The Marketplace Ministry Playbook

How to let your faith and business grow together to make a greater impact.

Introduction 

For most people, ministry and the marketplace are separate domains that should, at most, have a symbiotic relationship. But you are not most people. You’re a faith-driven entrepreneur or business leader. If you’re reading this resource, it’s because you know there is another way. Leading your business with a ministry mission and culture doesn’t require a complete rebuild of your business model. In this series of tools, we’ll show you how you can add new components to what you’re already doing and bring marketplace ministry into sharper focus through the work of your organization. 

But first, we want to remind you that this is no ordinary task list. It is not about checking boxes. It is about truly surrendering your heart and plans for your business to the Lord. We are rooting for you, praying for you, and can’t wait to hear how God works in your business! 

To get started, we’ll build a framework around something you’re probably already doing yourself – daily covering your business in prayer. 

Part One: Build a Prayer Team 

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” ~ I Thessalonians 5:16-18 

Step 1: Lead the Culture Yourself 

Start by building the discipline of daily prayer yourself. The impact of your prayer life will be the catalyst for a prayer culture to spread through the rest of your organization. Ask God to help you build the habit. Start small and be consistent. Set aside five minutes each morning and just praise God with your heart and ask Him to lead you throughout the day. Give your problems and concerns to Him and thank him for the opportunities that come with a new day. The power of prayer in your business will grow from here. 

Step 2: Invite a Core Team 

Next you need to bring others onto the team. Identify two or three people that love and care for you and your business. As them if they would be willing to join your prayer team. In this process ask for some type of commitment... “Will you commit to covering me and my business in prayer each morning?” If you aren’t sure who to ask, start with your pastor and your spouse. Also... ask the Lord, “Who should I ask to join this team?” The Lord will put names in your heart and in your path. 

Step 3: Write a Prayer Guide 

Prayer requires faith, and faith needs a target. Put together a list of things you’d like covered in prayer and be as specific as possible. Specific prayers allow you to more easily point to outcomes that you can glorify God for! Here are a few ideas that range in level of detail. 

Ask God for: 

• His wisdom over the leadership team and every employee 

• Good ideas! You need good ideas to solve problems and innovate. The Creator of the universe is full of these! 

• Favor with specific deals or sales opportunities 

• Guidance with specific problems your business is facing 

• Discernment to help specific people in your company grow 

• Protection and blessing over the end-to-end ecosystem of your business (suppliers, partners, customers etc.) 

Share this list with your prayer team and ask God to bless them as they cover your business. 

Step 4: Launch Regular Email Updates 

As your prayer team begins to take shape, you’ll want to set up a cadence for communicating with them about current prayer needs. Keep this simple. It could be an email newsletter or a text thread. The key is consistency. 

Set a reminder on your calendar to do this every Monday morning. Use the same template each week but update it to reflect new opportunities and challenges. 

Step 5: Host Quarterly Events 

There is something special about getting a group that is on mission into the same room together to enjoy some time in fellowship. As with each of these steps, start small. Plan a simple dinner in your office with the prayer team, their families, and anyone in the company that shares your faith. 

Create a simple plan for these gatherings and just ask God for help here too! Here are a few ideas for you! 

• Serve dinner. People love free food and it doesn’t have to be extravagant. 

• Play a game. Look up some ice-breaker games on the Internet or host a small tournament for a game like cornhole! 

• Have some time of worship. Communicate that this is a time to thank God for all He has done. Live music is great, but even a portable speaker can set an environment of worship. 

• Lead a time of prayer. Pray for your prayer team and honor them for the special way that they are investing in your company and your employees. 

• Consider inviting someone to share a short thought that will inspire and encourage your team. If you can’t have a speaker come in, find a short video that could inspire your team. 

• Say thank you to the team and to the Lord for all that they are doing! 

Get together with your core team and just put enough events on the calendar for an entire year. A word of warning though: the enemy will try to stop you from doing these meetings. Something will come up and you’ll be tempted to cancel it. Try your hardest to make these events an unshakeable priority. 

With just a few simple resources and a small team, you can galvanize prayer as a foundation for your business. This one step will amplify the impact of your business on the world around you and may even begin to reflect a positive impact on your bottom line. The best part: this is just the beginning. 

Coming Soon: Step Two – Establish a Giving Model