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Oasis

Church for the workplace

Oasis
Stress in the work place is higher than we've ever known. The distances we travel to get to work are greater, legislation has grown in complexity, hours worked have increased and targets have become fiercer. Even those technologies designed to help us in our work create for us serious information overload.

The wider church has a poor track record of encouraging its members to see their work as ministry in its own right, as part of their mission and supporting them in that. Because so often we have been "come-shaped" in mission, we have been unable to connect with the networks that the world of work consists of. Often urban people sharing the workplace live many miles for one another's domestic address. A previous world in which most people lived and worked within one small town is past.

This issue, no.24 Oasis Work in Progress explores the relationship between church and the workplace and asks whether there can be church in the workplace. George tells the story of Oasis in Edinburgh who are further along the journey of seeing these two apparently irreconcilable worlds connected. Theirs is an inspiring story of equipping and supporting Christians in the workplace "creating replenishing spaces" to help maintain healthy lifestyles in an environment of constant demand. Read how Oasis also allow opportunity for deeper spiritual exploration and a sense of belonging in Christian community in ways that are culturally appropriate to those in the world of work.