Take your work with you — business for a mission

Have you ever thought about doing business for a mission? You should. Let me give you a few examples of what this looks like in practice.

I was recently sitting in an Asian restaurant in London talking to a former member of the church I help pastor in Washington, D.C. He had moved to London a year earlier with his young family for one specific purpose: to help a small, struggling church. He did so as a faithful member of the church, working a perfectly normal job. He had recently been elected pastor of the church. The pastor of the church (also a good friend of mine, by the way) later confessed to me that it was the presence of this faithful family that helped him to keep his faith alive and to continue his ministry in the rocky ground of post-Christian London.

That's just one example. Here's another.

A month earlier, I had been sitting in a less sophisticated kebab restaurant in a troubled region of Central Asia. There, I was visiting another young family from our Washington, D.C. church. They had also recently moved there with their jobs, settling in a town just a few miles from the front lines of ISIS. Their assignment was to join a missionary couple we had sent there the year before. They didn't see themselves as full-time missionaries or churchgoers. They simply loved what they were doing, a nonprofit that provided education for refugees. But they quickly became useful to the small international church in that town. Yes, there was spiritual warfare going on all around them, but this family seemed genuinely inspired by what lay ahead.

For two decades, I have joyfully watched these same scenarios unfold over and over again. Ordinary Christians are discovering how their professional skills and callings can be used to support the ministry of the Gospel in difficult places—not as church planters or «missionaries,» but as ordinary, faithful Christians.

Such activities are called by various names: «Business for Mission,» «tentmakers,» «mobilized labor market professionals» (MLMPs). Some names are better than others. Some carry with them a not-so-helpful theological train of thought. But they are all variations on the same theme: Christians who enter the culture through business or professional activities can have opportunities, access, and financial or social advantages that those who serve full-time (full-time or full-time) do not. What’s more, they can actually support such ministers in difficult circumstances.

If you’ve never considered taking your work abroad for the sake of the Gospel, it’s worth thinking about. Here are some observations I’ve made over 20 years supporting this approach.

1. Realize your need for church

When Christians first begin to think about moving abroad with their gospel work, many envision pioneering ministry among unreached peoples. But in reality, most should be thinking not about «breaking new ground» but about joining existing churches abroad.

Everyone needs a church, accountability, and help in ministry. Support from your home church 10,000 kilometers away is not the best option. It is better to choose a place where there is already a good local church with a language you understand, or at least a strong missionary team that can temporarily replace such a church. Very few people are able to work 40+ hours a week, adapt to a new culture, and at the same time spiritually support themselves and their families without the support of a church community.

2. Realize that the local church is a platform for ministry everywhere

It’s not enough to simply move to a place where there is a healthy church and where you understand the language. Even better is to make that church the main focus of your life and ministry. The Christians I’ve met who were striving to live fruitful lives for the Lord while working regular jobs did just that.

It is not always easy for us to imagine how much spiritual fruit can be brought about by the simple brotherhood, cooperation and witness of a local church community. But in another culture this often becomes especially noticeable. The teaching, the network of contacts and the collective public witness of the church - all this can be an even more powerful witness to the Gospel than our personal behavior at work. Of course, there are places where there is still no church with which to unite. In such cases, Christians who work in ordinary jobs will have to gather together with several missionary families. But the vast majority of people grow spiritually precisely when they have a local church as the center of their life and ministry. And there are such churches all over the world.

3. Have both optimistic and realistic expectations

Most Christians do not desire or feel ready to be a minister in a local church. They are content with the lifestyle and relationships that God has given them. Personally, I spent almost twenty years of my life as a business owner or employee and have lived that time as a Christian with great joy. However, such people tend to have much less free time for ministry than full-time church workers. The same is true for those who move abroad for work to support the Gospel cause. They will not have as much time to learn the language or participate in the various aspects of ministry as full-time missionaries. But the good news is that their contribution can be even more strategic—if they are working in an area where biblical Christians are rare.

4. Understand why it's not the same as being a missionary

In 3 John, the apostle describes a person who Christians have historically called a missionary: a person who is deliberately sent out by the church to proclaim the name of Christ and who lives off the support of the church (not the Gentiles). John commands Christians (using the rather insistent word «shall») to support such people and be co-workers in the truth of the Gospel.

In other words, moving abroad with a job to support a church or a mission team is not the same as being a missionary, but it is indeed valuable. I understand that some may be offended by this distinction. However, most of us intuitively understand the difference. Not everyone is a teacher or pastor in the church, but everyone has a valuable role in the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12–31): «God has arranged the members in the body, each one just as he pleased.» You don’t have to have a title or position to be a blessing to the cause of Christ.

5. Understand why business (work) for a mission is a beautiful thing

Most of us have to earn a living. And for most of us, that means we never experience the benefits (and burdens) of full-time, dedicated to the ministry of the Gospel (full-support ministry). But 1 and 2 Thessalonians clearly paint a picture of the normality and goodness of an ordinary, self-sustaining Christian life.

However, many of us have the opportunity to choose where to live. And here Christian freedom opens up a wide range of options. Some may leave their beloved church to help start a new church on the other side of town. Others, on the contrary, will decide to plant deeper roots in the same church, even if it means giving up attractive career opportunities. And some will feel the call to leave everything and move to another country to support the Gospel ministry in a place where there are few workers.

All of these options are good. They are all part of the normal, God-intended dynamic of the Church growing in maturity and spreading the Gospel.

So think about what opportunities God is opening up for you, and where your life could bear the most fruit.

6. Ask for help in assessing yourself and considering options

Christians should weigh the decision to relocate for work very carefully, especially if they are currently growing spiritually in their church. Spiritual health is not something to be taken lightly.

This is especially true for those who are considering moving to another culture to join in the local witness for Christ. Not everyone can do this. We must be open to hearing from close brothers and sisters the advice to… stay.

Good candidates for moving for the sake of the Gospel are those Christians who are capable of being «engines» of ministry, not those who still need significant pastoral care. It takes great humility to accept such advice.

For some of us, it will be more strategic to stay put for now and continue to grow.

And for those seriously considering moving for the sake of the Gospel, humility can mean a willingness to consider not «the whole world as a possibility,» but only a few specific destinations.

• Start with where your church already has an investment.
• Is there an international church or strong mission team in the city you could move to?
• How could you become a part of this church and support its leaders?

It may not be your number one choice, but over time you will realize that working with the right people is almost always more important than finding the perfect location.

Also, look into the missionary organizations your church works with. For example, my church works with the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Missionary Council. They have a Global Cities Initiative that helps churches consider ways for members to become full-time missionaries in specific cities. Your missionaries or partner organizations may have similar support.

7. Business for a mission is not a «golden key.» But then what is?

Many people, when they begin the process of moving, quickly realize that finding a job and moving to the other side of the world is not easy! And once they are there, they are sometimes disappointed: life turns out to be very similar to the one they had at home.

You take care of your children, go to work, get to know your neighbors, share the Gospel whenever you have the opportunity, support the ministry of your local church, sow seeds—and wait with hope.

However, now language and cultural barriers can slow everything down.

Working for a mission is not some «magic formula» that will turn missionary work upside down and make everything easy.

But the fact that this strategy doesn’t guarantee quick results doesn’t make it useless. On the contrary, it makes it real, common, and exactly as described in the Bible.

When we hold to the Word and cherish the Gospel, when we live in holiness and love, when we preach the good news to the world, teach in the church, train pastors, send out missionaries, start new churches, and inspire others to live faithful lives—God promises that our ordinary efforts will bear extraordinary fruit.

In God's hands, simple, daily faithfulness impacts eternity.

So perhaps you or someone from your church can live a normal life among brothers and sisters in a place where faithful Christians number one in a million, not one in ten. What do you think?

Your everyday gifts and talents can be a real treasure for a community in Malaysia, London, Istanbul, or Dubai. Yes, the need for full-fledged, church-directed missionaries remains enormous. Yes, this is not the only key to opening the world to Christ. Of course, this is not a strategy for completely unreached peoples or for hermits.

But it can be a wonderful way for many Christians to use their lives as a small but glorious part of God’s wise plan: to reveal His glory through the simple, ordinary, sometimes mundane faithfulness of His people (Eph. 3:10).

And that's not such a bad way to do your job and live your life.