If you’re like me, then, for a long time, you may have felt that your business could not be viewed as spiritual. You may have felt that your business or creative endeavor could not serve God and move His kingdom forward. This belief could not be farther from the truth. In fact, it took me a long time to understand how this belief was limiting God in my life.
Many of us have been raised to believe that the church is Jesus’ sole ministry to the world. We were taught to believe that we could only spread the Gospel or reach others with the love of Jesus only through the church and church ministries. We started allowing ourselves to believe that God didn’t exist in spaces other than churches. We started to let others tell us that the Sovereign God that we served existed in no other enterprises.
Again, we couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Your Calling
In my own journey with Jesus, I’ve come to see life as a series of assignments. With each passing season, each passing year, God takes us through different seasons of life with different lessons. Our assignments are always to be obedient to His will in that season or phase of life, to learn the lessons He’s teaching us in these seasons, and to prepare for our next assignment. God will continue to take us through this life step by step, from glory to glory. (see 2 Corinthians 3:18).
I encourage you to think back to your first thoughts about creating your business or new enterprise.
If you explore this time, all your thoughts and feelings, the needs you identified, your prayers of becoming a solution to someone’s problem, you begin to realize that you were being called to answer a need. You begin to realize that you were being called to fulfill your purpose. And no two purposes, no matter how similar they appear, are the same.
And no two purposes, no matter how similar they appear, are the same.
I’ve learned that God uses people to answer other people’s prayers. And by now, there is no doubt in His supernatural power. But God has always been about building a relationship with us. And when we truly accept the partnership that God wants to have with us, we will begin to see ourselves in the ways He has always seen us.
Can Your Business be Used as a Ministry?
Do you ever wonder about this?
I know that I have from the moment I felt the pull and call to start my therapy private practice.
Consequently, if you have ever doubted that this desire and need that you have to steward and build your business or creative endeavor is of God, you only need to ask Him. You only need to ask Him to help you see the potential of your business.
You only need to welcome Him into partnership with you.
You only need to ask Him to teach you the wisdom of stewardship of the gift that He gave you.
You only need to ask Him to help you meet the needs of the people He gave you this gift for.
You only need to ask Him to help you to be the solution to someone’s prayer.
How to Declare Your Business as a Kingdom Ministry
So, how do you use your business as a ministry? Well what does a ministry do?
Church ministries operate to fulfill biblical calls to spread God’s word, to teach others about the love of Christ, to build up and strengthen God’s children, to deepen our love and relationship with Christ, and to actively help others in need. While our businesses are not traditional in nature, it doesn’t mean that they cannot grow to actively begin engaging in these steps, see Ephesians 4:11-12.
Consider some of these activities:
Do you build connections with the community that you operate in?
How do you treat your employees?
Do you engage in fair trade with your customers?
What about how you treat your suppliers, vendors, and contractors?
Does your business tithe?
Do you meet your business regulatory requirements?
Do you engage in sound business practices?
How are you stewarding and preparing for your business’ future?
Do you frequently talk with God about His plans for your business?
Do you hide your faith in your business dealings?
While there may be times to verbally express your faith, in business enterprises outside of the church, it may be difficult to have moments to evangelize to others. has been my experience that how you represent yourself to others will reflect the light and love of Christ in you as well as the values that are important in your business. Others may not know Jesus for themselves, but as they get to know you, you can pray for God to create opportunities for you to share your faith with them. Of course, you can simply just pray for the pay you work with, that you come into contact with daily...your clients, customers, vendors, suppliers, and employees.
As stewards of our businesses, we plant and water as Paul expressed, but ultimately, all increase comes from God (1 Corinthians 3:6). Therefore, it is our responsibility to share the Gospel with others, to share our testimonies with others about the goodness of God, but it is up to God when those messages begin to take root and transform the lives of others.
It is up to us to use our business for good, to build community connections, to seek change, to give to others, but it is up to God to determine how He wants to use our efforts.
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About the Author:
Charmaine Perry is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of NJ and the owner of Prolific Life Wellness & Counseling. Charmaine teaches healthy coping skills for trauma and life transitions in her private practice. Charmaine also writes about faith and mental health. Connect with Charmaine @ Prolific Life and at CharmainePerry.com.
Photocred: Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash