One of the most effective voices today in helping Christian business and professional people to understand and accept their role as "marketplace ministers" is Argentinean-born Ed Silvoso. Born into wealth and privilege in his native Argentina, and even expected by his family to one day become President of his nation, Ed has made a success in both business and pastoring, and is uniquely positioned to help spread the vital message of marketplace evangelism.

Ed came to understand that there is a call to the marketplace, and that the call is just as legitimate as the call to ministry inside the church. As founder and President of Harvest Evangelism (www.harvestevan.org), Ed now travels the world telling Christians that there is a divine anointing for business.

I met Ed in Jakarta recently, and was most impressed with his personal ministry, as well as with his written teaching in books such as his latest, "Anointed for Business." In that book, Ed sets down a powerful, prayer-based "spiritual business plan" which I think should be required reading for all Christians who feel called to the marketplace.

According to Ed, to be anointed for business is to be set aside and empowered by God for service in the marketplace. He says: "Once anointed, we are to use our job as a ministry vehicle to transform the marketplace, so that the gospel will be preached to, and heard by, every creature in our sphere of influence. The same principle applies in all areas of the marketplace: business, education and government."

The Marketplace Ministry

Explaining that marketplace ministry is hardly a new phenomenon, Ed emphasizes that early Christians made the marketplace the focal point of their ministry because their occupations regularly took them there. "Marketplace people played a vital role in the emergence, establishment and expansion of the early church. In fact, most of Jesus' followers remained in full-time business while simultaneously conducting full-time ministry. This was possible because they saw the marketplace as their 'parish' and their business as a 'pulpit.'

"In fact, only one of the 40 extraordinary manifestations of God's power recorded in Acts happened in a religious venue: the healing of the lame man at the Temple gate called Beautiful (see Acts 3:1-11). Most of these spiritual wonders were facilitated by people such as Paul, Priscilla and Aquila, who as ministry and business partners, are classic examples of marketplace Christians (see Acts 18:1-3).

"Unfortunately, many marketplace Christians (today) feel like second-class citizens when compared to people who serve full-time in a church or missionary context. This should not be the case ... It is imperative that they realize that not only is it OK to do ministry in the marketplace, but that God has explicitly called them and anointed them for it.

"God calls some people to serve inside the church, and this is a precious call. Pastors and full-time ministers are the modern equivalent of the Old Testament priests, who ministered in the Temple. They clearly play a vital role in spiritual leadership since they are the ones who, through their example and Bible-centered teachings, equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

"With this in mind, we need to see that there are others who are anointed to minister in the marketplace, like the kings, officials and other functionaries who were the contemporaries of the Old Testament priests. The call to serve in the marketplace and the call to serve in traditional religious settings are both valid and interdependent, since they involve ministers who respond to the same divine calling. Whether people are priests in the Temple or kings in society, God has called each one of them."

To facilitate the understanding and call that God has placed on marketplace ministers (kingdom business professionals), Ed has developed what he calls a "spiritual business plan," which is set out below, with an invitation to pray this prayer, and move into your proper place in God’s Kingdom with an "anointing for business."

A Spiritual Business Plan

1. Discard the deception that you are not a minister. Let the wealth of truth in the Word of God wash away all unbiblical distortions regarding your identity and your calling. Agree with God that you are a minister called to the marketplace.
   
   Father God, I declare that I am Your workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works in the marketplace. This is my destiny and this is my place of ministry. I accept Your call and I commit to faithfully walk in it from now on.
   
   
2. Reject the deception that your job in the marketplace is nonspiritual. Labor becomes worship when it is done unto the glory of God.
   
   Father God, I bless my job in the name of the Lord Jesus. I repent of all negative thoughts, words spoken and actions taken by me against my job. From now on, I will consider work my ministry, and ministry my work, and I will do everything unto the glory of God so that my labor will constitute an act of worship.
   
   
3. Officially welcome the Lord Jesus into your workplace for His perfect efficiency to replace your own deficiency or insufficiency. Literally go to the front door, open it and say: "Welcome, Lord Jesus, come in. I need You." Then walk with Him all over the place. As you do, talk to Jesus about every person with whom you work.
   
   Lord Jesus, I have heard You knocking on the door of my work, and I now open the door for You to come in. Thank You that as I do this, You do come in. I recognize that until now, I have been wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. But now I have invited You to come in to have fellowship (dinner). Such fellowship will transform, restore, enrich, enlighten and clothe me spiritually. Thank You, Lord Jesus, that you are here to stay!
   
   
4. Select a place at work as a symbolic altar. It does not have to be religious in appearance. In my case, it was a "Jesus chair." Make it your Bethel, a location where you meet with God and His angels minister to you. His wisdom will increase your efficiency and His angels will protect you from evil.
   
   Holy Spirit, I come to You to be filled with Your presence. I also pray for spiritual gifts to be activated in me, and for You to grant me the fullness of Your power to use them in my job, which is my ministry. I also welcome Your ministering angels to stand guard over this outpost of ministry in the marketplace.
   
   
5. The Father rules supreme over the earth. Jesus is the head of the Church, and the Holy Spirit is leading it to all truth and righteousness. In fact, the Trinity rules over the whole world. Your job should not be the exception. Recognize the Trinity as the head of the corporation where you work. Acknowledge the Father as the chairman of the board, Jesus as the CEO, and the Holy Spirit as the legal counsel. Proclaim their supreme superiority over you so that deadlock will never again be a possibility.
   
   Holy Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—let this corporation be the place of Your habitation. May Your presence fill every aspect of it and may Your eternal purposes be carried out in every detail and at every level so that the Kingdom of God will be in evidence in my work and that eventually the whole earth will hear Your voice. Amen.

If you prayed Ed Silvoso's inspired prayer, you have now dedicated yourself, your job and your workplace to God and committed them to His divine purpose. You have an anointing, God’s special empowerment, to carry out God's will in whichever part of the marketplace you are called, be it business, government, education or the arts and media.

As Ed says, if every believer will go to work fully convinced that he or she is worshiping God through labor, and that every constructive action at work is a form of caring for God's creation, our cities will be transformed. If every time a janitor sweeps a floor, a clerk enters a transaction, or a broker closes a deal, and he or she does it as an expression of worship to God, the Kingdom of God will definitely be in evidence all over the city.

"You are anointed for business—God's business! Your job is your pulpit, and the marketplace is your parish. You have been called by God to bring His Kingdom to the marketplace ... The question is whether or not you are going to take the first step of obedience and begin to move in the anointing. I have three words of very simple advice: GO FOR IT!"