I just read an interesting article off the web from the Business as Mission Network. The opening paragraph captured my attention. “The greatest 'unrealized potential' in the Christian movement for the next 20 years probably rests on the shoulders of Christian business people. That's great news for every Christian person who loves business. Talk about a life of adventure. What more could you ask for when your faith and your love for business intersect?”

They go on to talk about the potential of unleashing 6 million businesspeople with a vision of reaching the world. The potential not only makes sense, but brings us back to the Biblical model. It is interesting to consider the apostle Paul. Not only was he involved in touching lives and strategically planting churches, but he ran a business. And it wasn’t a non-profit business. Acts 20:33, 34 states, “I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know (Ephesian elders) that these hands have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.” Then he quoted the Lord, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Paul knew about profit and loss, keeping books, paying business taxes, marketing, sharing his wealth with others, etc. The marketplace was his mission field as well as a place of provision.

I was just with a man who has taken his business skills to another country. What an impact Steve has had in the lives of the national business team that he is apart of and in the lives of those that the business supports. I have known this man for some time and what struck me was his excitement when we talked about the business and its impact. He has found his niche and is living the adventure. 

The moral of his story is you don’t have to be a vocational missionary or pastor; your current vocation has great opportunity for you to be salt and light. So take your skills and passion to the marketplace and allow God, through His Spirit, to work through you. So “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Grow where you are planted until He plants you elsewhere.