We have heard a lot about the 10/40 window of unreached people groups over the last 10 years. These people represent those who have never heard the Gospel. However, the "9 to 5 window," where the majority of people spend the majority of their time, also has a large number of unreached people who have the power to impact the entire world for Jesus Christ – once they make a commitment to Him and begin to walk in their destiny.

Today, we are seeing a move of God among men and women in the 9 to 5 Window, the place where real societal change can take place, because of the strategic position many of these believers hold in society. I believe equipping and commissioning this group is key to city and national transformation. Indeed, there is a trumpet call to return to the early Church model of biblical ministry that resides with every believer. This call is to the “9 to 5 Window.”

The Faith at Work movement is designed to change the 80/20 rule in the local church – from 20 percent of people doing the work of the ministry to 80 percent of people doing the work of the ministry. And, most of all, it is a movement that is designed to ignite transformation in lives, churches, cities, and nations. Many believe it may be how the Lord will bring genuine revival into nations because those in the workplace often reside in the place of authority in our cities and have the ability to make significant changes in the way things are done. Martin Luther brought the Word of God back to the people, but today God is bringing the work of God back to the people.

George Barna reported in his recent book Revolution that there is a major exodus among people attending local churches today. Why? It is because the local church has become irrelevant to the world many of these people live in. Our research has revealed that an alarming 90 percent of people when surveyed say they do not feel they are being equipped to live out their faith where they spend most of their time – the workplace. It is not a question of teaching the Bible as much as making the Bible relevant to their world.

If there were ever a time we needed a tipping point, it is now. The Faith at Work movement has the potential to tip the scale from a nation that is falling away from its spiritual roots to a nation that returns to its spiritual destiny. Today, less than 7 percent of people in England attend church. That figure was 30 percent just after World War II. Less than 30 percent of Americans attend church today and that figure is dropping every year. Unless there is a tipping point toward God, America will be following close behind England and we will give up more ground to ungodly influences that will lead to the demise of our nation.

7 Mind Molders

There are seven mind molders in society that affect how our culture will be shaped. If any group or individual can affect all seven of these mind molders, we will change that society. These mind molders are business, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, religion and family. This is why it is so important that local churches begin to encourage our young people to enter these seven areas with a biblical worldview that can not only shape society, but even transform it.

In 2004 the New York Times interviewed me for a cover story the paper planned on faith and work. They interviewed me three different times before they were ready to proceed with the article. In the final interview the reporter told me the paper planned to run the article as a cover story in the New York Times magazine as an insert in the Sunday edition. However, the paper had one problem. It needed to build its story around someone who was actually doing what I described in my interview with the reporter.
 
The problem that exists today is that workplace apostles are not being recognized – nor do they even recognize themselves. They have not seen their careers as holy callings and have not understood the redemptive nature of their work and calling. Consequently, they often resign themselves to being financiers of God’s work instead of being major catalysts for transformation of their workplaces and cities. And yet, when a man or a woman becomes willing to be used in the context of the workplace, God can accomplish a great deal. 

Four Key Ingredients

There are four key ingredients required among Christian leaders to see a city transformed. These include prayer, humility, unity and knowledge of God’s ways. Let’s discuss each of these.

In every city in which transformation has taken place, believers have come together to pray for their city. Prayer changes the spiritual climate of a city. Some of the main areas of influence that must be the focus of our prayers include churches and businesses, the legal, political, educational and medical fields, and the media and entertainment industries. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Workplace leaders must be strategically aligned with intercessors to impact their city.

Next, humility. God uses men and women who recognize that they need each other and who do not seek glory for their work. “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (Psalms 25:9). The workplace leaders that God is using today care little about being in the limelight. They have a Kingdom perspective that avoids bringing attention to themselves or any one group in order to impact the city for Jesus Christ.

Unity is also key. Jesus said, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:23). God calls each of us individually and corporately to represent Christ to the world, but our independence, pride and egos often prevent us from becoming unified in the purposes of Christ. We are scattered in our church affiliations and in our city transformation efforts. Unity is built when we roll up our sleeves and determine to work together – pastors, priests and people from every walk of life. The marketplace and the Church must come together to bless the city with practical initiatives that benefit the city.

Knowledge of God’s Ways

Those of us in the workplace are often zealous for God, but we can move in presumption instead of in a faith that is rooted in knowledge of God’s ways. Such was the case of David, who wanted to bring the ark of the covenant into the City of Jerusalem. He was zealous for God and celebrated as he brought the ark into the city. However, the ark was being carried into the city on a cart instead of by priests on poles, as God required.

When a man named Uzzah reached out to catch the ark when the oxen stumbled, God immediately struck him dead. “When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God” (2 Samuel 6:6-7).

David was devastated. We must connect with our Christian leaders to jointly work on bringing the presence of God into our cities. Otherwise, we will fail like David and be guilty of presumption. “For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge”(Romans 10:2).

The City Transformation “Trinity”

I also believe there is a city transformation “trinity,” if you will allow me to use that word in this way. I believe three groups of people are vital to bringing change to the spiritual climate in a city: intercessors, who are called to intercede for the city; apostolic nuclear church leaders, who are church leaders with a vision for their cities; and marketplace leaders, or more specifically, workplace apostles. These are men and women called to impact their cities through their spheres of influence in government, business and education.

In 2003, the Lord began to impress upon me that I was to start bringing the workplace leaders and ministries together in the city of Atlanta for a vision of transforming the city. God is birthing coalitions in cities today for the express purpose of transforming those cities. I find that God is using marketplace leaders to be the catalyst to bring the three core groups of people together more and more. Perhaps this is because marketplace leaders don’t have turf issues to wrestle with like local church leaders.

The final piece of the puzzle that has been missing in city transformation efforts is the intentional efforts to bless the city. We see very few communities throughout the nation that have come together collectively to impact their cities. In most situations we see individual churches operating as silos in their communities. They do have some impact, but not what they could have if done as a collective Church of the city.

When all of these efforts become focused the net result is we begin to fulfill Deuteronomy 28:13-14: “The Lord will make you the head, not the tail.” If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. In almost every case where we see the Church serving the city, it results in giving the Church more authority in the city among its leaders. This is biblical Christianity. We win by serving and becoming unified as one Body of Christ.

In summary, if we want to begin to transform our cities we must affirm workplace leaders as having a key role in establishing the Church in the city by equipping them and validating their ministries through our local churches. We must be intentional about bringing intercessors, workplace leaders and pastors who have a vision for their city together with an intentional process that allocates money and resources to projects that will bless the city. Then we will begin to see the transformation of cities.