After 20 years of mobilizing and equipping tentmakers, hearing their stories after they have returned home, learning what has worked and what has not, I have been able to put together this list on how I would do ministry as a tentmaker based on their experiences.

IF I WERE A TENTMAKER, I WOULD…

…maintain my own spiritual vitality by spending regular time in Word & prayer.

…pray for divine appointments & pray feverishly that I don’t miss them.

…seek to integrate my faith & work, seeing the workplace as my mission field.

…be involved in people’s lives at work and in the community, and find common interests with locals.

…invite friends to a coffee shop or to my home to take discussions deeper.

…ask them about their interests and dreams and tell them about mine.

…learn the names of everyone I get to know and then start praying for them by name every day!

…add their names & their family members’ names to a list and send it to my prayer partners back home.

…inform my friends of satellite TV programs that talk about my faith.

…pray openly before meals and discreetly offer to pray for the needs of those around me.

…ask people about their faith to earn the right to tell them about mine.

…show people the Jesus Film, or point them to the app so they can watch it on their own, and then discuss it over coffee.

…write pre-selected Bible verses on cards without referencing the source, to fit everyday situations and prayerfully give them to my friends.

…ask people to watch the Alpha course videos with me, or on their own.

Then meet regularly to discuss what they are learning.

…get my friends a Bible in their own language or refer them to Bible apps.

…invite them home or to a quiet place, to study the Bible together…

…have a party to celebrate each new birth knowing that angels were partying with us in heaven.

…start discipling them into disciplers and praying for households to be saved.

…start meeting with them regularly, as soon as 2 or 3 were gathering in His name.

…meet separately with future leaders.

…work myself out of a job and allow them to take leadership and responsibility.

By Ari Rocklin