For many Christians, sharing our faith with others intimidates, if not frightens, us and can spark questions and insecurities.
“What if I offend someone?” “What if they think I’m ignorant or naïve?” “What if they ask me a question I can’t answer?”
Regardless of where we are—whether at home, at school, or at our local coffee shop—telling others about the hope we have in Jesus and the difference he makes in our lives can be challenging. And there may be no place more challenging to share Jesus than at work.
Yet as uncomfortable as sharing our faith at work can be, our workplaces offer unparalleled opportunities for telling others the good news about Jesus. And the holiday season is a unique time when our coworkers may be open to what we have to say about our faith—and it doesn’t have to be awkward or uncomfortable. As you think about bringing your faith to the workplace this holiday season, consider these three ways to share the love of God with your team members.
We spend more waking hours with our coworkers than almost anyone else. For many of us, some of our closest friendships are with the people we spend those forty hours (or more) with every week. If we’re not invested in the people around us at work, we’re forfeiting a prime opportunity to establish deep, meaningful relationships and to share the love of God with Christians and non-Christians alike.
This holiday season, what could it look like for you to view your workplace not just as a place where you clock in and out, but a place to invest in deep relationships? How could you approach your job site with the goal of sharing God’s love with people who don’t know him, and doing it through the act of friendship? Here are a few ideas:
Friendship is one of God’s sweetest graces to us in this life. Make it your ambition to be a great friend at work and extend God’s kindness to those you work with.
The holiday season is a time when giving takes center stage, whether we’re giving thanks or giving gifts. As Christians, generosity should be a regular feature of our lives, and this time of year gives us even more reason to give above and beyond to our coworkers in thoughtful, meaningful, and surprising ways.
And generosity isn’t only about giving money. Sure, we can help a coworker financially, but we can also lend them our time, talent, or even a kind word. Here are some questions to ask as you consider how to be generous with those you work with:
Generosity is one of many ways to display our faith to our coworkers. How could you imitate God’s generosity by being generous to the people you work with?
Prayer is one of the non-negotiables of the Christian life. It colors everything we do, from exercising wisdom to renouncing sin to sharing our faith with our coworkers. In all these things (and more), we need God’s help. And prayer is where we ask God for the help we need.
Are you eager to impact your workplace with the gospel? Pray. Do you long to see a particular coworker soften to the good news? Pray. Are you curious how to make inroads with a team member you tend to butt heads with? Pray. Begin each morning in prayer—maybe right upon waking, on your drive to work, or when you first set foot into your office—asking God to help you be a light in your place of business. Not sure how to pray? Consider these ideas:
God is a prayer-hearing God. And an amazing thing happens when we pray: God hears us, and he answers. So, pray. And pray expectantly.
Our workplaces are ripe for the gospel. Jesus himself, in Matthew 9:37–38, tells us “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (NIV). When we clock in at work each day, we aren’t merely putting in our time to create a product, perform a service, or make a buck; we are workers being sent into the harvest.
That doesn’t mean we should see our coworkers as a project or that all our work relationships should be contingent upon them receiving the gospel. But it does mean we have an opportunity to do a kind of work that supersedes the work our companies hired us to do. Namely, we work to cultivate genuine relationships with our coworkers, serving them and sacrificing for them; we do all we can to be generous to them with our time, talent, and finances; and we bow in prayer before the Father on their behalf, asking him to help them, bless them, and soften their hearts to the gospel.
Wherever you work, God has sent you there as a worker in his harvest. This holiday season, consider how you can take up that work by sharing your faith with your coworkers.
Leadership can sometimes feel isolating and lonely. Even though you’re surrounded by the people you serve, who can you turn to for encouragement and friendship? We asked some of our previous conference speakers for wisdom on how pastors and church leaders can build close connections within ministry.
[Church leaders can find community] by practicing some intentional vulnerability in friendships and relationships. To me, this is different than what you would share in a sermon, or in a message, standing on a stage. It’s with certain people and in certain relationships—making sure they get to see a part of you that not everyone else gets to see. Vulnerability leads to community.
Ministry is one of the loneliest (if I may say) industries that there are. It’s a perplexing enigma wrapped in a riddle. And I think that if you can get two or three real friends over the duration of your ministry, that’s a serious gift. And to that end, the Scriptures say that he or she who would have friends must first show themselves to be friendly. I have practiced, and am practicing, watching God bring interesting people into my life and then embracing them as the persons he wants in my world. I would urge you to look around at the people God has already given you, and then from there, maybe you can pray for more.
Let me say this. I wholeheartedly reject the idea that you can’t be friends with people on your staff. Now I do know that it requires a certain level of care and maneuvering. But my closest friends are the guys and gals I am working every day with—with this same goal of making disciples at The Village Church. Then, I have pastor friends on the outside of The Village who I am creating space for in my calendar. Some of us, we go hunt. Others of us, we like to hike. Others, we like to just sit around the fire and hang out. I think having a group inside that is tight and vulnerable and there’s a lot of trust is super important, but also kind of popping out and having those places with other pastors to share concerns, to learn from one another, and to encourage one another are both really important.
I think one of the most difficult parts of being in church leadership is the sense of isolation, right? You’re in a context where people are able to be vulnerable with you. They look to you as their shepherd, as their spiritual safe place. But you can’t reciprocate that, no matter how deep your struggles may be in private, you can’t reciprocate that because they are your sheep.
What I would encourage is as a church leader, we have to be intentional about facilitating relationships with other church leaders who understand where we are. And I get it. My husband and I pastor a local church together. I know it can feel incredibly risky to share the parts of us that we wouldn’t want anyone else to find out about, but we’re in this together. So, I would encourage you to prayerfully consider: Who are other church leaders that God has placed in your life as “rams in the bush” to walk alongside you and to help you grow in a sense of safety? Pray about it and move forward.
Choosing vulnerability, openness, and intentionality all result in fruitful relationships in leadership. What practices do you have in place to build community in your leadership spaces? For more spiritual encouragement and practical resources, watch sessions from RightNow Conference 2024, Together. Click here to watch.
If we’re honest about church ministry, we probably feel like members of a triage unit in emergency care. While discipling our church isn’t less than caring for people in crisis and correcting pervasive problems, it’s much more.
Jesus’s model of ministry is instructive for how we spend our working hours in ministry. While Jesus taught, counseled, and healed crowds of people, he also called twelve men to be his apostles and journey with him closely (Luke 6:12–16). From that group of leaders, he selected three men—Peter, James, and John—to spend even more time with and pour into at key moments throughout his ministry (Matt 17:1–13; Luke 8:49–56; Matt 26:36–46). Jesus spent time with the crowds, the twelve, and, even more purposefully, the three.
If we think about our churches in terms of who Jesus spent his time with, our congregations are like the crowds, and our leaders—whether staff or volunteers—are like the twelve. But next-level leaders who disciple other leaders in our churches are like the three.
When you think about your weekly hours in ministry, how much time do you spend discipling your “three”?
Many of us have a small group of people who are developing other leaders in our churches. How can we invest in them like Jesus poured into Peter, James, and John?
Before we can be intentional with our “three,” we must identify who they are. We don’t need to have exactly three people in mind, but it needs to be a small enough number for us to realistically spend quality time with them.
Maybe as you’ve been reading, some people have come to mind. Write down their names and consider whether they’re the people God’s calling you to lead like Jesus led Peter, James, and John. If you’re having trouble thinking of people, commit to spending time in various ministries in your church (youth, small groups, etc.) to discern who those high-level leaders might be. Every church is supported by people outside of traditional places of leadership, so explore how God has gifted your church.
It may sound dull or lack spontaneity, but don’t overthink this one. Spending regular, purposeful time with people is the primary means of discipleship. If we think that the impact we hope to have on our leaders can happen exclusively in the margins of our schedule, we'll be disappointed. We must acknowledge that our time as church leaders is limited.
Set reminders or events that prompt you to reach out to your leaders and schedule times to grab lunch, coffee, or spend time together after service—before even putting the actual get-together on the calendar. Get into a rhythm of being present with these leaders and ministering to them regularly.
This may be the most impactful way to pour into your leaders. While it’s important to consistently spend time with them, randomly sending them a text, calling them, or giving them a gift to show your appreciation goes a long way. It makes people feel like you don’t just care about what they do for you—you care about them.
They likely have a lot on their minds when they’re not doing ministry. Remembering that your leaders—even the best of your leaders—can be struggling with personal, spiritual, and emotional concerns can energize you to be proactive in encouraging them, not just reactive.
We all spend time praying for our church, and we probably feel like we need to spend even more time praying for our leaders. We not only need to pray for them as they lead their ministries, but also to pray for them in their various roles as family members, workers, children of God, and more.
Try to go beyond praying for your “three”—pray with them. Invite them to pray with you before service, over the phone, or at the same scheduled time together during the week. Partnering with them in prayer can strengthen your bond as followers of Jesus and demonstrate how vital prayer is to your ministry and theirs.
At the end of a long day, after eight or ten or twelve hours of hard work, do you ever lay in bed and wonder, Did I do anything today that really matters? If so, you’re not alone. As women of faith who work, we can sometimes wonder if what we’re doing matters in the kingdom of God. We can be tempted to think that certain work is holier—like starting a ministry or working at a church. Or maybe we love what we do but struggle to see how God is moving in our workplaces because our line of work doesn’t feel spiritual.
There’s good news for every woman: God works through you and in you no matter where you spend your nine-to-five. And beyond that, he fills your work with a purpose that stretches beyond your lifetime. Need proof? Just ask the women in the Bible.
The story of God and his family includes women who worked. We can learn through their stories how God empowers women and gives all our work meaning.
Deborah, a prophetess and the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to settle disputes. Judges 4:4–5 CSB
Deborah served as a judge during one of the most tumultuous times in Israel’s history. Israel had just secured the Promised Land, but instead of remaining faithful to God, they worshipped other gods, so God allowed their enemies to oppress them. When they cried out to him, he’d raise up a judge to save them.
Judges in those days operated as mediators of disputes (as we read in these verses), led armies into battle (which Deborah did—see Judges 4:9–10), and pointed people to God (see Judges 5). They operated as agents of God’s salvation, bringing about justice and flourishing for Israel. Deborah shows us how our work can promote God’s justice and kingdom values in the world. And her appointment as judge reveals how God places us in certain positions to accomplish his purposes.
Learn more about Deborah in Warrior Women: Deborah.
So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. She beat out what she had gathered, and it was about twenty-six quarts of barley. She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She brought out what she had left over from her meal and gave it to her. Ruth 2:17–18 CSB
In Ruth, we find a woman who did everything she could to provide for her family. As a foreigner, she stood out, and as a widow, she had few options. So, she worked in a field, gleaning leftover grain as others harvested. With humility, bravery, and dependence on God, she gathered food to care for her mother-in-law.
Ruth teaches us that even difficult, seemingly menial jobs carry purpose and serve as a means for us to exercise faith. Ruth’s faith-filled actions in her work led to short-term provision for her family and long-term provision for Israel—King David and Jesus came from her family line—all of which wouldn’t have been possible if she hadn’t exercised her faith through work. Her faithfulness impacted generations—and the impact of our faithfulness does the same in ways we may never see this side of eternity.
Explore Ruth’s faithfulness in The Book of Ruth.
So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetess Huldah, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke with her. 2 Kings 22:14 CSB
Huldah was a prophetess, which means she spoke the words of God to the people of God. Prophets and prophetesses stood up to rulers and kingdoms, declaring the truth to an often hostile people. In Huldah’s story, the high priest and king had discovered the book of the law, and they needed answers about what they read, fearing judgment from God. Huldah spoke boldly, giving difficult but vital news to the king (2 Kings 22:15–20).
Huldah shows us we can speak the truth, even to those in authority, and we can weather difficult interpersonal dynamics with God’s wisdom. When we face conflict at work, have to deliver bad news to a coworker, or need to stand up to a boss, we can rely on the same God who empowered Huldah to speak truth to the king.
To learn more about how to navigate difficult conversations, see The Miracle Moment.
She evaluates a field and buys it;
she plants a vineyard with her earnings.
She sees that her profits are good,
and her lamp never goes out at night.
She makes and sells linen garments;
she delivers belts to the merchants.
Proverbs 31:16, 18, 24 CSB
The woman in Proverbs 31 works harder than anyone. She buys real estate, farms, balances books, makes clothing—and more. She’s a renaissance woman, an entrepreneur. Her work spans years and varies over time. She’s diligent, wise, and shrewd. She knows how to handle finances with finesse, using her faith as a guide.
As we read her description, we see how our work impacts communities, from our families to our neighbors. Our work can provide jobs for others and resources for the needy. And our faith informs how we navigate our finances, both at work and at home.
For more on involving faith in our finances, watch Faith as Currency in Our Finances.
Afterward he [Jesus] was traveling from one town and village to another, preaching and telling the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary, called Magdalene (seven demons had come out of her); Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward; Susanna; and many others who were supporting them from their possessions. Luke 8:1–3 CSB
Several women contributed to Jesus’s ability to do ministry. They invested in his kingdom work, making sure he and his disciples had what they needed as they traveled. Jesus could preach, heal, and cast out demons because they gave from what they had. Though we don’t know their specific professions, we know they earned enough to be generous with what they had.
These women found meaning in their work through giving. Similarly, we can be generous with what we earn, the resources available to us, and our professional expertise. When we tithe, attend a charity event, or hold a networking lunch, we can express our generosity.
Discover other women in Jesus’s ministry in What the Women Saw.
After this, he [Paul] left Athens and went to Corinth, where he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul came to them, and since they were of the same occupation, tentmakers by trade, he stayed with them and worked. Acts 18:1–3 CSB
Priscilla and her husband, Aquila, were Paul’s co-workers both in ministry and vocation. As fellow tentmakers, they formed a friendship with Paul on the foundation of their shared faith and occupation. We see this husband-and-wife duo mentioned throughout Paul’s letters as dear friends and partners in his ministry.
Priscilla’s camaraderie with Paul points us to the fellowship we can find with our coworkers and others in our field. God works in and through these relationships to form us, influence others, and enrich our lives.
Learn more about building friendships in Find Your People.
A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us. Acts 16:14–15 CSB
Lydia sold purple cloth—a luxury in the Roman Empire. She was a businesswoman who built her trade on a beautiful product. When she heard the gospel, she shared it with her entire household. Because she was affluent, she could host Paul and many Christians in her home (Acts 16:15, 40).
Lydia’s work reveals that we, too, can create beauty in our work. We can see any success as a platform for sharing the gospel and glorifying God. The fruit of our success, big or small, can broaden our ability to serve others.
Discover the church Lydia was a part of in The Book of Philippians.
Women who work both in and out of the home are in the story of God’s family. Through their faithful lives, we see God’s power on display and find his heart for our careers. He infuses our work with purpose—from bringing justice to serving others to giving generously. These strong, courageous women point us to the God who supplies us with all the strength we need to work each day. No matter your vocation or role, your work matters—to God, to your community, and to the kingdom.
My husband jokes that the only difference between a toddler and a middle schooler is the need for potty training. With the pendulum of emotions and smells that pervade our home raising a ten-, twelve-, and fourteen-year-old, I must agree.
While keeping a toddler alive and happy is its own kind of hard, parenting preteens and teens feels next level. These pre-adults are dealing with hormones and the emotions that come along for the ride. They crave privacy and independence. They may experiment with pushing boundaries. They have the influence of friends invading a space that used to be mom and dad’s domain.
And although our kids still need us, they need us in a different way. How are we to navigate this new phase?
Here are seven practices to help you navigate the preteen and teen years of parenting:
Between school, sports, clubs, and youth events you may find yourself in the car with your teen more than any other place. Although Uber driver and social activities coordinator may not be impressive on your work resume, being present for those drive times with your teen is important.
One way to engage your teen during these car rides is to ask thoughtful questions. Not “How was your day?” but “How was that test?” Pay attention to what your teen values. You may still be met with a grunt but your teen hearing you ask about a specific part of their day that is important to them matters even if all they do is grunt back, “good.”
Toddlers are little chatterboxes. They ask questions and—before we have responded to their first question—they ask a second and third question. As children age, their questions and chatter slow. The worlds they readily welcomed us to be a part of become more exclusive. Friends become their sounding board. Their incessant outer dialogue and curiosity move inward.
That can be hard to take in, but it just means we need to listen and pay attention both to what they are saying and what they are not saying. Has your daughter stopped talking about her best friend? Did your son mention an audition coming up? Are they really excited about a playoff game? Your kids may not be as free with their words these days, but by paying attention, you’ll be ready for those moments when they open up to respond in a way that says, “I’m listening.”
In the classic movie The Princess Bride, Buttercup learns that the farm boy Westley is saying, “I love you,” every time he responds to her requests with “As you wish.” One of the loudest ways we can say to our teens and preteens that we love them is by being present. Save the phone call for later. Delay the email. Sign off social media. Be in the moment with your kids. That time with your kids—even if they are reluctant to engage in conversation—speaks, “I love you” even louder than Westley’s “As you wish.”
When our kids were little, we often put them in time out for poor choices. This five-minute punishment was our way of helping them understand the consequences of their actions. And it usually worked well. It can be tempting to think the same approach will work for our preteens and teens.
In their search for identity, our kids will make mistakes. Time-outs won’t work and neither will verbal reprimands. That doesn’t mean their actions are without consequences. They may have to pass on a meet-up with friends or go without tech until they raise their grades, but they don’t necessarily need a polished lecture.
You probably know what I’m talking about. We oftenfeel tempted to start a “When I was your age” Ted Talk when what our kids really need is quiet to process what they are feeling and maybe a well-worded question that helps them think it through.
Ironically, as our kids age, we may need to put ourselves in timeout—our words at least. There are days when I really ought to have James 1:19 tattooed to my wrist. “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” This means holding off on the lecture. It means realizing that just like you make mistakes being parents, your kids will make mistakes being kids. It means modeling restraint and understanding.
No parent is perfect. Let that settle in your mind and heart. You will make mistakes—and your teen needs to hear, “I was wrong. Will you forgive me?” This is an important practice at any stage but especially in a time when your teen may be terrified to be wrong or reluctant to confide in you that she messed up. If you can make mistakes and seek reconciliation, it gives her permission to make mistakes and seek forgiveness.
While kids need their parents at every stage of development, they start to lean on outside voices in their teen years. Because your teens will be listening to the voices of peers and other adults, you must also invite voices of faith into the conversation. Small group leaders. The student pastor. Parents of your teen’s friends. Our teens and preteens need to hear the values you uphold from other people. It sends a message to our kids that sounds something like: “These adults I trust are saying the same things my parents have been saying for years. Maybe there is something to this.”
When my kids were little, I found it easy to turn everyday moments into spiritual ones. “Look at the trees! Who made the trees?” I would ask my toddler crew. They would joyfully reply, “God!” “That’s right,” I’d respond. “God made the trees. Let’s pray and thank God for them.” They would fold their tiny hands and thank God for the trees.
As they’ve aged, those conversations don’t come as naturally. Of course, we can still thank God for the trees, but that suggestion is often met with an eye roll. Despite what may feel awkward, don’t give up on making faith a part of your daily interactions with your teens. Encourage your teen to look for God at work in her day. Thank God for the grace he gave your son to study for a hard test. Encourage your daughter to rely on God when best friends become bullies. We can help our kids see that the God who made the trees is present in the spaces that matter to them.
Parenting teens may not be as harrowing as the toddler years, but there’s a huge learning curve for how we interact with and react to our maturing brood. Lean into the strength that only the Lord can provide and love them well. Learn to listen more than you speak. And point them repeatedly to Christ. Even if they roll their eyes. And refuse to use deodorant.
It’s a critical question that gets to the heart of our mission, yet many of us aren’t fully confident in our approach. In a recent webinar for church leaders, president of Trueface and discipleship advisor for RightNow Pastors+ Robby Angle shared a valuable framework for effective discipleship.
Rather than jumping straight into systems and models, Robby challenged us to first examine how we view discipleship. He suggested that our beliefs about spiritual growth impact our ministry approaches more than we realize.
In the webinar, Robby called us to shift from a performance-based mindset to one of grace. Many Christians unconsciously operate from a “know more, do better” philosophy, thinking that spiritual growth comes primarily through increased knowledge and improved behavior. However, Robby proposed a different lens: growth happens through trusting and receiving God’s love, not through striving to earn it.
This perspective shift isn’t just theoretical—it dramatically impacts how we lead and disciple others. Leaders who see themselves as “sinners striving to be saints” will likely create discipleship environments focused on performance and knowledge acquisition. In contrast, leaders grounded in their identity as “saints who occasionally sin” tend to foster authentic, vulnerable discipleship spaces where real transformation can occur.
When it comes to practical implementation, Robby outlined four key areas for building an effective discipleship strategy:
1. Developing Leaders: According to Robby, the health and maturity of small group leaders accounts for about 60% of a group’s effectiveness at discipleship. He said 25% of the group’s success comes from following best practices, and the other 15% comes from influences beyond the leader’s control, like group chemistry or life circumstances. Since so much of a group’s health depends on the health of the leader, Robby suggested spending intentional time developing leaders.
2. Supporting Leaders: Both initial onboarding and ongoing support are crucial for forming leaders who can disciple others in the ministry. Robby said the onboarding process is important because leadership habits are easier to form early than to change later. In the webinar Robby shared “5 Core Components that Separate Great Leaders from Ineffective Ones.” Those components can be used as a rubric to guide leaders and ensure their effectiveness.
3. Forming Groups: Robby encouraged church leaders to think about group formation like a “customer journey.” But instead of mapping a buyer’s steps to purchase a product, he said to list out all the steps someone must take to join a group at your church. The best way to improve this process is simple: ask people who recently joined groups about their experience. Use their feedback to make it easier for others to get connected.
4. Equipping Groups: Robby encouraged churches to be clear about the small groups model they choose (closed vs. open groups, study format, meeting frequency, etc.), but to focus more on the quality of the small group leaders than the actual group format itself. In Robby’s experience, he’s witnessed both excellent and poor outcomes from virtually every small group model. While many churches spend the majority of their time focused on group models and strategies, Robby suggested that this might be misplaced energy. Instead, turn your attention to your leaders by giving them all they need to lead well.
For those feeling overwhelmed by the scope of building or improving a discipleship strategy, Robby offered encouraging advice: don’t try to do everything at once. Instead, prayerfully discern the one next step God is inviting you to take in your ministry context.
Creating a thriving discipleship culture is patient work that unfolds over years, not months. But as Robby reminded us, it’s worth the investment because the impact is eternal. It’s about seeing people fall more deeply in love with Jesus and experience genuine transformation.
Want to dive deeper into these concepts? Watch the full webinar for detailed examples, additional resource recommendations, and an exclusive Q&A with Robby. Click here to access the webinar recording.
Disclaimer: This blog was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. If you find content that is inaccurate or otherwise needs to be reviewed, please email webinars@rightnowmedia.org.
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