If you are working a “secular” job, you are not second class in God’s Kingdom. You are no less called or gifted than a pastor or a missionary. Your ministry is to represent Jesus in your own sphere of influence and to provide financial support that enables others to do the work God equips them to do.
So if God has wired you to be good at what you do—whether business or art, manufacturing or farming, music or medicine, or anything that allows you to freely help the needy and further the cause of Christ—rejoice! This is a great use of your life. No matter who you are, God has given you your physical and mental and spiritual gifts to provide you a platform from which to draw attention to Him.
Leaving your job for “full-time ministry” may not be a step up for the Kingdom of God but a step down. God may have given you the ability, right where you are, to help churches and missionaries reach those God has called them to, as well as the ability to reach others in your own unique sphere of ministry.
Whether you are a grocery clerk, an assembly line worker, a salesperson, a nurse, a flight attendant, a stay-at-home mom, or a professional athlete, or whether you have a primary ministry of prayer or encouraging people, God has given you a unique platform. In all likelihood, no pastor or missionary will reach your neighbors, teachers, coworkers, coaches, or teammates. We each have our own God-given mission fields to serve every day. So use your platform for the glory of God, and then give generously to the causes of evangelism, justice, and mercy that are close to His heart.
As a teenager, Art DeMoss loved gambling, and he eventually ended up in Las Vegas with the goal of getting rich. He opened a couple of betting rooms, handling upwards of $10,000 daily. “I was searching for something,” he said, “and I never realized at the time what I was really searching for.” Though he was remarkably successful, he had no peace or happiness.
One night Art attended an evangelistic meeting, where he heard the gospel. Jesus saved him, and he surrendered his life to the Lord. An amazing transformation took place in his heart: money was dethroned.
Knowing he needed a new profession, Art and his wife Nancy moved to Philadelphia and founded National Liberty insurance company. Their business grew quickly, but Art kept his eyes on his main purpose: to glorify God and advance God’s Kingdom.
Art said to his pastor, “I’m going to give my life to full-time Christian service.”
The pastor responded, “Are you going to become a missionary?”
“Oh, no,” Art said. “We have enough missionaries. . . . We need people who will make a huge amount of money to support missionaries.”
Over the years, Art and Nancy used their successful business to share their love for Jesus with other professionals. Art told his story to nearly everyone who met with him in his office. He challenged others, “Don’t spend your life; invest it!”
Art joined the board of directors for Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru), where his significant financial investments enabled millions around the world to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. In 1979, Art died suddenly at the age of fifty-three. A plaque underneath his portrait at Cru’s headquarters says, “His life was dedicated to Christ and his service.”
Without exception, those who knew Art DeMoss, including his daughter Nancy Leigh, testify that he was a man whose passion for Jesus and the gospel was matched only by his passion for giving. We can learn much from the fact that these passions were ultimately indistinguishable from each other.
After Art’s death, the Arthur S. DeMoss foundation was created, which quietly funds evangelistic work, including publishing the widely distributed Power for Living evangelistic booklet.
God doesn’t just call His people to the far reaches of the Earth for His Kingdom. He also equips many servants to support and supply workers and to meanwhile represent Him in their own territory right where they live and work. Whatever He has called you to do, do it with your whole heart, giving generously out of the overflow He’s entrusted to you.
May each of us live daily in such a way as to look forward to hearing the Lord say to us, when we meet Him face to face, “Well done, you good and faithful servant! . . . You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!” (Matthew 25:21, GNT).
