Contemporary American culture has a place problem—and that’s because humans have a place problem. After all, one of the most tragic results of humanity’s fall into sin was displacement: “Therefore the Lord God sent Adam out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken” (Genesis 3:23). As Adam’s descendants, many of us feel a sense of alienation and isolation from our neighbors and from the physical places where we live. This phenomenon is impacting businesses, too. Most businesses use vague language about “giving back” to their communities, but what does that actually mean? 

This state of affairs represents an opportunity and a challenge for Christians in the marketplace. Christians in business know that they’re called to serve their communities, but may not know what they can do. What does it look like for Christians to really invest in their places—communities where they share a physical space with others—and to love their neighbors through their businesses? 

As theologian Craig Bartholomew has written in Where Mortals Dwell, one of the ways the Bible depicts salvation is re-implacement: God’s redeeming work to recreate physical spaces where human beings can once again flourish together. After all, at the end of the story, there’s a city where God’s people dwell in community (Revelation 21:9–27). Business has a place in that vision, even as we wait for the New Jerusalem.

Join us as we consider how to think biblically about the places where we live.

What You'll Learn

• How can God use business redemptively in our communities?
• How can Christians invest in the physical places where they live and work?
• How can our work bring us closer to our neighbors?
• What does it look like for a business to serve the best interests of a community?