Reflections
MARKETPLACE/MINISTRY IN DAILY LIFE FOUNDATIONS
By Pete Hammond
InterVarsity’s Marketplace/Ministry-In-Daily-Life team concentrates on a few central themes that are foundational to the calling and work of all of God’s people. We see these areas needing our attention in order to recover ministry for all believers, develop the kingdom of God in the marketplace, equip the church-in-the-world, and empower all the people of God as stewards of creation. These basic truths form the basis for our work. Out of this set of convictions we design our products, programming and services.
We believe that the Scriptures invite all God’s people to study, understand and live in response to these basic foundational truths.
God
- God’s desire is to be present in all dimensions of creation and receive worship from it. (Exodus 20:2-6, Colossians 3:17, James 1:27, John 4:23-24, Revelation 1:6)
- Jesus Christ is Lord over all, provider of salvation, and the model of servanthood to all. (John 5:17, 10:27-30, Colossians 1:15-20)
- God’s Holy Spirit equips all believers for service, witness, and righteousness in every area of life. (John 16:7-15, Ephesians 4:11-16)
People
- Every person is created in the image and likeness of God, and has eternal value, dignity and capacity for good. We are called to affirm and defend the significance of one another’s gender, ethnicity, temperament, gifting, age, and nationality. (Genesis 1:26-30, Galatians 3:26-29, 1st Peter 2:9-10)
- Our heroes and heroines come from everyday people of Scripture, as they discover their lost condition, receive God’s love, and begin their journey back to functioning "in the image and likeness of God," who is their creator. (Hebrews 11:1-12:1, 13:7-8)
- God calls every believer to serve Jesus Christ in all spheres of life— personal, family, community and work. (Isaiah 61:6, Matthew 22:37-40, 25:31-46, 1st Peter 2:9-12)
- We are be workers or stewards of all the resources available to us, including our lives, jobs, relationships, money and possessions, and choices, as we negotiate the potential for good or evil in the hands of sinners like us. (Genesis 9:1-7, Isaiah 65:21-23, Matthew 5:13-16)
World
- The earth is the Lord’s and should be managed well, in order to honor God and serve all people. (Genesis 1:26-30, Deuteronomy 10:14-22, Psalm 24:1-2, 1st John 3:17)
- We work in the context of the pervasive and powerful nature of evil, where sin impacts every person and all systems in creation. (Habakkuk 1:2-4, Mark 7:20-23, Romans 7:14-25, 1st Peter 5:7-11)
- The church is the body of Christ on earth, and, as Christ’s bride, is called to serve God, in both its gathered (ecclesia) and scattered (diaspora) contexts. (1st Corinthians 12:12-31, 1st Peter 1:1-2, 2:9-21)
- The family is designed by God as the foundational unit of life and society, and it is a dimension of our witness. (Genesis 2:18-25, Exodus 20:12)
- Every believer is a witness to the good news of the Gospel in both word and deed, everywhere, all the time. (Luke 24:46-49, Acts 1:8, Titus 3:1, 7-8)
We seek to continually learn from the Scriptures and other followers of Jesus in these areas while we serve others, witness to Christ’s saving work, and develop the ". . . Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven."
There are two outstanding resources among the hundreds of books in the field of marketplace/ministry-in-daily-life concerns. The first is The Word In Life Study Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993, 1996, 1998. The second is The Complete Book of Everyday Christianity, Robert Banks and Paul Stevens, editors, InterVarsity Press, 1997. Though these books are currently out of print, efforts are underway for each to be re-published. Meanwhile, content for each may be found by clicking on the book title in the left navigation bar.
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