There are three callings every Christian shares, whatever their role in the church: pray for the people carrying the gospel around the world, live in a way that makes Jesus attractive to people who don’t know him, and make disciples right where you are. In Colossians 4, Paul gives these instructions to ordinary believers, not just pastors or missionaries, and they still shape what faithful Christian living looks like today.
Called to Pray for God’s Workers Around the World
Paul wrote Colossians from a prison cell, and you might expect him to ask for prayer about his chains. Instead, he asked the church to pray that the message would keep moving. He saw prayer as a real partnership in God’s mission, not a polite afterthought tacked onto the end of a meeting.
Colossians 4:2-4 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
Notice the three words Paul attaches to prayer: devoted, watchful and thankful. Devotion means we keep at it. Watchfulness means we pay attention to what God is doing and where doors are opening. Thankfulness keeps prayer from turning into a complaint list. If you lead a group or mentor someone, build this into your rhythm. Pick a missionary, a church planter or a friend who shares Jesus at work, and pray specifically that God would open doors and give them clarity.
This calling matters because the people on the front lines can’t do it alone. When you pray for them, you become part of every conversation they have and every life that changes, even if you never leave your hometown.
Called to Make Jesus Attractive to Outsiders
The second calling is about how we live in front of people who don’t yet follow Jesus. The believers in Colossae lived among neighbors who watched them closely and often misunderstood them. How they acted and talked would either open doors for the gospel or slam them shut.
Colossians 4:5-6 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Salt makes food better. It brings out the flavor and makes people want another bite. That’s the picture Paul paints for our conversations. Grace-filled words don’t water down the truth; they make people curious about it. Sadly, Christians are sometimes known more for what they’re against than for the kindness, honesty and joy that should mark them. A harsh tone or a careless post online can undo years of quiet faithfulness.
For leaders, this is a practical training point. Help the people you disciple think about their real relationships: the coworker going through a divorce, the neighbor who never comes to church, the teammate who doesn’t see the point of faith. What would it look like to make the most of every opportunity with them? Usually it starts with listening well, serving without an agenda and being ready with a gentle answer when someone asks why you have hope.
Called to Make Disciples, Whoever You Are
Near the end of Colossians, Paul slips in a short but pointed message to a man named Archippus, telling him to complete the ministry he had received in the Lord. We don’t know much about Archippus, and that’s the point. He wasn’t a famous apostle. He was an ordinary believer with a God-given assignment, and Paul wanted him to finish it. His assignment fit inside the larger mission Jesus gave all his followers.
Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Jesus didn’t hand this command only to professional ministers. Making disciples means helping someone take their next step toward Jesus, then teaching them to help someone else do the same. You don’t need a seminary degree to read the Bible with a friend, share what God is teaching you or invite a new believer into your life. You need a willing heart and someone to walk with.
If you’re a leader, your job isn’t only to do ministry but to multiply it. Look around your group for the people who are hungry for more, and invest in them on purpose. Spend time together, open the Bible together, pray together, and then send them out to do the same. That’s how one faithful life becomes a movement, and Jesus promises to be with you every step of the way.
The Takeaway
The callings every Christian shares are simple but not easy: pray for those spreading the gospel, live and speak in a way that makes Jesus attractive, and make disciples wherever God has placed you. You don’t need a title to answer them. You just need to say yes to the assignment Jesus has already given you.
