Light in the workplace - notes on the launch event

On the 21st of August, we organised a Christians in the workplace event. "Be a light in the Workplace" was held as a dinner social to get Christians together, and to think through the impact a Christian can have in the workplace. We held it at a neutral venue, MeatWorks, in order to create a relaxed ambience and a conducive environment to look into the Bible to see what God has to say about work. 40 of us from various churches enjoyed a nice 3 course meal and heard a short talk and testimony before grilling a panel with questions over desert and coffee. We hope this launch event will act as a springboard to spawn a network of Christians from different churches, excited about seeing their workplaces as a platform for ministry.

The theme of the evening was based on Matthew 5:14 – 16, where Jesus calls us all to be a light that others may see our good deeds and praise our Father in Heaven. It also serves as our mission statement: Bringing Christ to Work; Pointing Workers to Christ.

Many Bible-believing Christians have 2 common misunderstandings about the workplace. God appears absent and/or disinterested in our Monday mornings; he is there only in church on Sunday. This often translates to a compartmentalised view of life, where God's Lordship is not expressed in every sphere of our life. Our aim, therefore is to be “Bringing Christ to Work”. Secondly, many Christians fail to see the workplace as a place of witness. Yet the workplace is where we spend most of our waking hours. Our colleagues are amongst those we interact with most regularly. It is where a non-Christian will see the way we deal with deadlines, work pressures, difficult colleagues/bosses, tough commitments, even office gossip. Our aim, therefore, is to to be “Pointing Workers to Christ”.

As Christians, we are light (Matthew 5:14). If we are clear that God is working out his purposes even in the workplace, then we would surely want to be working in line with his will, doing good. We would want to point our work colleagues to our Father in heaven with our words and deeds, that they might praise Him rather than ourselves.

There was generally positive and constructive feedback from the evening. We hope future events would be even more helpful to those coming. Even more, our hope is that all of us will be challenged to be a light in the workplace, pointing our work colleagues to Christ.

The next event will explore this theme of evangelism in the workplace in more detail. It will be happening on the 27th of November, 7pm in Skewers Restaurant, Subang. For more information, contact Gary Lee at Gary.Y.Lee at shell dot com

Gary Lee