It’s surreal to think that this time last year, three young women were preparing themselves for their first day of the Worship.Works Christian Graduate Programme:
- Figuring out what time they’d leave home to make it to the office early.
- Picking the perfect outfit for the first day at the new job.
- Packing lunch and triple-checking that their morning alarm is set.
- Squeezing in a few last-minute texts to family and friends to help calm the nerves as they walk in the front door of the building.
(We’ve all been there before!)
Now, 12 months later, these same three women are contributing to meetings, organising presentations, facilitating the morning pray-up and creating research that’s making an impact for clients and media. They are confident, skilled, and highly-valued colleagues amongst the wider team, and this week they are handing over their titles as Worship.Works Graduates 2023. We are incredibly proud of them and all that they have achieved over this past year.
Before they move on to permanent roles or return to further studies, I was able to grab some time with each of them to hear about their experiences on the Worship.Works Christian Graduate Programme and what they learned about Marketplace Ministry.
So firstly, one of the major learning points this year has been demystifying what it means to be a Marketplace Minister. It’s a term that is still relatively new around church circles, so it’s not surprising that the graduates had in mind that being a minister might involve standing in front of crowds preaching a sermon or running church programmes. One of the biggest mindset shifts for each of the women was that EVERY Christian is called to be a minister and they were surprised at how quickly it became natural for them to minister in daily life at work.
“Every Christian has what it takes to be a Marketplace Minister in the workplace.” – Hannah
As we chatted, it became apparent that the catalyst for that shift was realising that as Spirit-filled believers, they carry the presence of God with them wherever they go! So whatever they are doing, whoever they are in conversation with, no matter what circumstances they are in, if they are there then so is God! And He is always interested in partnering with them to accomplish His will in any given moment. They emphasised that this required an ongoing awareness and intentional practice of asking God, ‘What do You want to do in this situation and how can I partner with You in that?’ Alex explained to me so succinctly that as Christians we’re not only working FOR God but we’re working WITH Him.
For each of the grads, there had always been some concept that Christians should live out their faith across every area of their life, but for Hannah, the programme really helped her understand the ‘why’ behind that thinking, by digging deeper into the Bible and understanding the principles for Marketplace Ministry. The training modules helped her become more conscious about how her faith can impact everything around her – gone are the days of thinking about God on a Sunday and then sidelining Him from Monday to Saturday. Doing life with God is her day-to-day reality.
“The marketplace ministry training helped me bridge together my Christian faith and my work.” – Alex
For Emily, the module Praying with Watchfulness was particularly impacting as it helped her build a framework for her prayer life. It taught her how to pay attention to what is happening around her, such as listening to what was going on in the lives of people she interacts with – not just listening for the sake of a meeting’s agenda but listening to the person as an individual that God loves. And then through prayer, she asks God for His perspective on that situation and how He might want her to be His hands and feet, or His mouthpiece, to minister to that person.
The culture of the workplace was something that impacted Alex deeply and became a learning opportunity through osmosis. By being immersed in a work environment that holds love as a core value, she saw firsthand what it looks like to love your colleagues and your clients. We all know workplaces can be cut-throat and competitive at the expense of relationships, but her experience has been a genuine care for the wellbeing of others and wanting God’s best for people even if the outcome of a situation isn’t what you had hoped. She learned the importance of holding the best interests of others in mind, praying for others, speaking well of stakeholders and pronouncing blessing over those she engages with. These have become values that she wants to take into any future workplace, knowing she can help set a work culture that reflects the love of God for people.
Whilst the year has offered them many wonderful opportunities and great memories, there have definitely been challenging moments – like you would expect from any work context. Being mentored throughout the year was one of the keys for Hannah in persevering through difficult times. She spoke of an instance when she was experiencing some conflict and upon raising this issue with her line manager, their encouragement was to invite God into the middle of that situation through prayer and to allow Him to help her. Which she did! I was so encouraged to hear her testify that she heard from God, which enabled her to receive His grace in being able to move forward into a healthy solution from that point on.
It became clear to me through the discussions with the grads that there are two really important components of marketplace ministry:
- that God is interested in the work you do and how that reflects His glory, His beauty and His redemptive power to transform, and;
- He is interested in the people you engage with whilst you work.
What you produce through work should be done with the goal of glorifying God. And the way you connect with colleagues, clients, customers, people who share your building etc should also be done with the same goal – to glorify God. Emily was impacted by a lesson that one of her senior colleagues had shared with her about being mindful of the way they speak about other people and organisations, even if they disagree with them, because the people around you are able to recognise your attitudes through what you say. Are your words building up, encouraging and speaking God’s truth in love? Or are your words pulling others down, spiked with personal opinion and judgement, and void of grace? A great reminder for all of us as we navigate the tricky dynamics of the workplace.
One of Hannah’s favourite training sessions throughout the year was based around the power of what we speak and that there is life and death in what we say. That training has helped her apply the principle of speaking blessing over people – no matter who they are. It is God’s heart to bless, and so as His children we carry that same heart into our work relationships. But it doesn’t stop at the office door! Alex shared how she now speaks blessing and seeks the wellbeing of strangers as she walks down the street, gets served at the shops or interacts with friends. The lessons from the workplace have spilled over into her general approach to life.
As these women take their next steps, who knows where they will end up in the future or how their careers will unfold. But one thing they are walking out of the W.W Graduate Programme with is a confidence that God is with them and He wants to be an active part of their everyday life – their work life included.
The Worship.Works Christian Graduate Programme is a 12 month, full-time internship. If you, or someone you know, is interested in the Graduate Programme you can find out more information here.
The next intake will be September 2024 and applications will open in January.