Presence Before Preaching: The Real Way to Share Faith at Work
Most Catholic business owners ask the wrong question about faith at work.
They want to know: How do I share my faith without being preachy? How do I evangelize without losing credibility?
But that's not the real question.
The real question is: Why do you think witness is something you do instead of something you are?
Trust Is the Gateway
If you want to have real conversations about faith, you need trust first.
And trust doesn't come from competence or credentials. It comes from genuine interest in another person.
Think about the last time someone really listened to you. Not while checking their phone. Not waiting for their turn to talk. Actually listened.
Rare, right?
That's your competitive advantage as a Catholic business leader.
Everyone else is optimizing for efficiency. You're optimizing for presence.
What This Actually Looks Like
Nick runs an escape room business. Most of his employees are in their early twenties. Working multiple jobs. Just trying to make ends meet.
He spends hours sitting with them in the control room. Not managing. Not correcting. Just being there.
"I don't talk a ton," he said. "I just say, tell me about your life. Tell me about where you come from."
No agenda. No script. Just curiosity about who they are.
And here's what happens: they start asking him questions.
Not because he pitched them on faith. Because he treated them like image-bearers of God before he ever said a word about God.
Permission Through Presence
You don't get to plant seeds until you've earned the right.
And you earn that right through dozens of small moments that have nothing to do with faith.
Inviting a colleague to dinner. Asking about their weekend. Actually remembering what they told you last week and following up.
When they come to your home and see your family pray before a meal, that's not a strategy. That's overflow.
When they notice the crucifix on your wall or the religious art in your office, they're not being evangelized. They're seeing how you actually live.
Those observations only matter because you've spent months being genuinely interested in them first.
The Image of God in Every Person
Here's the foundation for all of this:
Every single person shows some angle of the face of God.
When you believe that, you can't treat people as conversion projects. You can't fake interest for the sake of evangelization.
You see your 25-year-old employee working two jobs, and you don't see a mission field. You see someone made in the image and likeness of God who deserves your time and attention.
That shift changes everything.
Suddenly, spending three hours listening isn't a sacrifice. It's stewardship.
The five minutes of planting a seed? That's just the natural overflow of abiding in Christ and letting Him work through your relationships.
Why This Works Across Organizations
Nick has seen this pattern work at every level of his company.
Entry-level employees. Middle management. Leadership.
It's not a program. It's a posture.
When you're rooted in daily prayer and Scripture, when you're abiding in the Lord, you don't have to manufacture opportunities for witness.
They happen naturally because you're genuinely interested in people.
The young employee asks why you seem so calm under pressure. The colleague notices you don't gossip. The client sees how you treat your team and asks what drives you.
Those moments exist because you laid groundwork through hundreds of boring, unglamorous acts of presence.
What Doesn't Work
Formal evangelization in the workplace usually doesn't work.
Not because faith has no place at work. Because forced conversations feel manipulative.
Your employees know when you're listening to respond versus listening to understand. They can tell when you're building rapport for the sake of a pitch.
Authenticity can't be faked.
But when genuine interest is already there, when trust is already built, the formal moments work beautifully.
The wedding where your team sees your faith community. The Christmas party where someone asks about Advent. The offhand comment about why you don’t work on Sundays.
Those moments land because they're consistent with how you've treated people all year.
Start With Presence
If you want to integrate faith and work more effectively, don't start with what you'll say.
Start with who you'll listen to. Pick one person on your team this week. Someone you barely know. Someone you've been too busy to really see.
Spend time with them. Ask about their life. Listen without an agenda. No pitch. No strategy. Just genuine interest. Then do it again next week. And the week after that.
That's how witness works in business. That's how you lead like Christ.
If you're a Catholic business entrepreneur learning to lead from genuine relationship instead of strategy, you're not alone. SENT is a community where high-performing entrepreneurs and owners go to sharpen their leadership, deepen their formation, and build for the Kingdom.
