The Call to “Tent Making”

Paul, the apostle, that great evangelizer, spent a good deal of his time - making tents. The use of tents was extensive in those days, and tent making was an important trade. Without modern sewing machines, the work was labor intensive, with every cut and stitch being done by hand. I don’t recall ever seeing any great works of art showcasing St. Paul the Tentmaker. Hopefully there are some out there, because this was an important part of Paul’s approach to life and ministry that we are sometimes called to follow.

In the first few verses of Acts chapter 18, we find the story of Paul coming to Corinth during his second missionary journey:
After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together—by trade they were tentmakers.
St. Paul in this instance is shedding light on what it means to live as a missionary disciple. His top priority is to preach the Gospel; that is the whole reason he is in Corinth. He engages in this trade while there in order to pay his bills, and in his words, “to proclaim God's good news to them free of charge” (2 Corinthians 11:7). And in a letter to the Thessalonians he writes, “You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:9). He did not see his work to pay his bills as the goal but the means to accomplish his goal, which was to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ. This priority placement is significant. It is very easy for us to become mainly focused on our careers and income to such a degree that we have no time or energy left for evangelization, even if we were inclined to do it.

Paul’s tent making work in Corinth continued for some time, until his friends and fellow missionaries, Silas and Timothy, arrived from Macedonia with a financial gift from the church in Philippi. After this, Paul was able to devote more time to ministry because of this gift of financial support (2 Corinthians 11:9 and Philippians 4:15).
This “tent-making” model is an example for all of us, helping us to consider how we see our own lives and work. We are first and foremost “ambassadors for Christ,” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Our time, treasure and talents are to be used to bring the message of hope to this world which is in such desperate need, more so now than ever. Our jobs and careers are meant to be a means to that end.

With the support and encouragement of the board of Evangelize Me, this model is the one that I have chosen to follow.  Our plan is to provide classes, small group leader training and support, and to create opportunities for evangelization and discipleship to parishes. Our desire is to do so at no cost to the parishes. In light of this, we believe God has provided us with a means of paying our bills through carpentry work with my son’s business, “The Red Bearded Builder,” and through our little perennial nursery, Our Funny Farm. We are incredibly thankful for His provision! Our ultimate goal is to be able to increase time spent in ministry, and gradually reduce the number of days doing carpentry. Hollis will be focusing on developing the garden business, and joining me as able.
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We are very thankful for our friends and benefactors who have been faithfully  supporting Evangelize Me even during this uncertain time. Because of this support, Evangelize Me is able to contribute to our health insurance costs, making this transition possible. We are truly very grateful.
We humbly ask that if any of you are able to contribute any amount on a monthly basis, you would consider it. We would be deeply grateful. In this way, you will, as Paul declares to the Philippians, be “partners with me in grace.” (Philippians 1:7). Thank you for your prayerful consideration.
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