As boarders close and traditional mission models face new challenges, something is beginning to shift in the way Christians are taking on the great commission. Around the world everyday believers are discovering that their careers can be a gateway to the nations. Marketplace ministry is a growing movement that invites believers to live out their faith in professional spaces, brining the gospel to places traditional missions finds hard to reach. Its not necessarily a new idea, but it’s certainly gaining fresh momentum among those who seek to reach the unreached—and it might be the most accessible way to do missions today.
So, what actually is Marketplace ministry?
Marketplace ministry is the intentional integration of faith into one’s career or everyday work. In the context of missions, this means leveraging one’s profession for global ministry. To put it simply, it means offering your skills and abilities to God and going where he asks you to take them.
Table of Contents
- Origins and Evolution
- Why it Works
- A Tale of Success
- Anyone Can Do it—Even You!
Origins and Evolution
Though market ministry may sound like a modern idea, when we investigate scripture, we can see faithful believers using their profession for the Gospel all the way back in the early church. The Apostle Paul used his profession of tent making to support his mission (Acts 18:3), modeling a life where witness and work went hand in hand. Lydia, a merchant of purple cloth, played a key role in the early church in Philippi by offering her hospitality and leveraging the means and influence God had given her through her business (Acts 16:14-15, 40). These examples, along with others in scripture, show us that from the beginning God has used ordinary work to accomplish His extraordinary purposes and further His great mission.
Fast forward to the 20th century and the idea of marketplace ministry gained more formal structure. Movements like the Christian Business Men’s Connection (1930) and Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (1952) encouraged believers to share their faith through professional networks and everyday work.
By the 80s and 90s, marketplace ministry expanded through organizations like Pinnacle Forum, Christians at Work, and many others. Models like Business as Missions (BAM) and Business for Transformation (B4T) were developed and started to gain traction among missionaries and missions agency—especially when trying to reach regions closed to traditional missions.
Today missions organizations like Pioneers are mobilizing professionals across industries—education, healthcare, engineering, entrepreneurship, and others—to bring the gospel to the worlds unreached. Marketplace ministry has grown from a movement into a sustainable and adaptable missions model that has become instrumental in opening doors long thought closed to traditional missions.
Why it Works
There are a few key reasons why marketplace ministry stands out from other missions models. It works so well because it combines access, authenticity, sustainability, and credibility—allowing workers to partner with God in bringing the gospel into places and relationships where other methods may struggle.
One of its greatest strengths is its ability to allow missionaries access to places that are closed off to a typical missionary. In regions that missionaries must contend with visa restrictions of cultural resistance, professionals—like teachers, healthcare workers, business owners, and others—are more readily welcomed for the value they bring. The Lord uses their careers to open doors that would otherwise remain closed.
The method also helps missionaries foster authentic relationships. Shared work often builds a sense of trust and community where it would otherwise be lacking. The workplace is a great place for believers to build relationships with people they would otherwise have no contact with. The Lord often uses these relationships to lead to deep conversation and lasting impact.
Another advantage of marketplace ministry is its long-term sustainability. Marketplace workers have the ability to be partially, or even fully, self-supported. While we believe that support raising is important and biblical, having the ability to work in a career while on the field can often provide workers with useful financial flexibility that can be beneficial in the long-term. The financial benefit is coupled with the fact that having a job gives workers a natural and concrete reason to remain in country.
Finally, marketplace ministry promotes cultural integration and credibility. When believers collaborate with colleges, face challenges together, and contribute meaningfully, their faith becomes visible through their actions and the way they choose to honor God in their work. By working faithfully within local systems believers can show Jesus’ love for others in the way they teach their students, help their clients, or run their business.
Jesus invites us to walk with Him daily and live a life dedicated to loving Him and the people around us. Marketplace ministry gives missionaries the opportunity to naturally and visibly live out their faith in places that need to see the light of Jesus.
A Tale of Success
Marketplace ministry isn’t just a cool idea, it’s a real model that missionaries are using to spread the gospel all around the world, and it’s working! Here’s what John, a Pioneers missionary who runs an IT business in a closed country in Asia, said about using his business to share the Gospel.
“In this part of the world, it’s hard for people to imagine a foreign business set up to support local businesses instead of exploiting the local economy. On more than one occasion, I’ve had the opportunity to sit down over lunch while negotiating a new contract and answer the simple question: why are you doing this? Sharing how God has changed my life and given me a true love for the people in this part of the world is eye-opening for them, especially since they feel like most of the Western world hates them.”
Read more about John’s story here
And John isn’t alone! All around the globe missionaries are using their careers to become lights in the darkest places the world has to offer. God is faithfully inviting His people to take their skills to the unreached and through them He is doing truly amazing things.
Anyone Can Do it—Even You!
One of the most powerful aspects of marketplace ministries is its accessibility. You don’t need to be a pastor, preacher, or seminary graduate to take part in God’s global plan to reach the unreached. All it takes is a willingness to offer your profession and skills to Him and go wherever He invites you to take them.
Whether you’re a teacher, nurse, engineer, artist, or entrepreneur, your skills are valuable—not just to the marketplace, but to the mission field. God can and will use any profession or skillset. If you’ve ever thought “I can’t be a missionary,” you might want to prayerfully re-consider, marketplace ministry is for people just like you. God wants to use the skills and abilities He’s given you for the furtherment of His Kingdom. We promise you; no profession is to small or obscure for His uses.
So why don’t you ask Him about it? Take time to prayerfully consider what God may be calling you into. You can start by asking Him the simple question; “Lord, how can I use my work to serve you?” You may be surprised by His answer. He has a plan for your life, and He wants to be intimately involved in every detail of it.
Want to learn more about the concept of marketplace ministries?
Take a look at our Integrate your skills page →
Think God may be calling you to take your career to the unreached?
Talk to our one of our missions’ mentors and see how we can help →