5 Ways Pastors Can Impact the Businesses of Church Members

Editors Note: This is part 1 of a series about the impact of the church in the marketplace.

Perhaps your church is blessed to have business leaders attend your services. You are gifted to lead business leaders to the kingdom of God. But do you know how to help their businesses?

Bringing the Lord into a business is not much different than bringing Him into a home. We need to be attentive to the individual first. When a leader is radically saved, his impact at home and work should show the first display of fruit.

I’ve met business owners who were able to work out their salvation at home but not in the workplace. The connection between the workplace and the kingdom was never really established. In my experience, the church as a whole is weak in teaching about the Holy Spirit within the marketplace.

Church leaders have a critical role in the establishment of the kingdom of God in the marketplace.

I encourage you to read this story about my friend Ted Robertson who owns the highly successful Robertson Tire chain in Oklahoma. This is a good starting point for understanding how a business owner can impact as many or more souls than a local pastor. I will share other related stories throughout this week.

(Do you have a story to share about a local business owner? Please send me an email: [email protected].)

Today, I simply want to share a few first steps leaders should be making to engage business owners:

1. Visit the business. Get to know the business and the work. Ask God for spiritual understanding about the inner workings of the business. While in the business, pray for favor on behalf of the business. Just as with home visits, pray that the Holy Spirit will be “welcome in this place.”

2. Don’t ask for money. Leave this to the Lord. I’ve spoken with MANY business owners who feel the church is only interested in their money. Along the way, someone has communicated that the role of a business leader is to fund church capital projects. Love the leader and his business.

3. Engage the leader. Business leaders are frequently very good team leaders. Ask the leader to serve in an area in which you need a strong team leader. Listen to their ideas. Good business leaders have a good eye for growth opportunities.

4. Accept the challenge. Business leaders will likely challenge areas of observed weakness. They will tell you about your parking lot, bathrooms or child care problems. Business owners will see weaknesses and make suggestions. I’ve never been challenged by a business leader on spiritual matters.

5. Lead the leader to walk in the Spirit. Perhaps this is the most difficult challenge in leading business leaders. Our job is to teach leaders to walk by faith and not focus upon things seen. The practical side of a business leader can be quite fleshly. Teach and model.

A Spirit-led business can change the marketplace. When we invite the Holy Spirit into a business, we can expect to see and hear by the inspiration of God. The vision of the business will likely be altered to come into alignment with God’s purpose for the business.

How could your local community be impacted by Spirit-led business owners?

Does your platform reach business owners?

Today’s Scripture

“The first came, saying, ‘Master, your pound has made ten pounds more.’ He said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in very little, take authority over ten cities.’ The second came, saying, ‘Master, your pound has made five pounds more.’ He said in like manner to him, ‘You, take authority over five cities.'” (Luke 19:16-19).

Some companies will close on Black Friday and promote #optoutside.

Interesting idea. I hope outside is not defined as stuck in traffic.

I’m noodling this hashtag: #optoutside

(By the way, the word hashtag is now listed in the Oxford Dictionary. Random House Dictionary added the word around 2005.)

Platform Tip No. 15 

You have probably experienced the “ceiling of complexity.”

This is the phrase that describes your feeling that growth has ceased and no matter what you do, you can’t get past the overhanging ceiling. Busting ceilings causes headaches!

If the ceiling of complexity is a malaise you are too familiar with, your platform is probably stale. Perhaps you haven’t been clear with your message. It’s more likely, however, that you just don’t show up in enough places, enough times.

A platform is where you show up day after day after day.

I know of leaders who develop a new platform and show up for a couple weeks and quit because they are “too busy.”

Today, they have a headache.