08/29/2026
What if work and worship were never meant to be separate?
We often divide our lives into two categories:
Sacred: prayer, church, ministry
Ordinary: emails, meetings, drawings, deadlines
But the Bible offers a different story. In the Old Testament, the word avad is used 289 times and is translated as "serve," "work," and "worship."
Oftentimes we think of work as a curse, as toil. But, before work became toil, work was good. Genesis 2:15 says this: “The Lord God took man and put him in the garden of Eden to work and to keep it.” God’s intention for a perfect relationship was for it to be a working relationship, and Adam and Eve had specific work in the garden.
And yet, this good story took a turn. In Every Good Endeavor (a book that has been transformative for how we understand work), Tim Keller and Katherine Leary Alsdorf unpack that in a world affected by sin, work can become fruitless, pointless, selfish, and ultimately, the way we work and react to our work reveals the idols that have captured our hearts.
But despite the twists and turns, this story has a good and beautiful ending: The hope we have in Jesus is that work can be redeemed. As image-bearers of a active and working God, we get to partner with God in creating, restoring, reconciling, and cultivating what is good in any and all aspects of our lives. Even the most ordinary work can be part of this story of redemption.
One practical step you can take today: pray first. Before a meeting, a design, or a conversation with a client, we begin by inviting God to be with us in our work. Prayer helps us remember that the work belongs to our Creator, and that even our most mundane tasks can be opportunities to create alongside him.
That is what avad means: we can stop dividing our lives between work and worship. When our work is offered to God, with faithfulness, obedience, perseverance, and prayer, the ordinary becomes sacred. Our work becomes service. And our service becomes worship.
- Kim Bell
Programs Director
