You loved all the incredible things that happened in college. Maybe you were plugged into an awesome campus ministry, grew in your faith, and made some awesome friends. You may have even spent time among the lost, sharing your faith with them between classes, over coffee, or at the gym.

But now you’re graduating, getting a job, and moving on to the “real world” (as if college wasn’t real enough). You’re fully committed to Christ, but you aren’t going into full time ministry or becoming an international missionary. So how do you continue to serve God and pursue His mission while holding down a 9 to 5 job?

Communion (with God)

There’s absolutely no way you can truly live out God’s mission in the workplace unless you have a thriving relationship with Him. This involves much more than just attending worship services or bible studies. It even goes beyond the “daily quiet time” that many of us know is so essential.

If you really want to see what God is doing around you in the workplace and be a part of it, you need to live and breathe in constant awareness of His presence. Of course, that doesn’t mean you kneel down in your cubicle and pray all day, neglecting the job you’re being paid to do.

Simply take some time to pause in your work every once in a while, reconnect with your Heavenly Father, and remind yourself that God has given you a higher calling in the career field he has placed you in. Also, ask Him to help you see everything and everyone around you the way He does. If you start looking, you will be surprised daily by the ways God is working all around you in your office.

Community (with other believers)

It’s easy to feel lonely as a Christian in the secular workplace. That’s why it is essential to connect with other believers so that they can encourage you, support you, and join in God’s mission with you. Look for other believers in your office; try starting a prayer group or a bible study and see who shows up. If you don’t know any other Christians at your workplace, get plugged in with a singles or young adult ministry at your church.

Connect with other believers at the same stage of life who can be your closest friends but also share your vision for seeing God’s name made famous in every sector of society.  Community is God’s way of growing and preparing us as he sends us out to accomplish His mission.

Commission (to the world around you)

Here’s the big one. If we get the other two but forget about this, we’re really missing the whole point of God’s mission. God didn’t call you to work as an engineer, doctor, lawyer, or sales clerk just to do your job. He wants to shine the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into every heart that doesn’t know him, and you are His plan to reach the people you work with every day. No pastor or missionary will ever be able to have the same kind of relationship that you have with your lost friends and co-workers.

Look for ways to spend time with them and get to know them. Keep your free time open, and don’t turn down invitations to hang out with your co-workers outside of the office. Be honest about who you are and what’s important to you, and opportunities to share the Gospel will come naturally. If you make yourself available, God will use you in incredible ways to make an eternal impact on the people you work with every day!