A LETTER TO PASTORS

Dear Pastor,

For some time now I have felt the need to write you this letter. Let me first say I want to thank you for what you do in helping me learn more about how I can grow in my relationship with Jesus. Your contributions to my spiritual life are SO important and are greatly appreciated.

    There are times I think you and I may have a wrong view of each other. For instance, as a person in the workforce, I sometimes feel I may be valued for the financial contributions I can make, or the ministry position I can fill at church. Frankly, Pastor, this makes me feel disconnected and de-valued. I know God has created me for a unique purpose, and like you, He has called me for a special ministry, but I don’t always sense it is a ministry “at church”. I know God has given me spiritual gifts and I believe that we should all contribute to the Body of Christ, inside and outside the church buildings. Sometimes I feel the church spends more time equipping me to do the church’s ministry instead of the ministry GOD has for me . I love our church and I really have a heart to serve. Can you help me reconcile these feelings? I want to understand and fulfill my purpose, my life ministry.

God has begun to show me something very important: My work IS my ministry. I feel God has “called” me to be a minister in the workplace, in the same way He has called you to be a Pastor. I really see my ministry at work as an extension of your ministry and an extension of our church. But churches don’t often discuss ministry in this fashion, and sometimes I sense my ministry at the workplace does not seem to fit the mission and philosophy of ministry in the church. You see, I believe my ministry is in the workplace to my co-workers who have never been inside a church building, and may never attend. They don’t really relate to anything about church so our primary hope of reaching them is through people like me, ministering at work – out in the world. I may be the only “Jesus” they ever see. Pastor, I wish you could see the people here at work. They are so open to talking about spiritual things these days. ANd they're hurting terribly.

As I read the Bible, it seems like Jesus spent most of his time reaching people in the marketplace. It seems obvious this is where he found most of the people. You have taught me to follow His example. I am finally beginning to understand what you have taught us from Ephesians 4:11-12.  “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry”.  I agree with you that, as my Pastor, God has assigned you the responsibility to equip me for “the work of the ministry.” God has revealed to me my greatest ministry is at work, the place I spend most of my life. I need your help with training so that I can fulfill my “election” and calling to my ministry. Maybe we could all use more Biblical teaching about how we are ALL ministers and how we are to respond to this ministry assignment in this vast, untapped mission field. 

Pastor, I've read that many of the revivals and awakenings that have taken place started in the marketplace. Revivals like the one that started in 1858 in New York and spread across the country began because of the faithfulness of a person in the marketplace. Near Wall Street, Jeremiah Lanphier started holding a noon-day prayer meeting for working people in 1857. That was the beginning of the entire movement that resulted in the greatest spiritual awakening in America. Over one million people were converted. I discovered that this man’s church equipped him and commissioned him to do this. Many believe the same thing is beginning today. Henry Blackaby recently wrote, “…in the Bible, most of the activity of God that changed society was done in the workplace and not in the church…”

Since we spend 70% of our waking hours in the workplace, it is vital that we discern how God wants us to use all this time and workplace opportunity rubbing shoulders with the lost and hurting. We desire to understand Biblical principles about our work, and how we can relate to these spiritually hungry people in our workplace so that we can ultimately introduce them to Jesus, before we can ever expect to equip them in our churches. 


Would you consider teaching us to become effective ministers at work? Not as a bolt-on evangelism program, but as a major part of training and equipping for our important workplace ministries. We need to grasp this reality personally - that our relationship with God is not separate from our “work”.  Those of us in the workplace desire your help, affirmation, and endorsement so we can all fulfill our ministries. Maybe you could even consider commissioning those of us that are ready as fellow ministers in the workplace. Wouldn’t it be great if members of our church would see themselves as “on a mission at work” - Christians taking their position of spiritual authority in the workplace? Just think of the impact the members of our church could make. This would be true multiplication!

    Pastor, I know you have a desire to advance God's Kingdom. If we shared your vision and we were committed to reaching the largest mission field in the world – our workplaces - just think what could be done. Wow! What could God do through an army of excited, motivated workplace Christians accountable to the local church as workplace ministers? We might really begin to fulfill the great commission in a new, revolutionary way.  


    Please Pastor, train us and release us! I love you and appreciate all that you do. I hope together we can reach the people in our community's workforce.

Very truly yours,

Millions of Church Members

Dr. Henry Blackaby said...

“The people who go out into the workplace are The Church.  The pastor needs to read his congregation and see where they are spiritually, see where they are physically. Then ask God, ‘How do I organize the church to help equip members to function where God has put them in the marketplace?’ ”

WATCH THIS 2-minute video!

Click and watch as Pastor Fred Hartley testifies regarding his decision to start seeing his congregation as Workplace Missionaries.

Need HELP, Pastor?

If you need help in casting this vision to YOUR church or Christian group, let's talk. I’m a Workplace Chaplain and Founder of The Church @ Work (TCAW). Your congregation - the entire Christian world - NEEDS to catch this vision! It's one of the 7 Mountains and we MUST take that hill! - Michael Tummillo, miketummillo@me.com