Across the UK, Christian young adults are striving to live out their faith at work. They’re an enriching and positive presence. They’re conscientious. And they make their relationships a priority. But there’s more to the story…  

These same young adults struggle to see purpose in their work, they feel dehumanised in inhuman systems, and they don’t know how to share their faith without risking their relationships – or their employment.¹

So, what does it mean – and look like – for a young adult to live out their faith at work? 

It can be tempting to look to the work itself for an answer, enjoying a sense of validation when responsibilities are met – or even surpassed. But the reward for meeting responsibilities is, inevitably, more responsibility. 

Often then, young adults begin to step into positions of management and leadership before they feel ready. Imposter syndrome creeps in – that festering doubt that ‘someone is going to find out I’m not meant to be here!’. This manifests itself in the tyranny of success or the terror of failure: either I’m only as good as my last piece of work or I’m convinced that failure will reveal my incompetence. 

The escape from imposter syndrome requires a fundamental change in the story we tell ourselves about who we are and what we do. And it’s the gospel offers us that better story: validation is not earned – it’s given.  

In Ephesians 2:8–10, we read: ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’  

Paul explains to the Ephesians that a Christian’s identity is set on two truths: they’ve been both created by God and saved by God. And after God validates their identity – he then gives them work to do.  

In other words, it’s neither success nor failure at work that defines our identity. Rather, identity comes to life in our work. As Eugene Peterson put it, ‘The gospel doesn’t impose a way of life on us from without and tell us that we have to live up to it. It creates a new life within and then encourages and directs us to the living out of it.’ 

With this understanding, young adults needn’t strive to live out their faith in their work. They are freed to approach their work as a worshipful expression of their God-given identity. Just imagine the difference that this fundamental truth might make to workers, their workplaces, and work culture in the UK. 

Tim Yearsley
Head of Innovation 

If you’re in your 20s or 30s and want to step into greater influence in your workplace, we’d love you to join us for our next Take the Lead course. In residential modules, triplets, and one-to-one coaching sessions, you’ll explore what it means to show up to work as a disciple of Jesus: modelling God’s character, making good work, ministering grace and love, moulding the culture, being a mouthpiece for truth and justice, and a messenger of the gospel.  

Save £100 if you book an early bird spot before the end of December. Apply now. 

¹ See The Frontline Lives of 18-35s in the UK (LICC research report, October 2024) available at https://licc.org.uk/ourresources/research-reports/ 

²Eugene Peterson, As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God