by Geoff Robson
For many Christians, the workplace is both the main point of regular contact with the unchurched world, and one of the hardest places in which to share the gospel.
But while it hasn’t all been easy, a small group of Christians at the Sydney head office of Westpac Bank have organised three successful evangelistic events in just over a year, having a major impact on their workplace.
Garbo Chan and Nanette Flores, who work in Westpac’s IT department, are two of the five members of a prayer group that has met regularly for over two years. Last year, they began looking for ways to share their faith at work. “We had witnessed in our own relationships, but as a group we hadn’t done anything,” Garbo says.
The group has now staged three evangelistic meetings, the most recent of which has seen a regular Bible study group for enquirers formed.
Their first event was a dialogue meeting in March last year on the topic ‘Where was God on September 11?’ with 12 non-Christians present. Ten guests came to a women’s dialogue meeting organised later in the year, and this Easter 24 non-Christians and eight Christians attended a talk by Tim Bowden, full-time evangelist with Evangelism Ministries, on ‘The most significant event in history’.
With nearly half of the 70 people from their department attending the last event, the initiative is clearly having an impact. But Nanette says taking the initial step beyond the prayer group was very hard. “I was afraid of how people would react, especially after they found out I was a Christian,” she says. “Some people did take note of what I was doing, but in a positive sense. They’re not there to attack me or find flaws in what I’m doing, but they are actually concerned to find what makes me a Christian.”
Following the most recent meeting, an invitation was extended to anyone wanting to find out more. Three people signed on for the five-week Simply Christianity course, and that group has continued in a weekly Bible study looking at Mark’s Gospel. The members of the group are a nominal Muslim, a Macedonian Orthodox, and an ‘atheist with a Buddhist background’. Nanette says it has been encouraging to see God at work in the lives of people from such diverse backgrounds. “I know God can do that, but to see these people having faces and names, and seeing them respond to the invitation to investigate Christianity, is overwhelming.”
Organising public events has made the members of the group much more ‘visible’ as Christians in the workplace, a challenge that Garbo Chan says has helped her personally. In fact her first tip for anyone wanting to do workplace evangelism is personal godliness as the crucial starting point.
“Before anything else, a Christian’s life at work has to be above reproach, because that’s the first thing non-Christians look at. We can evangelise all we like, but if we are a bad worker or lazy, that’s the message other people will get. So above all else, try to be as godly as possible at work.”
She also says seeing God at work among her colleagues has encouraged her to do more evangelism in all areas of life.
“Every event we’ve had is a miracle from God, because it’s not a normal response to have so many non-Christians turn up. Remembering that everything is possible with God makes us more bold, and it helps us to trust God more and non underestimate him.”
Workplace evangelism at Westpac has been more than simply organising meetings. Every person to attend an event was personally invited by someone with whom they had a significant relationship, and this personal base has been crucial to the success of the events.
But both women agree that the final, and most important step in their efforts has been prayer – both for the members of the group, and for gospel opportunities. “God’s the one who does the work,” Garbo says. “It’s not up to us; it’s up to God. We just provide the opportunity.”
