Spiritual Practices and Community Engagement: Three Practical Ways to Empower Laypeople for Missional Living

We live in a world that often divides the sacred from the secular – reserving ministry for pastors, while treating the rest of life as ordinary. Sometimes the divide manifests itself in the development of young leaders and the discernment of vocation. This can be exciting and powerful, and it is necessary to develop a sense of call into pastoral ministry. However, it becomes limiting and entrenches us in the secular/sacred divide if pastoral ministry is seen as the only vocational option. In the kingdom of God, there is no such divide. Whether someone teaches fifth grade, runs a family business, works in healthcare, or delivers packages, each vocation is a holy opportunity to live out discipleship.

The calling of the church is not to recruit more volunteers for church programs, but to release people to live faithfully in their contexts to become salt or light where they are.

Author John Mark Comer reminds us that “our work is not just what we do – it’s who we are becoming.” This idea invites every believer to see vocation as a space for spiritual formation and a context for mission.

When the church equips laypeople to engage their work as ministry, the reach of the gospel extends beyond the church building to the school cafeteria, the boardroom, the job site, and the kitchen table. Discipleship and participation in contemplative practices cultivates a deep spiritual life that allows us to engage the world more deeply with love and compassion. Joan Chittester, in The Monastic Heart, writes “The monastic was not cloistered from the world, but centered enough in God to go out into it with love.”

Offering Practical Tools and Spiritual Practices

Equipping laypeople for missional living requires more than encouragement It calls for intentional formation. We must offer tools and rhythms that help people discern how their faith integrates with their vocation and how they can remain rooted in Christ amid the pressures of daily life. A few steps could enable disciples to recognize their identity as beloved children of God and discern their purpose. They then could discover how to live out that purpose through their vocations.

1. Vocational Reflection Exercises

Help people explore:

• What are my gifts and passions?
• Where do I sense God’s pleasure when I work?
• Who am I becoming through my work?

Offer journaling prompts, small-group discernment practices, or guided retreats focused on vocational identity and spiritual alignment.

2. Training in Listening and Presence

Workplaces can be isolating or transactional. Teaching practices of holy listening, active presence, and spiritual curiosity helps laypeople build trust and reflect Christ in subtle but transformative ways. Offering opportunities to learn and practice deep listening, practicing presence, or cultivating a posture of humility can deepen discipleship in vocational spaces.

3. Encouraging Faith Sharing at Work

Faith sharing doesn’t always mean quoting scripture or making declarations. Sometimes it means being the one who brings peace to a tense room or hope in a weary office. Equip people to:

• Recognize sacred openings in everyday conversations.
• Tell their story of faith with honesty and humility.
• Offer to pray with or for coworkers when the Spirit prompts.

The more time we spend reflecting and discerning (1 above) and growing in our listening and in how we are present with God and others (2 above), then we begin to live and share our faith more effectively. Our vocation becomes an invitation from God to partner and transform ourselves and the community around us through the love of Christ.

Celebrating and Supporting Lay-Led Ministries

Too often, laypeople doing kingdom work outside the church are unnoticed. But every story of healing, justice, kindness, or courage in the world is a signpost of the Spirit’s work. It is vital for the church to become a community that sees, blesses, and celebrates what God is doing through its people.

• Invite laypeople to share stories of how their faith shows up in their work.
• Offer blessings in worship for teachers, nurses, business owners, tradespeople, and parents.
• Commission lay-led initiatives that emerge outside traditional church programming.

Joan Chittister also writes, “The monastic life is a model of integration—a way of being that weaves prayer, work, community, and service into a single thread of purpose.” This is the vision for the church. It is not a place to retreat from the world, but a people formed deeply enough to engage the world with wisdom, grace, empathy, and presence.

Spiritual Practice: Creating a Rule of Life

John Mark Comer describes the rule of life as a “set of practices and rhythms that help us center our lives around abiding in Christ.” Originating from monastic traditions, the rule was never meant to restrict; it was meant to free. It offers structure, intention, and clarity in a world of noise and distraction.

For laypeople, crafting a personal rule of life is a way to intentionally live as disciples amid their schedules, jobs, parenting, and relationships. As you think about contemplative practices you already engage in, you may already have a rule and pattern, but you may not have used that terminology. Perhaps you are not using contemplative practices in an intentional way. Start small, with one or two practices, then after a time add another. Don’t feel as though you need to start with five or ten practices. Remember also that you will encounter distractions, miss a practice, or get busy and cut out a practice. You might get discouraged but offer yourself some grace, learn from it, and try again.

Last fall, my church held a study of learning and practicing contemplative spirituality. At the end of the study, we created our own rule of life. I was able to carve out daily practices, weekly practices, and monthly practices. I’m still learning and growing, and I’m recognizing that I have times where I am more disciplined than others. A lot depends on what is going on in my family, work, or physical exercise. Now, my prayer and meditation times coincide with my trail running, where I feel close to God and creation. In the early morning silence, I feel most open to prayer. As I focus on my breath, it becomes prayer, sometimes speaking or thinking and sometimes listening. So, my rule of life shifts in how and when I practice certain disciplines. As you lean into the rule and discern where God is moving you, you may find the same to be true for you.

As you think about a rhythm, think about what is achievable and gives you the best opportunity to develop the habit. Perhaps take three minutes of silence instead of ten. Use five minutes for scripture reading in lectio divina. Consider fasting until you take a late lunch and build off that. I invite you to look at the following framework, pray, review this series of articles to discern what God is calling you to do to help you find life, hope, and joy in living out your vocation connected to God and neighbor.

Creating Your Rule of Life: A Simple Framework

1. Start with Prayer: Ask, “Who is God calling me to become?”

2. Choose Rhythms for Formation:

• Abide (prayer, scripture, sabbath)
• Align (values, integrity in work, wise decision-making)
• Attend (relationships, service, community involvement)
• Act (justice, generosity, evangelism)

3. Make It Personal and Sustainable

• Include daily, weekly, monthly rhythms.
• Leave room for grace and growth—this is a living document.
• Share your rule of life with a spiritual friend or mentor for support.

Over time, the rule of life becomes a way of staying grounded and growing in purpose—especially in the workplace, where competing priorities often threaten to crowd out spiritual attentiveness.

Conclusion: Sent with Purpose, Rooted in Christ

The church is not a building filled with programs. It is a scattered community of witnesses, each one uniquely placed by God in neighborhoods, classrooms, hospital rooms, and Zoom calls. We are not called to escape the world but to live faithfully within it with intention and joy. As disciples craft a rule of life and begin to see their work as sacred, they begin to discover that ministry is something they bring into every corner of their lives.

Your work matters. Your story matters. Your presence is part of God’s mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.