So, who was Priscilla in the Bible? As they worked in their profession, Priscilla, Aquila, and Paul developed a relationship that equipped them to live out their calling and tell others about Jesus.
Their relationship encouraged and supported one another as they grew the early church. Being supported and supporting others is key to serving others in the Marketplace and showing them God’s goodness.
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Three Levels of Business Relationships
Personal relationships are what matter for your business. Your customers and clients, colleagues and vendors, business and referral partners are attracted to you not just for what they can get from you but for who you are.
God’s design for your calling is one only you can do. And, He will bring those people into your life that will help propel you forward while allowing you to share your gifts with them.
One of the principles I have discovered is:
I serve God and others by developing relationships in the marketplace.
We know that business, especially small business, is all about relationships. As a Christian Entrepreneur, there are three levels of supportive business relationships:
- Other Christian business owners.
- Potential clients – those you are called to serve.
- Existing clients and team members – going deeper to make disciples
By building these relationships, you also get the added benefit of having help to do business better, serving the clients God designed for you and showing God’s goodness through your business.
That’s what Priscilla, from the Bible, shows us. Who was Priscilla in the Bible? She is our mentor to lead the way to build relationships that matter for your God-centered business.
Who was Priscilla in the Bible? A Supportive Mentor.
Priscilla and her husband Aquila worked in leather, making tents and other goods just like the apostle Paul. I call them the power couple of the early church.
Imagine Paul’s surprise to meet followers of Jesus in Corinth. It is a commercial city with two waterfronts, known for its rough characters and loose morals.
Upon meeting Paul, Priscilla invites him to stay with them because they have the same profession! What a perfect way to connect: through their work and their faith! And working day in and day out together created and deepened the friendships between them.
Connect With a Support System
Our business can be like this as well. We build relationships with people in our offices, networking groups, online, and other business dealings by working together each day. This allows us to connect with other believers for mutual support. This support system will enable us to serve others in the Marketplace, to show them God’s goodness.
Priscilla, Aquila, and Paul developed a relationship that equipped them to live out their calling, to tell others about Jesus, as they worked in their profession of tent making. In addition, their relationship encouraged and supported one another as they grew the early church.
Have you developed relationships with like-minded people? How can you get the support you need for your business?
Building Relationships That Support Others
When I think about who was Priscilla in the Bible, I see a strong-minded woman with enthusiastic love for God and Jesus, a loyal wife, and a mover and a shaker.
Priscilla and Aquila traveled with Paul and became the leaders for the church in several places, not only Corinth but also in Ephesus and Rome. They built deep friendships, significant relationships as mentors to others.
Priscilla and Aquila provided guidance and learning about Jesus to Apollos when he was preaching the baptism of John. She was introduced to Timothy, a young man who became a dynamic leader in the early church.
Through her and her husband’s guidance, many new leaders emerged. As I said, they were the power couple that fueled the early church movement.
Mentoring Relationships
You, too, have the expertise to share in a mentoring relationship. You do have something to give to someone else. In business, this mentor relationship is not new. It can be with existing clients or team members. No matter who you are, you can find others who respect you and can use your guidance.
Developing these relationships that matter connects you in a way that brings out your own best qualities and improves you.
Ask yourself:
- Who can I encourage and support both personally and professionally?
- How can I be better committed in relationships with others so they grow?
- What expertise and experience can I offer that this person needs?
- How can I be a role model for this person?
Relationships for mutual support
As you work each day with integrity, consistency, and trust, you build a reputation that reflects who you are in Christ. Continue to build relationships that matter, so you have opportunities to share your faith.
It is essential to continue to meet with like-minded people for support and lead your team, and following in the way God designed for you.
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 God and show up in the Marketplace as a believer in Jesus.
God has called you to the business that is perfect for you. He uses your expertise, ideas, gifts, and talents uniquely.
Build Relationships that Last a Lifetime
After working in Corinth and then in Ephesus, Priscilla has the opportunity to return to Rome (her hometown.) So, she and her husband move yet again. Imagine taking your business ‘on the road’ so much and having to get a new set of clients in every new location?
When Priscilla returned to Rome, she was a different person. Their travels have made her and Aquila stronger and wiser. Their faith was deeper and wider. Both had experienced God working in the lives of His people in miraculous ways.
They had lived through persecution. They had built deep, meaningful friendships that lasted 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 a leader.
And her story didn’t end in Rome. We last see Priscilla 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’s an exciting life, a life of service, and a life of developing relationships that matter.
Business relationships, personal relationships, and more
What has inspired you about Priscilla’s story? Is it her ‘front of the store’ attitude as she works with her husband? Or her ability to restart her business again and again? Maybe because she built relationships with other believers? Or that she mentored some of the leaders of the early church? Let me know in the comments.
Our lives, like Priscilla’s, are full of relationships. Relationships that help us to grow our businesses and to grow disciples. Are you supported by other believers who are in business? Are you supporting others through mentoring-type relationships?
As believers in the Marketplace, we have one job; to make disciples for Jesus. Priscilla understood this. Think of it this way. We GET to do this via our businesses. God is using your business to shape you into the image of His Son so you can, in turn, tell others about Him.
If you would like to learn more about Priscilla and learn from her experience, check out my mini-course based on Priscilla called Become an Expert Networker.
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