Yes, you should.
An office Bible study is one of the best things you can do for your business and for your employees. No doubt, blessings will come as you sanctify your business for the Lord. The Word of God can transform the lives of your employees. Not only do you provide a livelihood for this present life, but you also help prepare people for life in eternity.
Why have Bible studies in the office?
Telling people about the Gospel is the Great Commission that every Christian should strive to do. Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, “Go and make disciples of every nation.”
That’s a very specific and empathic command for every Christian across the ages. If Jesus commands it, then as Christians we should whole-heartedly obey.
A soul is the most valuable thing in the world. It’s more valuable than the whole world. Matthew 16:26 says,” What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
You have a captive audience already for the Gospel. You don’t have to go far. They are your employees. Imagine one day they will be thanking you in heaven for being instrumental in how they came to know Jesus.
Even if no one gets to be saved in your Bible study you will still have your heavenly reward by obeying Jesus.
God owns your business, not you. We’re just stewards of whatever God gave us in this life. For others it can be their talents, some their wisdom, others have the gift of gab, while you have your business. He’s going to ask what you did with it someday.
There is nothing wrong with it. It’s not illegal. It’s perfectly within your rights as a business owner to have Bible studies in your company. While some secular companies throw office parties, yours does BIble studies.
How to properly do Bible studies in the office
1. Make it clear before hiring employees that Bible studies are held in your company.
This will allow potential hires to know what they are getting into by joining your company. Some people may be particular about religious activities. Others try to avoid it like the plague. In this age of the woke culture, it is better to be very transparent about the culture in your company.
Giving a heads up to new employees about the BIble studies and other Christian activities in your company will help set the expectations and bar for behavior. They will right away know what types of behavior and language are prohibited at work.
You don’t have to worry about complaints later about your Bible study and other Christian activities. Since these were explained to employees before they were hired, they have already accepted the culture and practices of your business.
2. Entrench Bible studies as soon as you start your company. It is much easier to build a company while just starting. There are fewer moving parts. The schedule is easier to manage. Operations are simpler. Disruption is practically nil.
Fewer employees mean there are fewer personalities to manage. The easier it is to start your BIble study. New hires who will later join the company will find themselves surrounded by Christians, hopefully. The good influence will overwhelm the bad influence.
Formalize the Bible study by including it in the company manual. This makes it part of your official rules and regulations. Any employee, visitor, or even government regulator can review your company document and find it there.
Institutionalizing Bible studies early on will reinforce the Christian culture and behavior in your company. It’s very hard to build a positive culture when the company has already grown to several people. It is even harder to try to shift the culture when it is already entrenched in the employees’ behavior.
3. Mix up the speakers from your employees, from your church, and other Christian organizations. This will lessen the burden of preparations for your employee who double as a Bible study speaker, especially during busy times.
Having speakers from outside the company will also limit gossips and office politics that turn some of these activities into rumor mills. A speaker from outside can’t be accused of targetting any particular employee especially since the Scriptures sting sometimes.
Outside speakers can share fresh perspectives other than those shared within the company. They can keep things interesting and exciting among the employees. Some people may be wary to share their problems with officemates. A trusted outsider can offer valuable insights during one-on-one counseling after the BIble study.
Having a pastor or church volunteer over to the company will help introduce new believers to the greater realm of the kingdom. These baby Christians can more natural transition from the office to a local church.
Local churches are equipped to provide an environment and relationship where new believers can grow into mature Christians. Something that an office cannot do.
Opening your company Bible studies to outside speakers will expand your network of Christian organizations. These organizations can provide counsel and insight for office-based ministries. They can be partner organizations for your social investment and volunteerism projects.
4. Be creative with the Bible study program. It doesn’t have to follow a rigid set of activities. You can mix and spices it up to encourage discussions, and create bonds between employees.
Instead of calling it a Bible study, you can call it a life group. You won’t only be talking about office life, other issues that play a leading role in the world views of employees should also be handled. Parenthood, marital issues, friendships, addictions, abuse and temptations are just some of the issues that your employees could be needing help with.
Everyone just relaxes when there is food around. Invisible force fields just go down. This will help bring a less churchy feel to your Bible studies. Something that new attendees will be relieved to find out. Free snacks will also help attract the foodies in your company. The main dish, of course, is the spiritual food.
Some of your Christian employees may be gifted singers or the guest pastor can bring his worship team’s best singer and a guitarist. New believers will learn how to worship which will help them in their personal prayer time and for their transition to a local church.
A speaker isn’t needed all the time during group Bible studies. The Internet offers a lot of free resources for Christians. Play a video clip then start the discussion right after. People can give their opinion about the video’s topic or ask questions.
5. Sustain the Bible study. This is a long-term commitment which will mean that you sustain it with your company resources. Bible studies often fizzle out when the excitement and interest have all faded. To avoid this, you as the company owner should support it.
Why do employees lose interest in Bible studies? One of the main reason is that the owners rarely attends. That’s like an army missing its commander during battle. You have to be there as the owner each time as long as it is within your means to be present. It shows your integrity and that you walk the talk. Employees will see that if the Bible study is important enough for their boss to attend then they too should be there as well.
You can sponsor the snacks either from your own pocket or set a company budget for it. Officially reserve a certain area for Bible studies on a fixed schedule. Video and audio equipment should also be held in reserve. This will make it much easier for people to get accustomed to the Bible study and fix their schedule around it.
6. Always promote the Bible studies in your internal communications. Employees should regularly read about it as part of company communications. It doesn’t have to be a long communique, just one paragraph will do.
The company newsletter should promote the Bible study in each edition. Place it in a dedicated section where employees can easily spot it for a quick scan.
If you don’t have a newsletter. You can have a regular email that talks about the topics discussed so that even those who didn’t have the opportunity to attend can still learn from the Scriptures. Answers to prayers should also be included.
Place pictures on your website about your Bible studies. The schedule of topics, speakers and even special celebrations like someone s birthday.
Regularly promoting the BIble study in your official company communications will reinforce the practice in your company. With much prayer, this will help your employees develop a deeper relationship with Jesus.
7. Hold Bible studies during company time. If you are officially sanctioning BIble studies then do it on company time. After office hours is already the employees’ personal time which should be spent on personal matters like family.
Since you are doing this on company time, it is very important that you be punctual. Start and end on time. People still have work to do and deadlines to meet.
They should feel relaxed and focused during the sessions. Not tensed up while thinking about missing their deadlines because you are taking so long to wrap up.
Make it short. One hour should be more than enough. You can always continue the discussion in the next session. This is company time. While they are away from their posts, other people are picking up the slack.
Stick to the schedule. Don’t move it around in the week. If the Bible study runs on a fixed schedule, people can easily join, They can work it into their schedule or support colleagues to attend by picking up the slack for them.
How to not properly do Bible studies in the office
1. Forcing employees to participate in Bible studies or any other religious activities. This is illegal according to the law. As long as it is voluntary then it is okay.
That’s why it’s important to share this bit of information with job applicants during the hiring process. You won’t get any complaints about doing Christian activities because it’s in the policy. If the applicants don’t like it, then they will appreciate your transparency and amicably move on.
You also won’t get any complaints if someone shares the Gospel one-on-one. In some companies, this can be viewed as harassment but not in a Christian culture which is clearly in your employee handbook.
2. Make Bible study attendance part of evaluation, promotion, and discipline. This is also illegal. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination as it applies to businesses with more than 15 employees.
You will either get a costly litigation or forever turn off people from ever hearing the Gospel with an open mind.
3. Let other religions do activities. You have to protect your flock from the devil in sheepskin. Just because you welcome and encourage Bible studies and other Christian activities doesn’t mean that other religious groups are welcome.
Make it clear that your company culture is Christian, not liberal. What’s the use of having your employees attend Bible studies when next door the devil and his messenger are having sessions to snare your flock.
Final thoughts
Go ahead and start a Bible study. There are no greater riches in the world that compare to the treasure of having Jesus in a person’s life. If you care for your employees, you will want them to get saved.
God gave you a position of authority for a divine purpose. It’s not to make money, but to use money and authority to gently bring people into His kingdom.
The spiritual maturity and transformation of people is a valid business mission of a Christian business owner. Oh, but wait, you don’t own your business, God does.
