Sharing the Treasure: Making the Most of Every Opportunity

Ministry isn’t limited to events we schedule on a calendar or to specific settings designated for outreach. Rather, every area of life is an occasion to demonstrate and communicate that we are people saved by grace and that this grace is offered to all.

Paul addressed this when he instructed the Colossian believers to see every situation as an opportunity to reflect Christ and make Him known:

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6 NIV)

Making the most of every opportunity involves embracing a mindset that views all of life as an environment for ministry. It entails seeing all we do as means through which we can live out and proclaim the gospel—an extension of the command given in the previous chapter: “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17 NIV)

Not only are all aspects of life fields for ministry, all Christians are called to seek to be used by God in the situations and settings in which He places them. The command to make the most of every opportunity is addressed not only to church leaders but to all “the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ” in Colossae (Colossians 1:2), and Paul gives examples of doing everything in the name of Jesus that apply specifically to husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves. Every believer—not only the “professional Christians”—are to be lights for the gospel.

Though Paul’s letter doesn’t include specific instructions for entrepreneurs, these principles clearly apply to those in business. Followers of Jesus who are using their skills to build and manage companies are among those who are charged with acting wisely and speaking graciously, allowing their lives and practices to draw others to the hope of Christ. Some do this in places where they have lived for decades, seeking to serve and influence their neighborhoods not only for a profit but for the sake of the gospel. And others take their skills to communities that have yet to be reached with the good news with the goal of bringing tangible blessing while seeing the message of Jesus transform hearts.

I rejoice that God is raising up believers He has gifted with an aptitude for entrepreneurship to serve Him around the world. He’s giving many a vision to engage in business endeavors in ways that benefit their communities while opening opportunities to share the eternal hope that drives them. Often, they are able to be lights for the gospel in communities where few, if any, know Jesus.

These men and women engage in business not merely as a means to enter least-reached communities but as a medium through which they can meet needs and demonstrate godly character. Their professional lives aren’t peripheral to their ministry. Their business dealings are the opportunities through which they can demonstrate the grace that has been given to them.

In order to fulfill the task of making disciples of all people groups, the Church needs businesspeople who can interact with the least-reached in settings that those in vocational ministry cannot access. As they pursue business endeavors, they enable the Body of Christ to make the most of every opportunity to live out the gospel.

Dr. Steve Coffey, Director of Christar U.S., began work with Christar in 1989. He and his wife, Beth, initially served among North African immigrants in France. In 2001, they returned to the U.S. for Steve to lead the Christar Church Planting Division. In 2005 he became Director of Christar. Before serving with Christar, the Coffeys worked for a year in a humanitarian project in the Red Sea hills of Sudan among the Beja people. Dr. Coffey’s education includes an undergraduate degree in history education from Liberty University, a Master of Divinity from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Regent University. The Coffeys have three children and four grandchildren.

Each month Steve shares insights on how God is at work among the least-reached through Christar and its partners. Check out his Sharing the Treasure series.