October 23rd 2023.

MARKET PLACE PROFESSIONALS ARE RELEVANT

Col4:14 Luke, the beloved doctor, sends his greetings, and so does Demas ( NLT).

I am not one of those who believe in the idea of a "secular" life for Christians. A christian has only one life with many facets. That life is a spiritual one where the will of God should be done. Classifying the believer's life into spiritual&secular is the reason for compromise at times.

Some believers are only holy in the church. When they get to work, they play by the rules of the evil games people play there. You'll hear statements like: "When you're in Rome, behave like Romans". This mindset has impeded the spread of Christianity in a way because there is a dichotomy between our consecration and the work we do. It shouldn't be.

Our professional platforms should be an extension to show the world about Christ in the way we go about our duties and to share the gospel to those we come across. Who says a doctor cannot preach the Gospel to his patients?

One may ask why the early church recorded so much success in evangelizing their world. One out of the many reasons I perceive was responsible for that feat was that they harnessed the platform provided for them in the market place.

The Market place does not mean the market where we buy things but a generic term for where people do their businesses and practice their professions. It could be in the banking, oil&gas, health, academic and other sectors.

The early christians were not all full time evangelists and missionaries who did not have a secular job. We read that Luke was a doctor, Aquilla and Priscilla were tent-makers even Apostle Paul, Acts18:1-4. They must have used their professional platform to preach the gospel.

If they waited till when Apostle Peter called for evangelism like we do today, they wouldn't have reached the whole Asia with the gospel in two years, Acts19:10. It is good we get it clear that those in the five-fold ministry can't do it alone.

There are certain classes of people a pastor or an evangelist may never get to meet in years of ministry but doctors, lawyers, engineers, university lecturers and artisans meet such people daily. After discharging your professional duty, it won't be bad to share your faith with your client.

A school teacher or university lecturer whose years in service spans 35 years can win more souls from the classroom than some evangelist If the platform is harnessed properly. The time we spend at work meeting people from various walks of life is more than the time spent by preachers with people in church*.

If every believer can harness professional opportunities especially among unreached people groups of the world, we'll cover grounds faster. Traditional missionaries and evangelists have tried but they are limited to an extent.

Your training, skill and profession is a tool for world evangelization.