As Christians, we know that our lives belong to God and we’re to live for his glory. 1 Corinthians 10:31 reminds us, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (ESV).

If you’re striving to live that out, you may be thinking about raising your kids, how you spend your weekend, or service opportunities at church. Do you believe it also applies to your Monday-to-Friday job? It does!

Your work — your desk job, trade, side hustle, career, or whatever you call it — can and should be one of the primary ways you bring glory to God. Dare we say, your work is your ministry! God didn’t create you to be a worshipper on Sunday and grunt man on Monday; he created you for a holistic life where your Christian faith fuels everything.

When you view your job as your calling and live out Christian values at work, you can have spiritual impact as a light for Christ in your workplace. Evangelist Billy Graham said, “I believe that one of the next great moves of God is going to be through believers in the workplace.”

Do you want to be part of that great move of God? Keep reading to find out how.

Looking for more? Download our free "7 ways to take your faith to work" PDF today.

GET YOUR FREE FAITH-AT-WORK PDF

Why Honoring God in Your Work Matters

The longer you keep your spiritual life and your work life separate, the more you’re missing out on the life God designed for you. Reflecting God in your work matters for the sake of God, others, and you.

God deserves glory from every moment and every aspect of your life — including your work. Following these principles to integrate your faith at work honors him with your career.

Others in your work sphere (like your coworkers, leaders, and clients) need to see Christ in you. You may be the only Christian at work or in their whole life — their only connection to the Savior who loves them. Every interaction you have with them matters.

You have the opportunity to be used by God. Not only that, you’ve been commanded to work heartily as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). Obeying this command and watching God work through you will bring you greater fulfillment and joy than you’re currently experiencing in your work. Guaranteed.

Don’t believe us? Try it.

Key Ways to Honor God in Your Work

1. Approach your work from a biblical perspective.

When God created Adam and Eve, he gave them a job to do. “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15, ESV). God gave humanity sacred work in the garden, just as he had worked to create it. Work is not evil, and it’s not an add-on because of the fall. On the contrary, it’s built into our DNA. All honest work possesses inherent dignity because we’re doing what we were made to do as people created in the image of a working God.

This is the starting point of all of Scripture. And because it’s the starting point of Scripture, it should be the starting point of our daily routine. Every morning, we ought to reframe our perspective about going to work not as an obligation but as a sacred responsibility. We must view our work as God views our work. All our work has value — no matter how mundane it feels. And every job — regardless of title or pay — is an opportunity to glorify God when we do it as an act of worship. 

Practical tip: Practice thinking about your work as not just a job, but the specific place God has called you. Offer your day to the Lord every morning before you go to work. Here’s a prayer you can pray for your workplace.

2. Work with creativity, excellence, and integrity. 

God’s own work in the world reveals his infinite creativity, excellence, and integrity. We reflect him when we work with these characteristics, too.

Each one of us has unique creativity because we’re made in the image of the Creator God. That doesn’t mean we’re all artists, but we all have capacity to solve problems, make things beautiful, and appreciate diversity.

Doing our work with excellence (not perfection) means we put our whole heart into our tasks and strive to continue growing and improving 

Perhaps nothing sets believers apart from the world like doing our work with integrity. When we choose to work hard and do what is right, even when it’s difficult or requires sacrifice, we take a stand for our faith.

Practical tip: Choose one of the three characteristics to focus on in your work this week.


Christians who do their jobs with creativity, excellence, and integrity reflect God’s character.

3. Practice faith-driven, servant leadership.

You don’t have to be the boss to be a leader. And while there’s debate over what makes a good leader, the best leader of all, Jesus, led by serving. We reflect Jesus to our coworkers when we treat them with respect, patience, and humility — in short, when we love them the way he loves them.

Besides serving in action, we can also serve our coworkers with our words. Avoid gossip and negativity, and, instead, use the power of your words to build up those around you. You’ll stand out from the crowd when you go out of your way to listen, encourage a struggling coworker, and offer wise counsel based in Scripture.

Practical tip: Look for an opportunity to serve a colleague or spend a few extra minutes connecting personally. Be inspired by this story of an unexpected opportunity Philip had with his coworkers in Asia.

4. Work for the common good.

We work for the common good when we live out the communal values of Jesus’ kingdom. Issues of the economy, the flourishing of people and society, and how our work contributes to that flourishing — these are the concerns of the common good 

From this perspective, our work is not just for a paycheck or our own personal fulfillment (though those are not wrong in themselves). Rather, our work is far bigger and more important because it contributes to society’s well-being and the advancement of God’s kingdom.

As we live and work on mission with an others-centered mindset, we give people a preview of Jesus’ kingdom — hopefully one they will want more of.

Practical tip: Lean into an aspect of your daily work that touches people beyond yourself, and pray for the well-being of the people who will benefit from your efforts. Read Brandon’s story of how his work impacts his community.

5. Confront ethical dilemmas and workplace challenges with faith.

Though God designed work before the fall, the entrance of sin in the world made work more difficult, frustrating, and painful than it was designed to be. Even those who have a dream job eventually collide with the realities of living in a broken world.

Because work holds a primary space in our lives, the place where we spend 40+ hours each week, your job is a primary context for God’s work in transforming your heart. Take a biblical approach to workplace challenges by responding to an angry coworker with love, making decisions prayerfully, following regulations instead of finding loopholes, addressing unrealistic expectations with your boss instead of complaining to your teammate, and pursuing promotions while still being content. All of these actions reveal that you care about your work but your career is not your ultimate hope.

You won’t get it right every time. That’s when you have an opportunity to seek forgiveness from your coworkers — another demonstration of a Christ-centered heart!

Practical tip: Where are you facing a frustration or challenge at work? Ask God to reveal any sin in your heart and use you to show Christ to your coworkers through this situation.


Work in a fallen world can be frustrating, but God is redeeming your work so that you can address workplace challenges with faith.

6. Boldly and humbly declare your identity as a Christian. 

As God gives you opportunity, speak up about who you are as a Christ-follower and why it matters in your life and work. This is not proselytizing, which actively seeks to convert another person from their religion and is generally prohibited in the workplace.

You might find opportunities when getting to know a new teammate, talking about last weekend’s activities at lunch on Monday, or reaching out to a colleague who’s suffered a loss. You can even bring faith into the conversation when someone asks your views on a cultural topic.

Remember that each situation will require discernment and dependence on the Holy Spirit. And don’t worry if the conversation doesn’t go any further right then. It might just be a seed for further discussion down the road.

Practical tip: Look for an opening to share about your faith in Jesus with a coworker this week. Be inspired by Katelyn’s response to a question from her coworker in England.

7. Ask God in whom he wants you to invest.

Your work is not only a place to proclaim your faith but should also be a context for our call to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). You can (and should) love all people in all circumstances, but you can only disciple a few because making disciples requires time, personal conversation, and a deep level of relationship.

Can that happen at work? Yes! It will probably also need investment outside the walls of the office as you get to know your coworkers and invite them into your personal life 

Where do you begin? Who should you pursue? Those are things to talk about with God.

Practical tip: Ask God to show you in whom he is working. Begin praying for them and, as God leads, pursue them in intentional relationship. Read Fawn’s story of what this looks like as a real estate agent.

8. Practice Sabbath.

The idea of Sabbath is confusing to many of us. Maybe we’re not sure if we need a Sabbath, or we think we do but we’re not sure it’s possible. Let’s face it — practicing Sabbath is counter-cultural. And that’s part of the reason we need it.

Author Lynne Baab, in her book Sabbath Keeping, describes Sabbath as “a day to stop the things that occupy our workdays and participate in activities that nurture peace, worship, relationships, celebration and thankfulness.” Sabbath was God’s idea from the beginning and the invitation is open to you — not as an obligation but as a gift.

If we’re truly going to have a spiritual impact through our work, Sabbath is critical. It gives space to rest our bodies, refocus our minds, and restore our souls. It gives us a taste of the perfect rest we look forward to and sets us up to share that same hope with others.

Practical tip: If Sabbath is not yet part of your weekly routine, start small. Carve out a few hours at the same time each week to put aside your to-do list and do something that brings you joy and helps you connect with the Lord.


Christian expats make a spiritual impact when they live and work on mission for Christ.

Honoring God in Your Work Abroad

Integrating faith and work matters for all believers everywhere, and even more so for Christian expats living and working abroad where fewer people know Jesus. This global workplace presents an enormous opportunity for the church to make an impact in places that are difficult to send missionaries.

The Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO) estimates there 5.5 million American expats. If just 10 percent of those were believers, that’s 550,000 believers bringing the light of Christ into least-reached communities. And that’s just Americans! Considering the globalization of our world and the mass immigration we’re witnessing today, the unreached areas of the world could have thousands of Jesus-followers living and working in their midst.

Sadly, however, as in America, many of these global expats view their work only as work, and their spiritual impact is minimal.

If you’re a Christian expat working abroad, don’t waste your opportunity to make an impact for Christ through your work.

“I always thought that to do missions would mean quitting my career and moving to the jungle somewhere, and I didn’t want to do that because I love my career. I feel like God’s given me some incredible skills and opportunities that I wanted to make the most of. [Then] I realized that actually my career and doing missions could be one and the same thing. And I’m really excited about that opportunity.” — M, participant at Next Steps

If you’re living in North America but see the potential and want to take advantage of this opportunity, talk to us about taking your work to live on mission abroad. We can help you engage your profession and passion to make disciples among the least-reached.

Looking for more? Download our free "7 ways to take your faith to work" PDF today.

GET YOUR FREE FAITH-AT-WORK PDF