No matter one’s vocation, Christians who work in non-ministry settings can have an eternal impact in their workplaces. As relationships between coworkers are built, natural opportunities can arise for believers to share the gospel with others they spend so much time with on a weekly basis.
This is why the Marketplace Multipliers (MM) movement exists within The Wesleyan Church — to help equip Christians to “integrate their faith and influence their workplace by making disciples and unleashing the kingdom of God wherever they are.” The need is there to equip men and women who serve in the marketplace so they can Unleash a Kingdom Force in their spheres of influence.
MM officially launched on April 17, 2021, with an hour-long virtual webinar and included around 100 participants from a variety of workplaces and geographical locations.
“What a humbling experience it was to facilitate the live launch event of Marketplace Multipliers,” said Sharon Furbur, vice president learning and organizational development in banking. Furbur also serves as education and development specialist with the MM strategic team. “I felt God’s presence and deep joy as the stories were shared from the Marketplace Multipliers we featured. Work is worship, which was stated in the introductory video. How true! We have one life and to be good stewards means to have God front and center in all aspects of our lives which includes our workplace. We have one life and what an opportunity to be used by God to help him leave no one behind. However, we first need to invest in them, be accountable to love them and be responsive when we hear God’s voice to share his Word. Reading and knowing God’s word is not enough. We need to also demonstrate action.”
Yaremi Alicea, from Carmel, Indiana, helped launch MM. Alicea, a global marketing director for a research company, said she joined the team to “equip and empower the laity to integrate their faith in the marketplace.” Part of her role with MM has also included launching the movement in the Ibero-America region to help in Unleashing a Kingdom Force there.
“We are called and anointed to advance God’s kingdom,” said Alicea.
Subsequently, on April 24, the Ibero-America region hosted another MM event for local church pastors and leaders. More than two hundred participants attended.
Rev. Hector Perez, who pastors at a local church in Bello, Colombia, hosted the Ibero-America event. Perez has served 20 years as national superintendent of The Wesleyan Church of Colombia and four years as director of The Wesleyan Church in Latin America.
Perez said the Marketplace Multipliers initiative is important for Ibero-America “because in our institutional development, evangelism is a fundamental part of fulfilling the mission and, within the work strategy, we identify with the Marketplace Multipliers model. Reaching people in our work area is the key to the expansion of the kingdom, so that the church does not focus on the temple but exercises its call outside the four walls.”
Carrie Whitcher, team strategy leader for the MM movement across the U.S. and a chief quality officer in the healthcare field, said, “God is at work where we are at work. This means that God is working right where we are working in our vocations every day. In simplest terms, he is with us in our vocation, working as we work in others.”
A local church is also joining efforts to equip those in the marketplace to share their faith and build disciples.
Kentwood Community Church (KCC) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is hosting the Next Level Leaders Conference on September 18, 2021, a conference open to “everyone: lay, clergy, marketplace ministers, businesspeople, community leaders, volunteers and anyone who want to learn and grow.”
Rev. Debbye Turner Bell, leadership development pastor at KCC, is coordinating the conference and is hopeful for how the event (offered virtually and in person) will encourage leaders to live out their faith in their workspace.
“KCC wants to provide a place and experience that will give tools for leaders in ministry to navigate the ever-changing and challenging times in which we now live,” said Turner Bell. “[We will] provide encouragement and inspiration to gird leaders spiritually and emotionally and provide insight in what God is doing in his kingdom in this present age.”
Rev. Mick Veach, lead pastor of KCC, believe leaders within The Wesleyan Church will be encouraged as they attend this one-day conference.
“We believe that this conference will equip, inspire and refresh leaders in The Wesleyan Church for the next season of ministry,” said Veach. “The road ahead of us is not the road behind us; thus, it is essential that we come together to learn how we can better lead in a complex society. The conference speakers and teachers are a true mosaic. It will provide an opportunity for leaders of various ethnic backgrounds to receive the necessary ‘tools for their toolbox.’”
“We hope to do our part in empowering leaders to operate in their calling with confidence and effectiveness,” said Turner Bell. “We seek to build up believers so that we all can come to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13, paraphrased).”
To watch the April 17 Marketplace Multipliers webinar, click here.
To watch the April 24 Ibero-America Marketplace Multipliers webinar, click here.
For more information about the September 18 Next Level Leaders Conference, click here.
