Hey Dave,
You know, evangelism is a serious subject. So serious I believe, that it should be something taught on a regular basis in every church. But it's not. A lot of Christians are left to try to figure out the answers to these serious questions on their own. This is frustrating because every Christian should have sound instruction on these matters.
I believe that in the Post-Modern times that we live in, we are going to find ourselves in most cases working in a secular environment. So you will find that most people are going to be antagonistic to our proclaiming God's truth. If you believe that regeneration is the monergistic work of the Spirit and not synergistic then you won't fall into the trap of trying to convince your neighbor of the truth of scripture. Instead you will share your faith and then depend on the Holy Spirit to effectually work in them.
There are many ways to witness to people in your workplace without getting yourself into trouble I believe. You can send Christian cards for special occasions and holidays. You can put Christian items on your desk. You can where pins and things that will identify you as a Christian. You can and will most likely explain how you feel to people by explaining biblical truth. You will also I believe act a little different in certain situations. Like not gossiping, not swearing, not going to bars with co-workers, not being interested in conversations of a sexual nature and so on. All these little things add up. But they won't be anything offensive enough to get you into trouble.
I worked in a really dark place for almost 2 years. It was full of rough men who enjoyed being wicked. This was a very trying time for me but I continued to witness and proclaim the gospel every time I got the chance. I didn't approach people and share the gospel with them. I just did all the little things I just mentioned and did a lot of praying. Soon the Lord did lead people to approach me to hear the gospel. Every single one of them were unsettled by my proclamation. I never once got a smile or a pat on the back. Instead I got frowns and head shaking. It can be disappointing to share the gospel because people usually don't all of a sudden "get it" and jump up and down with joy and run off to become an awesome Christian. In most cases it's been my experience that conversion is a slow process.
But after about a year and a half, I saw a change occur at that place that I was at. I was really the only active Christian there who proclaimed to be born again and shared my faith. There were a few others there that went to church and claimed to be Christians, but they knew very little about their faith and were very worldly. But after what seemed like an eternity of waiting and praying, I started to witness a change in a few of the workers there. A couple of them now attend church regularly and approached me more then once with biblical questions. These were the same ones who at first didn't want to have anything to do with my convictions and my witnessing. So you never can tell who your going to affect. There was one worker there who was a pretty tough customer. He was in pretty bad shape when I first started their. I would have never guessed in a million years that he would change. But he did and it was remarkable to see the transformation in him, even though it was a long process. I honestly believe that I had a small part to play in his conversion and it is really wonderful to see the Lord using me. I now work at a Christian book store and he comes in with his family and makes sure to talk with me. It's really awesome to see the change taking place in his heart. So anyway, I just wanted to share my personal experience with you.
First of all, I believe that you should try to discern God's will for you. It might be His plan that you stay with a primarily secular company during your whole career and not really see a change in anyone. Or it might be His will to move you around and allow you to change the lives of many. You need to try look at it as "what does God want me to learn here." But I believe that our first and primary ministry is to our family. So I would be very careful when it comes to doing anything that might jeopardize the welfare of your family. I believe that your primary concern is to support your family and to pay the bills. So if your in an environment that is very strict about sharing your faith, then honor it and remain a silent witness and wait for the Lord to bring people to you. If someone comes up and asks you to explain your faith with them, then ask them out for coffee and share your faith with them away from work. If you can't have anything of a religious nature on your desk, then invite co-workers over for dinner where they can see your Christianity in your home and so on. There's ways to share your faith without getting you into trouble for the most part.
But there might eventually come a time when you have to stand up for your belief's even when it might cost you your job. This is a situation though that you should pray about and consult your family about and let them understand that there is just no other way and that even though it might be hard, you will have to depend on the Lord to provide. I hope this is helpful. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Y.B.I.C,
Dave.
