing. It’s an issue that comes from the Church’s hyperfocus on the mission part of missions. We’re missing the holistic picture.
Simply put, theology of vocation is the idea that God calls all believers to serve God in all areas of their lives, including in their workplaces, families, churches, and communities. Nothing is more connected to all missions than a solid grasp of this doctrine, which, if implemented into the framework of global missions, could help the Church better think through sending in the 21st century.
Work as Potential Hindrance, or Work as Joy
If the intrinsic sacredness of work isn’t fully grasped, especially in the Business as Missions (BAM) world, the means that may allow someone to enter the mission field will become a barrier to their end goal.
Whether in the Western world or a frontier market, work can be hard. Entrepreneurship is (almost) always hard. If someone moves to an unreached area with only evangelism in mind and without a theology of vocation, what will they make of the 60 and 70-hour weeks they need to put into their jobs in order to just stay in the new country? Every hour will feel wasted, and the work itself will become a hindrance in their minds as to why they are really abroad.
A friend of mine who owned a BAM business in the 10/40 window once remarked that the non-Christian manager of the business, who knew about the overall mission of the company, asked him to no longer bring Christians from the United States to work there. While they were skilled at their jobs, they never seemed to want to be there.
Opportunities to Share the Gospel
When seeking to improve in a certain area of life, it’s tempting to focus exclusively on that one thing. Basketball players don’t focus only on their jump shots—they lift weights. Business leaders don’t spend all their time focused on the technical skills that support operations—they care for their employees too.
This same temptation for hyper-focus can occur in evangelism and missions. There is fruit in seeking greater theological understanding in areas that might not seem directly connected to that end goal.
Many churches and ministries try to think through creative ways to help those in the workforce increase their effectiveness in sharing the gospel at work. That’s not wrong. But the reality is that a greater understanding of a biblical theology of vocation would be more effective at reaching this end goal.
Imagine a typical conversation with co-workers as everyone is waiting for 5:00 p.m., the weekend, or their next vacation. If your response to the normal grumbling is, “Actually, I think work is a gift that God has given to us to enjoy,” how many puzzled looks do you think you will receive? How many incredulous co-workers will ask how you, in today’s culture, can believe such a wild thought?
It’s an opportunity to share the story of the fall with non-believers. In a few simple sentences, you can explain how work has drifted from being good in the garden to now being good yet broken. From there, you can share the ongoing story of redemption through Jesus’ death on the cross.
Our Work is Part of Our Mission
We commonly hear those in vocational ministry as being called to that role, yet some might scoff if someone said they felt called to be an investment banker or tech entrepreneur. If this is the only language those in the Church hear, it’s hard to believe anything other than the idea that God calls some to ministry and those who are less than go into the workforce.
How does this relate to missions? If those in non-vocational ministry don’t clearly hear from the Church the value and intrinsic sacredness of their work, they won’t clearly see the involvement they are to have in the work of the Church.
The inverse of this can give us a vision. When 99% of believers in a local church hear about the sacredness of their work, it helps them feel more responsible for the missional calling of the church as a whole (Colossians 3:23). This is no longer something they just support, but rather something they participate in.
They no longer hear the indications of interest for missions or strategic hubs in unreached places as a call to those who have clear dreams of being a vocational missionary, but rather now see an opportunity to take their already sacred vocation overseas. They see it as an opportunity to share the gospel with others as they continue to do the work they’ve already been doing.
Those with a primary heart for missions and evangelism can now find joy in their everyday vocations. Instead of a hindrance, work becomes a bonus gift that God has given them, in addition to the preaching of the gospel. Hard days and seasons in their jobs no longer detract from their mission, as work itself is also a beautiful, spiritual component of their lives meant to glorify God. This proper theology can help weather the storms of discouragement that may accompany work in its current broken form.
Done well, this is a vision of joy for the entire body of Christ and one that further accomplishes the goal of sending strategic, intentional believers to regions that need to hear the good news of the gospel.
Andrew Firman is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Kaleo Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on Africa. He has previously lived in Dubai and has a heart for the international church. He currently lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, Anne, and two daughters.
