Are We Discipling People to Integrate their Faith and Vocation?

We should labor to ensure our people learn not only how to navigate life at church but also how to bring church to their vocation.

By Mike Leake

If you’ve purchased a car in the Pinebrook area, Brian was likely the guy who sold you the car. Nobody can sell a car like Brian. Each customer feels as if they’ve walked away having received the deal of a lifetime. They feel good about the purchase, and Brian feels good having made a substantial profit off the overpriced vehicle.

After going through a rough patch in his marriage, Brian stumbles into First Baptist Pinebrook. Here, he hears the gospel and responds to Jesus. His newfound love for Christ puts him immediately into a Bible study group and a men’s morning prayer breakfast. And before long, his business savvy will have him on several committees. It didn’t take Brian long to learn how to do things at church. But will Brian know how to take his “church” into his workplace?

If the discipleship culture at Pinebrook is anything like others across North America, Brian will be inadequately discipled in how to integrate his faith with his vocation. A recent report from the Lausanne Movement found leaders across the globe felt that “discipleship efforts are least adequate in Christian integration with an individual’s profession.” In fact, only 5-15% of leaders believed discipleship was adequate in this area. Contrast this with the 40-50% of leaders who believe their people are adequately discipled in the area of church participation.

Perhaps it would be helpful to look at it from one more angle. In North America, only 4% of leaders say there’s no discipleship for new believers in the area of church participation. In contrast, only 8% feel there’s adequate discipleship in the area of a Christian’s integration with their profession. There’s clearly a gap in our discipleship.

Only 8% of North American church leaders feel there’s adequate discipleship in the area of a Christian's integration with their profession, according to a Lausanne Movement report. Share on X

Why does this matter?

The best time for sharing the gospel is when you’re a new Christian, because that’s when you’re around the most lost people. Have you ever heard a maxim similar to this one? Should this be the case?

We say this because our relationships tend to change when we become believers. However, we shouldn’t underestimate the need for maintaining a presence in the lives of non-believers.

I liken conversion to the story of Rip Van Winkle. Rip falls asleep for 20 years. When he wakes up, the whole world has changed. The American Revolution has occurred, and Rip is no longer a subject of King George. Many of his old friends have died, so he’s a stranger in his own village. Yet, Van Winkle’s GPS unit would’ve still read the same. That’s what happens with conversion. Our GPS unit stays the same, but everything around us—and even within us—has changed.

This gap in our discipleship shows that we’re doing an adequate job of helping the Rip’s among us acclimate to their personal changes, but we’re leaving them woefully unprepared to navigate the new “village.”

Let’s take Brian as an example. He’ll likely remain a car salesman. He’ll have the same co-workers. And many of the people who come into his place of business may also be without Christ. His social web of unbelievers shouldn’t be depleted simply because he became a Christian.

Brian needs to know how to be a disciple of Jesus as a car salesman. That doesn’t only mean he needs to think about how to share his faith in the workplace. It means every component of being a car salesman will need to be brought under the rule of Christ.

So, how exactly is a pastor supposed to teach this?

Why does this gap exist?

Discipleship is an apprenticeship. And that means watching how someone else lives out what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

“Discipleship is an apprenticeship. And that means watching how someone else lives out what it means to be a follower of Jesus.” — @mikeleake Share on X

For many years, the primary disciple-maker in the local church has been the pastor or pastoral staff. But as a pastor, I don’t have first-hand experience navigating the unique challenges of being a disciple in every vocation.

Before pastors were the primary disciple-makers, that role fell to parents. And before the Industrial Revolution, many children followed the trade of their parents. This means they learned from their parents how to integrate their faith with their profession. That’s mostly disappeared. One study found only 7% of children end up in the same job as their parents, whereas it was nearly 46% in Victorian times.

Combine these two factors, and we begin to see why this gap exists. Our reading of the New Testament itself likely influences this gap as well. When Peter was called to follow Christ, what did he do with his fishing net? John? James? Andrew? These stories are woven into our faith. Thus, we might conclude real apprenticeship with Jesus only happens when we drop our nets and follow Him.

But that’s not the picture that emerges in the early church. Lydia kept up her business as a seller of purple goods (Acts 16). There’s no indication Cornelius stopped being a centurion (Acts 10). Even Paul was a tentmaker in certain regions.

As the church gained prominence throughout the Roman Empire, the divide between sacred and secular grew, giving rise to the notion that faith is only relevant within the walls of the church and not in the everyday realities of professional life. And to be honest, we pastors aren’t very helpful in this regard. But we can do a few things to change this.

How do we bridge the gap?

I should admit at the outset that I don’t have this figured out. It’s a substantial gap. Perhaps the first thing is for us to acknowledge we cannot bridge the gap—at least not alone. And we aren’t supposed to. Though it might be immensely helpful, pastors won’t close this gap by simply meeting a congregant at their workplace for the occasional breakfast.

Intentional teaching can be helpful here, but it’s likely best to have someone else do the teaching. Do you have an elder who’s a banker? Let him teach a class on faith and vocation. There’s significant crossover in many vocations. Putting together intentional teaching and discipleship relationships is our best strategy.

“Putting together intentional teaching and discipleship relationships is our best strategy [to help churchgoers incorporate their faith with their work].” — @mikeleake Share on X

Consider encouraging and equipping groups of two to four people to meet on a weekly basis. You can equip them with how to study Scripture together, pray together, etc. But be sure to add a few questions—or encourage them—in how to apply these things to their vocation. Knowing that this gap is here and being intentional about filling it will go far.

Thankfully, many others are beginning to see this gap. Some churches and organizations are developing resources specifically geared toward vocational discipleship. Pointing people toward these resources can be immensely helpful.

Trusting Christ

Be encouraged that Christ is able to fill any of these gaps. The Spirit is faithful. Even when we drop the ball in making some of these connections to the workplace, the Spirit is applying the Word into these circumstances. The gap, though substantial, might not be as great as we think.

Yet, we must have an intentionality in this area. We should labor to ensure our people are learning not only how to navigate life at church but also how to bring church to their vocation. May that sacred/secular divide be increasingly brought together.

For permission to republish this article, contact Marissa Postell Sullivan.