In Depth:  Jonathan Bayes

'The place where Britain will be converted is the workplace', said Mark Greene, the Director of the Institute for Contemporary Christianity.

He was speaking at Spring Harvest's 'At Work Together' Conference, under the chairmanship of Stephen Gaukroger at the International Conference Centre in Harrogate from November 15 to 17. His seminar was entitled 'What every worker wished their church leader knew'. Possibly his words overstate the case, but they certainly reflect the underlying conviction that the world of work is a vital sphere of Christian service.

Apparently 'Goethe once said that he had little time for church history, since it dealt only with the clergy and he could find in it little about ordinary Christians . . . He did not think he could see how faith was lived out concretely'.1

I want to air some thoughts on the role of those whom Goethe describes as 'ordinary Christians'.

For as long as I can remember, I have listened to preachers who have hammered out the idea that every Christian is called to be a witness for Christ.

'Not all believers are evangelists, but we are all witnesses,' is the message that has sounded forth. The picture that such teaching conveys is of Christians here, there and everywhere striving to create opportunities to share the gospel with everyone.