Put on an outreach event at work

"One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor..." - Proverbs 12:26 - NIV

Carol felt the cool rush of the air conditioning as she entered the Telstra building as usual on Monday morning.

As she caught the elevator to the 22nd floor, she noticed a small poster on the panel next to her. It was an invitation to a talk on connecting with God, to be held on level 5 today. The fact that a free lunch was included sealed the deal. “Why not?”, she thought as she made up her mind to go along. Carol heard the gospel clearly that day at Telstra. She asked questions after the talk and was keen to read a book on the historicity of Christianity.

Five benefits of an outreach event at work

There are at least five benefits in putting on an outreach event at your workplace:

1. It’s in a familiar environment for guests; it’s on their turf.
2. Invited guests are more likely to know others.
3. It’s time-efficient (i.e. one hour at lunchtime).
4. It’s easy to get to—people will only need to walk down the corridor or catch the elevator.
5. Follow-up events are similarly convenient to attend.

Compare this to trying to invite a work colleague to a church-based outreach event. Your church might be a long way from where they live, so attending the event might require hours of their time, plus you’re asking them to come onto unfamiliar turf.

What to put on

The options for workplace outreach events are many and varied. Here are three examples of what I’ve found has worked well:

1. A large, talk-based event: Form a committee of like-minded Christians. Find a good outside speaker with a catchy topic. Book a room and organize food. Pray, advertise, invite, follow-up. The week before Easter is a good time to put something on.
2. A multimedia event: Invite friends from work to watch The Christ Files* documentary on the historicity of Christianity. It’s a really well-produced presentation with four 26-minute sessions. Finish each session with a time for discussion.
3. A boutique event: Invite a few friends to lunch to share with them what you enjoy about being a Christian. Start by explaining briefly what a Christian is.
4. An online video conference event: This has the advantage that people in other branch offices or people working from home can join in.

It’s really worth it

Putting on an outreach event at work requires courage and a little planning, but experience has shown that this is one of the most effective ways of getting people to consider the Christian message.

Question: What are the advantages of putting on an outreach event at work?

Action: Is it time to put on an outreach event at your workplace? Diarize some time to start planning. to

To find out more about workplace ministries and how to get started talking about Jesus where you work contact our team at City Bible Forum