Building supportive relationships is essential for your business and ministry. You are never alone. God brings others into your life to give you strength and encouragement to do what He has called you to do. Even our great mentor and teacher, Paul, had relationships with other believers that were both business and spiritual. I am talking about Priscilla and her husband Aquila.

Strong-minded, enthusiastic in her love for God and Jesus, loyal to her husband, and a mover and a shaker, this is Priscilla.  They were a power couple in business and in the early church.  Imagine Paul’s surprise to meet followers of Jesus in Corinth. A commercial city with two waterfronts, known for its rough characters and loose morals.

Working Relationships

Priscilla and Aquila work in leather, making tents and other goods.  Upon meeting Paul, Priscilla invites him to stay with them because they have the same profession! Working day in and day out together, creates and deepens the friendships between them.

I’m sure working together to bring others to Christ added a level of care and respect for one another too.  These bonds of friendship greatly enrich the ministry. Here in Corinth, Priscilla and Aquila connect with Paul to become some of his closest friends and leaders in the faith, part of his inner circle.

Our work place can be like this as well.  By working together each day we build relationships with people in our offices, in our networking groups, and in other business dealings.  This provides an opportunity for us to connect with other believers for mutual support.  This support system allows us to serve others in the marketplace to show them Christ.

Paul, Priscilla and her husband leave Corinth and go to Ephesus.  After a while, Paul leaves them in charge to continue the work as the spiritual leaders of the church. Then the opportunity to return to Rome (their hometown) opens and they move yet again.

Priscilla returns to Rome a different person. Their travels have made her and Aquila stronger and wiser. Their faith is deeper and wider. Both have experienced God working in the lives of His people in miraculous ways.  They have lived through persecution. They have built friendships that are deep, meaningful and will last a lifetime. Working together for a common goal will do that for a group of people. Priscilla may have met Paul as a follower of Jesus but now she is a true disciple and leader.

Relationship Building

Your business can support your ministry work in the same way as Priscilla’s. You don’t need to be selling Christian merchandise or have a Christian coaching business to serve Him and show up in the Marketplace as a believer in Jesus. God called you to the business that is perfect for you. He uses your expertise, ideas, and talents in a unique way.

The story doesn’t end in Rome; Priscilla is last seen in Ephesus again (2 Timothy 4:19).  Building a business and building relationships. Together she and her husband- inspire and equip leaders, instruct and cultivate disciples, invest and train believers, and introduce new friends to Jesus.  It is an exciting life; it is a life of service; it is a life of developing relationships that matter.

Be filled to overflowing,

Deneen