IBAM EP78: Why God Never Intended a Divide Between Faith, Work, and Mission

“Your work is your ministry when you surrender it to God.”

— Steve Adams | IBAM

STOP THE DIVIDE: The Biblical Truth About Faith, Work, and the “First Commission”

For many Christians, there’s an unspoken divide shaping everyday life:

Church work feels sacred.
Our jobs and businesses feel secular.

Most people would never say it out loud—but the belief shows up in how we value our time, our work, and even ourselves. And quietly, it drains meaning from the place where we spend most of our lives: our work.

This sacred–secular divide isn’t just an American issue. It’s global. I’ve seen it across cultures, churches, and continents. And while it’s rarely intentional, it has real consequences—especially for believers who want to live fully aligned with God’s purposes.

The belief that limits faith in everyday life

Many Christians see work primarily through instrumental value:

“I work so I can give to the church.”
“I work so I can support missionaries.”
“I work so I can share my faith at work occasionally.”

All of those are good things. But they only tell part of the story.

When work is valued only for what it enables, most of the week can start to feel spiritually secondary—because the reality is that only a small percentage of our time is spent directly giving or evangelizing. The rest is spent doing the work itself.

That raises an important question:

Does your work have intrinsic value to God—or only what it produces?

The overlooked truth: God intrinsically values work

The Bible gives a clear answer, starting not in Matthew 28, but much earlier—in Genesis 1.

Before the Great Commission, there is what I call the First Commission.

In Genesis 1:26–28, God creates humanity in His image and gives an assignment:
to steward, govern, cultivate, and develop the world He created.

This calling existed before the fall.

That means work was not introduced as a punishment. Work itself is not cursed. The world is broken because of sin, which makes work harder, more frustrating, and often exhausting—but the dignity and purpose of work remain.

Your work is not an interruption of spiritual life.
It is one of the primary places spiritual life is lived.

Integrating faith and work instead of separating them

When believers internalize this truth, something powerful shifts:

Faith and work are integrated, not compartmentalized
Excellence becomes an act of worship
Integrity becomes a form of witness
Even difficult seasons of work gain meaning and purpose

Colossians 3 captures this posture clearly:
“Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.”

That doesn’t mean you have to love every job or every task. It means that where God has placed you—whether for a season or a lifetime—your work matters to Him, and how you do it matters.

Why business becomes a powerful mission platform

At IBAM (International Business as Mission), we see this lived out globally.

Our primary focus is equipping indigenous believers—often in environments marked by poverty, persecution, or unstable systems. Over time, we’ve learned something profound:

Business is an international language.

When believers are equipped to build real, sustainable businesses:

Their communities often grant them credibility and trust
Economic dignity is restored
A platform for discipleship naturally emerges

We are not “business as visa.”
We are business as mission.

By integrating faith and work, believers are able to live out the gospel consistently—day in and day out—right where God has placed them.

The invitation: Be part of the movement

The sacred–secular divide limits both personal faith and global impact. When that divide is removed, work becomes worship, and business becomes a vehicle for discipleship and transformation.

If this vision resonates with you, we invite you to be part of the IBAM movement.

Your generosity helps equip believers around the world to: