Where the Church Goes to Work: Workplace Engagement in Discipling Africa

by Renita Reed-Thomson

 

The Lausanne Workplace Forum took place in Ghana from August 6–9. It grew out of the Lausanne Fourth Congress in Seoul, South Korea, in 2024, where participants began asking for regional gatherings that would make it possible for more people to participate.

This was the first of those regional gatherings, and we were especially grateful that it focused on Africa and the Middle East—and that its central theme was the workplace.

The timing could not be more significant. As we were reminded throughout the gathering, the center of gravity of Christianity is shifting to Africa. The question is not simply what God is doing in Africa, but what God intends to do through the African church in the nations—and in the workplace.

We were blessed to have Discipling Marketplace Leaders partners from Ghana, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria with us. We came excited about the conversations, but also intentional about helping direct those conversations toward a question that is central to our work at DML: How do we equip the church to disciple people where they spend most of their lives—the workplace?

There were many excellent speakers, but one of the highlights for me was the message from Apostle Eric Nyamekye, head of the Church of Pentecost, entitled “Kingdom Impact in Every Sphere of Life: Workplace Engagement in Discipling Africa.”

He built his message around two dimensions of worship found in Scripture: avodah—work, service, and worship—and shachah—bowing down in worship.

That distinction is important.

We often think of worship primarily as what happens when we gather in church. But biblical worship encompasses both how we bow before God and how we serve Him through our work.

Apostle Nyamekye reminded us that in the Old Testament, those who wanted to approach God needed three things: a priest, a sacrifice, and a temple.

In Christ, all three are fulfilled.

Jesus is our Priest: If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? — Hebrews 7:11

Jesus is our Sacrifice: Here I am, I have come to do your will. He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. — Hebrews 10:9–10

Jesus is the Temple: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being. — Hebrews 8:1–2

But then comes the remarkable implication: Christ’s work does not end with Christ. He calls us to carry His presence and His mission into the world.

First John 4:17 puts it this way: In this world we are like Jesus.

As He is, so are we in this world. We are called to be temple, sacrifice, and priest.

Apostle Nyamekye connected this theology to Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4. She asked Jesus where people should worship—on the mountain or in Jerusalem. Jesus’ answer radically changed the question. A time was coming when people would worship the Father “in Spirit and in truth.” God would no longer be confined to a particular mountain, city, or building. The temple curtain was torn when Jesus died. God’s presence was no longer restricted to a sacred location.

The people of God became the dwelling place of God.

That means worship cannot be confined to Sunday morning. It cannot be confined to a church building. It cannot be confined to pastors, missionaries, or professional ministry.

We carry the presence of Christ into our offices, farms, factories, classrooms, government ministries, shops, businesses, hospitals, construction sites, and marketplaces.

Our bodies are temples.
Our lives are sacrifices.
Our mission is priestly.

And our workplaces are not interruptions to our ministry. They are part of our ministry.

Then Apostle Nyamekye made this statement: The church in Africa is focused on itself and not on the mission. That is a sobering challenge.

But perhaps it is also an invitation. Africa is not simply experiencing a demographic shift in Christianity. Africa has an opportunity to demonstrate a new expression of what it means to be the church. The African church has the opportunity to move beyond measuring success primarily by what happens inside church buildings and begin measuring kingdom impact by what happens through believers in every sphere of society.

Apostle Nyamekye gave us two statements that captured the challenge:

“Light has no value unless it is brought into darkness.”

And:

“If Jesus is not Lord of all, then He is not Lord at all.”

Those words are particularly relevant to the workplace.

If Jesus is Lord of all, then He is Lord of our businesses. He is Lord of our finances. He is Lord of our leadership. He is Lord of our employees. He is Lord of our government service. He is Lord of our classrooms. He is Lord of our factories and farms. He is Lord of the decisions we make when no one is watching. And He is Lord of Monday just as surely as He is Lord of Sunday.

Perhaps this is why the Lausanne Workplace Forum in Ghana mattered so much. The question before us is bigger than how to help Christians bring their faith into the workplace.

The question is: What might happen if the African church truly embraced its calling to disciple the nations through the workplace?

What if pastors began asking every member of their congregation: “What is God doing in your workplace?” and “How are you joining Him?”

What if business leaders understood their businesses not simply as sources of income, but as places where they could create jobs, steward God’s creation, practice justice, develop people, serve communities, and make disciples? What if teachers saw their classrooms as mission fields? What if government officials understood public service as a calling from God? What if every believer understood that their Monday morning workplace is not a departure from their Christian life—but an expression of it?

Africa is experiencing extraordinary growth in Christianity. But growth in numbers is not the same as kingdom transformation.

The next great question is not simply, How many Christians are in Africa? It is: What will those Christians do with their faith?

The answer may determine the future of the continent—and perhaps the future of the global church.

The Lausanne Workplace Forum reminded us that the workplace is not merely where Christians go to work. It is where the church goes to work.

And if the center of gravity of Christianity is indeed shifting to Africa, then perhaps God is positioning the African church not merely to receive the gospel—but to carry the gospel into every sphere of life.

The light has been given. Now it must be carried into the darkness.

And the workplace is waiting.

 

This post was first published on the Discipling Marketplace Leaders Blog and is reposted here with kind permission from the author. Read more from Renita in blogs on BAM and the Church and download the BAM and the Church Report below.

 

 

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