Serving God Where We Are
We asked a few believers at The Well to share how they serve God through the situation in which He has placed them. Professionals and parents, working in finance, ministry or the charity sector, each of them has a unique story about how they are working with God.
Dean Thorpe:
“I own and run a firm of financial advisers operating mainly in the Yorkshire and Derbyshire
region. Whether I’m dealing with clients or my team, I do my level best to hold fast to
Christian principles. That could mean being transparent and honest about a challenging
situation, encouraging people to take action to move them closer to where they want to be
or simply providing time and lending an ear to genuinely listen to someone needing to talk
and share. I’m a volunteer trustee of 3 Christian charities using my time and talents to ‘give
back’ to the communities that these charities seek to connect with.”
David Patton:
“My wife and I have three children and so family life can often get very busy. Each day during our evening meal, we come together and during the course of the meal, we pause and think about the events from our day. We then take it in turns to share what we are thankful for from our day. This daily rhythm is a great opportunity to connect with each other and share the events of the day, but also to acknowledge and express our gratitude for where our lives have been graced by the Father in our day.”
Rebecca:
“I work for a charity which serves children and families across South Yorkshire. God has been speaking to me about what leadership looks like in the workplace as a Christian. My drive to work involves praying over my colleagues, often alongside worship music which fuels me up (whilst trying to avoid the embarrassment of other drivers at traffic lights thinking I'm passionately talking to myself!)
I seek His creativity for strategic meetings, pray peace, clarity, creative vision for my senior leadership team. I seek to be a manager and colleague of integrity, love, gentleness, patience (the fruits of the Spirit).
I try to discern what the Holy Spirit is doing, the Spirit's breath over my workplace. Working as I do alongside exceptionally caring people, the harvest feels plentiful but trust takes time. Friendships with colleagues come first. They observe. They watch. They build a base of who I am, my credentials. I watch and wait for where God is moving in their lives (as often He's already been doing something in them/questions they've pondered about life) and try to discern when to speak and what to say. I try to be authentically me, whilst aware of my professional boundaries as a manager.
People are hungry but often turning to other forms of ‘spirituality’.
Believe me - I'm not perfect by any means! All I know is I try to see my workplace as heaven meeting earth. My daily aim is not to get lost in the busyness of work but try to be continually grounding myself, coming back to the present of ‘Father, where is your Spirit moving today and where can I join in?’”
Becky Greene:
“I work part time and have two small children. I love to look for opportunities to share Jesus' love, kindness & honour in the everyday. For me at the moment, this is at: playgroup, kids’ parties, school, in the park & with neighbours and work friends. And it looks like love through: giving encouraging words from the Bible, sharing prophetic encouragement, asking Jesus where lost things have gone, praying together for a miracle, cooking dinner for a friend who is stretched, sharing His great story, my story or beautiful things I've seen Him do. Chats are usually broken, sleep deprived and often interspersed with potty trips, snacks and “big feelings” as well as glimpses of God’s immeasurable everlasting love.”
Christopher Longbottom:
“The idea that work and home life are so different and distinct always felt strange to me - why can't we live radically for Jesus throughout it all? Is work/life balance just a human construct? I try not to approach work this way; I'm part of running two companies in Sheffield and I bring my whole, Christ-filled, self to work. They get the whole me and as leaders we get to set the culture. We've seen employees come to faith so there must be something in it. I consider my staff friends and family - some might find that weird, but why draw a distinction just because it's work?”
Louise Rainford:
“I’m married with 2 daughters aged 9 & 11 and employed by a local church reaching and connecting families and children with the Good News. My heart is to share God’s love with all and I’m passionate that my family know how loved they are, as well as the many that I meet and connect with each week.
‘Have you prayed about that?’ is a common question that we ask each other in the home and I love how my girls will ask me this too. This question helps all of us to invite God into all areas of our lives, from searching for lost things, to the challenges we face. I am quick to make sure we say Thank you to God when prayers are answered, especially as we are a family that often asks Jesus to help us find things and He is so faithful and kind to us and once we have prayed we now all expect to find it.
Another habit that I have introduced especially since becoming a mum is that I often listen to sermons and other online Christian teaching and worship while I am cleaning the house and/or preparing meals. As I listen, the Holy Spirit regularly brings to mind others to pray for and who I could bless by sharing the teaching that I have been blessed by.
We also started listening to UCB - a Christian radio station - in the car and at home. It is great to listen to a variety of worship music, join in with prayer and hear from others during the day and whilst driving. This sometimes opens up interesting discussions with the kids too.
Another habit that we practise regularly is listening to each other at meal time using the ‘High and Low’. ‘High’ meaning, what is a good thing that we are thankful for, and ‘Low’, the opportunity to share any challenges or difficulties we faced during the day. This a good tool that includes everyone around the table and opens up each person’s day. We can then thank God for the High and invite Him into the Low. I also intentionally do this during meals with the girls and their friends when they join us around the table and all children around our table have been very open to share with each other.
I am eager to learn from others so Parenting For Faith (parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk) resources and Facebook Live events have also been very good in providing tools and ideas for my own parenting journey and a great place to signpost others to, alongside Care for the Family (careforthefamily.org.uk).