ISEMA Newsletters
Witnessing at Work
One of our goals for this newsletter is to provide each of you with some practical help in witnessing for our Lord. Since most of you spend many hours each week at a job, I thought I’d start with some suggestions for witnessing at your workplace. God wants us to redeem the time. Our time at work should accomplish more than making money. Many Christians have led many people to Christ through their jobs. The great evangelist D.L.Moody got saved through the witness of a shoe salesman, while he was trying on some shoes. God wants to use you to witness to others at your job, as well as at other times. Here are some tips that I think will help you:
- Get and keep your heart right with God. Confess and forsake any known sin. Spend time in prayer and God’s word in the morning before work. The more you are walking in the Spirit at work, the better witness you’ll be and the more you’ll hear God when He tells you to witness to someone. At the same time, don’t fall into condemnation, thinking you can’t witness because you aren’t “spiritual enough.” If you lose your temper at work (for example), apologize to those who were affected.
- Choose the right job. Are you where God wants you? God used Jonah while he was running away from Him, but He would rather use us when we are in His perfect will. If you aren’t sure you are in the job God wants you to have, ask Him. If He wants you somewhere else, He’ll make it very clear to you. When you are preparing for future work or looking for a job, spend much time praying for God’s direction. Some jobs provide more opportunities than others to witness. This should be an important consideration in your job choice. Being used by God to witness at a job will greatly contribute to your happiness with that job.
- Let everyone know you are a Christian from the start. The longer you work at a job without telling people, the harder it will be to do so. Also, once you tell people you are a Christian, you will be conscious of your need to maintain a good witness before them. One easy way to do this is to send each co-worker and client a personal card or letter at Easter or Christmas with a clear gospel message in it, perhaps with your testimony in it.
- Be sensitive to each person and to the Holy Spirit as to how much you should witness to them, and the best way to do so. Everyone reaches a place of crisis in their life at some time, when they are desperate for help. If they see you as a friend and a stable person, they will be likely to turn to you for counsel.
- Avoid self-righteousness and legalism. Most people think of Christians this way. Let them see that your relationship with God is vital and gives you joy and peace, fulfillment and direction in your life. At the same time, we do need to take a stand as to what we will and won’t do at work. We must avoid all dishonesty and other immorality. It is better to leave your job than sin against our Lord.
- Be a friend. Invite the person to your house for dinner. Or invite them to go with you to a “non-churchy” Christian event that you think they might enjoy. Don’t gossip about them or anyone else. That way, they won’t be afraid to confide in you.
- Use tracts. Ron Woodruff from Land and Sea Ministries worked at a glass factory when he got saved. He bought hundreds of comic-book tracts and left them in everyone’s lockers and everywhere around the factory. People avoided Ron because he wouldn’t listen to their dirty jokes and told them about Jesus. But they couldn’t deny the change they saw in his life. Within a few years, almost a third of the factory had gotten saved.
- Become indispensable at your job. Be such a good worker that your boss can’t do without you. Your boss probably won’t mind if you witness to people as long as it doesn’t interfere with th your work. Of course, this varies with the boss and the job. Once I worked at a hamburger stand and the manager (a Catholic) let me put tracts in the sack with each hamburger. Another time I worked as a cashier at a high-class restaurant. I witnessed to the waiters and quite a few customers. The owner thought it was cute and boasted of his “preacher-cashier.”
- Don’t become a “workaholic.” Make sure your priorities are right. You need to spend time each day with God, spend time with your family, have regular church fellowship, spend time with friends, spend time in some kind of ministry activity, and have some time for rest and relaxation. If you find yourself working 50 or more hours a week, maybe you should look for a job with a better hourly wage, or simplify your lifestyle so you don’t spend so much.
- Don’t be intimidated. Recently, the Federal Government pro posed regulations against “religious harassment” at the work place. These regulations threaten the rights of Christians to share their faith on the job. One Christian who works at a Christian-owned business recently received a directive that he was not to witness to other employees, even if they asked him. He was to direct all such inquiries to the company chaplain! This company was apparently afraid of lawsuits. Like the apostles, we must obey God rather than men. We must be willing to obey our Lord’s command to preach the gospel in all the world, regardless of the cost. If we do not stand up for our rights, we will lose them. An employer can regulate your conduct on the job, but if he allows you to discuss non-business related items at work, he cannot say certain subjects are off-limits. And he cannot regulate your conversation during lunch breaks and non-working hours.
Beirut, Lebanon Outreach
Eleven years ago, Rabiah Danaf, 16, and his sister Rania, 15, saw their mother murdered in Lebanon’s civil war. As they grew older, they developed a hatred for those who had killed their mother and wanted revenge. But last year their father was saved. He encouraged them to attend a Christian youth camp in Beirut, where they too were saved. Their hatred was replaced with Christ’s love.
Now they are members of a Youth With a Mission King’s Kids team. Last Christmas they participated in an outreach in Beirut, sharing the gospel with others through music and drama. “They have learned a lot about forgiveness and the love of Jesus,” said Jihad Nasr, one of the King’s Kids leaders. “We want to bring peace and forgiveness to all the people who suffered–and are still suffering–because of the fighting. The children have seen so much hatred and bloodshed. They wanted to bring reconciliation to their city this Christmas.”
Coming Events
April 13-15 San Diego Evangelism Conference. April 21-May 4 San Diego Crusades and Outreaches. Mario Murillo, Tommy Barnett, Scott Hinkle, Bill Henderson. Contact San Diego Coalition of Evangelists, 643 Maclay St., Spring Valley, CA 91977, (619) 698-1650.
April 29 Fiesta Celebration Outreach, San Antonio, TX. Contact Operation Christlift, 3400 W Park Blvd #2117, Plano, TX 75075, (214) 519-0195.
May 4-6 National Street Ministries Conference, London, England. Contact Scott Hinkle, Box 30642, Phoenix, AZ 85046, (602) 661- 6406.
May 5-6 Kentucky Derby Outreach, Louisville, KY. Contact No Greater Love, Inc., Box 263, DuQuoin, IL 62832, (618) 542-4503.
May 20 Riverwalk Outreach, San Antonio, TX. Contact Operation Christlift (address above).
May 26-28 Indianapolis 500 Outreach. Contact No Greater Love, Inc. (address above.)
May 27, 1995 March for Jesus. Public praise marches scheduled for hundreds of U.S. cities and every nation on earth. Contact March for Jesus, Box 3216, Austin, TX 78764, (512) 416-0066.
June 15-17 National Street Ministries Conference, Columbus, Ohio. Contact Scott Hinkle (address above).
June 22-August 12 GO Europe! 95. Street witnessing throughout Europe. Contact Youth With a Mission, Kadijksplein 18, 1018 AC, Amsterdam.
June 24-July 8. Christ in Action Boot Camp (for youth ages 14 – 17). Contact Christ in Action, Box 4200, Manassas, VA 22110, (703) 368-8286.
June 30-July 8 SOS-San Francisco. Contact SOS Ministries, Box 27358, Oakland, CA 94602, (510) 531-5325..
July 26-29 Congress on the Holy Spirit and World Evangelization. Orlando, FL. Contact Orlando ’95, Box 2201, Lindale, TX 75712, (903) 882-1995.
SOS MINISTRIES is looking for two men with a desire to learn about and do evangelism to live in their ministry house. For more information, contact SOS Ministries, Box 27358, Oakland, CA 94602, (510) 531-5325.
FORWARD EDGE is sending outreach teams to Guatemala, Nicaragua, the Crow Indian Reservation, Romania, Kazakhstan, Israel and China this next year. Most outreaches are about two weeks long. Fees are $300-2500 depending on distance. For more information write or call them at 15121-A NE 72nd Ave., Vancouver WA 98686, (360) 574-EDGE.
HANDS FOR CHRIST is offering Christian tracts and bumper stickers on a donation basis. They also need used Christian Bibles, books and tapes to distribute to Third World countries. Contact them at 5720 Williamson Rd NW #111, Roanoke, VA 24012, (703) 362-1214.
ROCK CONCERT EVANGELISM Pastor Reb Bradley has put together some tracts specifically designed to minister to specific rock groups, using lyrics from their songs to bring out the gospel. Write him for samples at Hope Chapel Christian Fellowship, Box 1401, Fair Oaks, CA 95628, (916) 967-HOPE.
A Final Word
I want to thank each of you for your prayers and financial support for ISEMA. Please continue to send us information about what is happening in your community, teachings on evangelism, informa tion about upcoming outreaches, etc. so we can share these with our readers.
Our Tape of the Month is Evangelizing New Agers by Tal Brooke. Tal is Director of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project in Berkeley. Many of the people we witness to have been influenced by New Age thinking. We need to understand where they are coming from, so we can reach them with the true Gospel.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
