1) Kick butt at your job.

And I mean, kick extreme butt. As evangelists, sometimes we think that our job is to convert and the actual work is secondary. But credibility is shot once people hate working with you. Find God in whatever you do and be passionate about where He has placed you now…  even if it is just a temporary gig. Instead of working as if my life/identify/status/(fill in the blank) depend on it, I put my head down and worked with everything I have as an act of worship to God, which has brought a high capacity and freedom in my work. And the Lord has blessed it with many amazing opportunities and favor in my job, helping me gain genuine respect from coworkers. At the basis of everything, this is what it means to be incarnational.

1a.With all you do, have integrity.
This isn’t to show off how great of a Christian we are, but out of a natural overflow of the Gospel being ingrained in our identity. A few months ago, I was walking to lunch with a group who all absentmindedly said “no” to a mentally ill woman in a wheelchair asking for a push to the store, but I was one of the last in the group and absentmindedly said “yes”. Before I knew it, I was pushing her 5 blocks down the street on our way to the restaurant. That might sound Good Samaritan esque, but I had one of the most uncomfortable walks of my life! While I was fine talking to this woman, I became increasingly aware of how odd it was to stop for her, and I was unsure how my coworkers would be taking it. But as we arrived, everyone said they were so embarrassed for overlooking this woman, even my VP said that that was the nicest thing she’s ever seen anyone do and was so moved by that small gesture. Something simple like engaging with the person that everyone ignores is sometimes so countercultural, but Jesus was countercultural. When we are so ingrained with Kingdom values, the fruit of our lives should be obvious to everyone except us because it is just naturally who we are.

2) Be Intentional.

As my PIC and I were waiting for the “right time” to start something, we were intentional about where people were spiritually and seeing where God was already at work. It was a bit awkward at times, but being bold started paying off. We found a few other Christians, and had conversations with people in the company around topics ranging from Christian holidays to more sensitive stories about past or present brokenness. This all built trust and deeper relationships to start opening dialogue. Jesus started showing up everywhere, showing that ministry doesn’t start with a bible study, but in spiritual conversations to gauge curiosity and build deep relationships.

3) Start gathering the conversation.

After a few months of putting out some feelers, I felt there were all these side conversations but no space to bring them all together. Jesus knew it was time too – my PIC felt convicted to start something and then the next week, my HR friend pulled me aside to tell me that the “Big Guy” miraculously answered a prayer for her. God was so real to her in that moment, and I told her that God makes miracles happen all the time and we should be praying for more!

As if on cue, a few of others that we’ve been having conversations with also came over to listen and, filled with the Holy Spirit, I made the ask if they would be interested in starting a group to continue seeing God work in our lives and create deeper community of faith at the agency. They jumped at the idea and so our group began! Even if it’s just a few people at first, it is so much easier to invite someone to something already happening. So if you feel called, make that commitment to start.

4) Find a partner.

Jesus always sent people in twos, so why should now be different? We need encouragement and partnership, but we also need to be thinking how we can replace leadership so ministry can multiply. Even though my PIC was a leader for her church, evangelism and apostolic gifts were areas of hesitancy and she needed growth. She has desire to get training on starting evangelistic discussions because she is already dreaming about starting something if she left our agency. So know I am able to apprentice her how to have spiritual conversations and lead a faith discussion geared towards skeptics and seekers. I thank my InterVarsity training for this! Be encouraged if you are alone, pray for a partner in ministry because God does not want you to be alone on mission!

5) Trust in God’s organic growth.

Over the past nine months, I’ve seen God water big and small seeds we’ve planted and they have grown beautifully, just like 1 Corinthians 3. Sometimes, we need to trust God’s mysterious ways of awakening people and growing them and I have been blown away at how BIG His plan is and how small my role is in it.

I was shocked when my friend called me mad after I made an innocent comment about how he has a wall up. He told me that was all he could think about on his 6-hour car ride and was upset that I could see through to his trust issues. He later shared with me about his deep past pains that brought us to new levels of friendship and trust. Last week, my supervisor came to the group after we talked about how she was missing her weekly spiritual fix of yoga, and after hearing one of our coworkers share her story of faith, she was so moved she started crying – she sensed the authenticity, feeling of freedom and triumph of these women. Almost like the 90-10 rule, as we are faithful with small risks, the Holy Spirit partners with us and does the rest. It has been a beautiful season watching Him grow this vision for my workplace.