The Marketspace: Essential Relationships Between the Sending Church, Marketplace Worker, and Missionary Team

Marketplace workers make up the majority of every church’s membership. Yet, in reality there is only a small percentage of church members who usually take part in God’s mission. They are the ones who are trained, sent, and expected to engage in missions, because they are the “professionals.” That leaves the vast majority of the missionary force in our churches untrained, unsent, and unengaged. But the Great Commission does not belong only to the full-time ordained Christian workers. The mission is the responsibility of every follower of Christ. If we believe that to be true, then it must affect our churches. It must affect who and how we equip and send. We need to start preparing our marketspace people (which includes most of the church) to be able to take the gospel wherever they are, in whatever profession they are in, to their neighbors and to the nations. Larry McCrary urges us to strategically utilize these workers for God’s mission. McCrary’s unique perspective on the relationships between the marketplace worker, the sending church, and the missionary team is vital in the "marketspace," the term he coined to describe the space in which a person works and interacts with others on a daily basis.Are you considering using a different pathway to spread the gospel? How can your church support marketplace workers? How can your missionary crew integrate new members onto your team?If you find yourself asking any of these questions, then this book will be more than just another perspective on the value of marketplace missions.