There are many messages your coworkers need to hear from you. But no message is more important than those ten words that define the gospel – Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. After all, that is the only message that will change their eternal destiny. What greater concern could you have than for them to know beyond any doubt that they will be in the Lord’s presence forever?

At the same time your employer is not paying you to witness; it is paying you to work.

So, how does one go about placing the gospel above all in her/his conversations with coworkers while still honoring the employer? Four possible opportunities come to mind.

Make the most of coffee breaks and lunch hours.

These are times when you can engage in conversation that can lead to things of a spiritual nature and even your own testimony. Your answer to “what did you do this weekend?” Can be so much more than “Not much.” What a great opportunity to mention a particular moment with your church, something that resonated with you from a sermon or simply a way that God blessed you during the weekend. Bring the Lord intor your story. As you bathe such opportunities in prayer, God can open doors to take the conversation from the secular to the spiritual and, ultimately, to the gospel.

Arrange a group discussion/study at the beginning of the work hour.

You may be surprised how many co-workers are interested in spiritual topics, but don’t regularly attend church and don’t have anyone in their circle of friends to ask about these thinks. The opportunity to attend an open Bible study with co-workers they know could be an attractive option.

As you initiate, organize, or even teach in those situations, you can choose subjects which allow you to present the gospel. One such study may work through the book of Proverbs in which God talks about a whole range of subjects from money, friendships, neighbors, marriage, greed, temptation, love, jealousy, parents, children, etc. Such a study often opens up opportunities to meet those who want to talk further outside the office and also gives those who attend an understanding of the gospel.

Be ready when coworkers share a personal struggle. 

Simply having something ready to say in a situation when someone is sharing with you can be a huge help in workplace evangelism. Something like, “Thanks for sharing that with me. I will pray for you” can go a long way. That simple reply has allowed countless coworkers to meet with employers and employees outside of the work environment and share the differences a relationship with Jesus Christ has made in your life and the lives of many others. When you see this coworker again, you have the freedom to say something like, “I was praying about that situation you shared with me – how is that going?” The fact that you care can often help soften a heart, and can very well lead into an opportunity to share how God has rescued you out of various situations, which in turn can lead right into the gospel.

Create a weekend opportunity.

As you get to know your coworkers, you may find that you both enjoy the same kind of food or similar events. What a great opportunity to set up a time to meet over the weekend to begin building that relationship and investing time. Similarly, your children may enjoy some of the same things, which opens the potential of getting your families together for a picnic, playdate, or similar event. The relationship and friendship you’ve developed in the office environment can often give you a chance through your credibility with them to talk to them about spiritual things.

Lastly, this is of ultimate importance. 

Remember, God is more concerned about the lost than we will ever be. Therefore, one of your greatest resources in workplace evangelism is the resource of prayer. Ask God to provide in some way or another a door of opportunity for you where you might be able to explain to them the good news. The opportunity might come during a lunch break or on a weekend getaway, but it also may come during a hospital visit as your coworker recovers from knee surgery. God knows how to open doors that you may have never even considered. Once He opens those doors, you can walk right through them.

Also, please keep in mind that people are not projects. While we should pursue workplace evangelism, we want to be careful not to see our coworkers only as gospel opportunities. You must genuinely care for each and every person you approach with the gospel. Otherwise you run the risk of coming across as inauthentic – something that Jesus never was. 

Your workplace can be your mission field where God uses you to make the message of the gospel the message above all others. What could be more exciting than to know that God used the witness you had with someone you worked alongside of every day, to introduce them to an eternal life with the Savior? Then, having known them here for a short time on earth, you have the privilege of knowing them forever in heaven.