Evangelism in workplace?

ORLANDO, Fla. — When a co-worker told bus supervisor Ray Lemon that he was ready to give his life to Jesus, Lemon says he suddenly felt "a clarity of purpose."

An informal, low-key relationship on the job between the man and Lemon, an adherent to his church's new form of evangelism, had led to a life-changing transformation.

For those who prefer their religion on the weekends — or not at all — the words "workplace evangelism" evoke chilling images: being cornered in cubicles by a pushy colleague, or finding unwanted tracts left in mailboxes or slipped under coffee cups.

Relax, says Jim Butler, the newly installed worklife pastor at Discovery Church in Orlando, Fla.

"Our motive isn't evangelistic, but to be models and influencers," says Butler, 50, head of the ministry called DiscoveryWork. "What could be a better place to model than in the realities and challenges of the workplace?"

His goal, he says, "is not to add more people to the church, but to bring a greater degree of adventure, understanding and fulfillment to the workplace."

Butler says the notion for such a role came to him more than a year ago, when he asked himself, "Do we always live our Christian principles as we earn our daily bread?"

Discovery, one of central Florida's most innovative megachurches, is launching a campaign to bring Christianity to the area's workplaces, beginning with Butler's appointment. It is the latest example of a national movement, which includes influential congregations such as Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Southern California.

"It is gaining momentum," says Doug Spada, founder of Atlanta-based His Church at Work, which is consulting with Discovery and Saddleback. "And it's not about people taking a Bible tract to work and putting it on people's desks.

"Churches are starting to recognize that work is where their people face the majority of their challenges in life," he says. "In essence, their greatest influence is when the church scatters out there into the work world, where they spend most of their time."

Advocates say the movement, locally and nationally, has two purposes: First, believing Christians should use their faith to survive in a stressful, competitive workplace, and thus to retain their humanity. And second, they should demonstrate that faith, to reach out to others as evangelists.

"It's more for the lives of their people, but what flows out of that is a holistic witness to the community," Spada says.

The concept was intriguing enough to bring more than 200 church members — many young or in early middle age — to a recent gathering at Discovery's auditorium.