Faith in Trades

For those who don’t know, I am a plumber by trade and have been working in this field since I graduated from high school in 2018. I attended plumbing trade school for half the day every day during my junior and senior years. I chose plumbing because my instructor, Mr. Hoover, had an honor in the trade he taught. He showed us daily that it’s not about the type of work you do; it’s about how you carry yourself while doing it. 

In the meantime, before I started my work, I learned one of the most valuable lessons I still try to live out to this day. My high school mentor, Tony Nutter, taught me what it means to be a missionary in your workplace (and at school at the time). Tony worked for a power company and gave concrete examples of how to set yourself up to share your faith in everyday life. 

I began to see opportunities to serve God all around me. I read my Bible on the bus on my way to trade school, and I prayed every morning for a way to serve God. Conversations and questions started coming to me constantly. I would read my Bible; people would ask me what I was doing, and then they would ask questions about the Bible that were often directly related to what I had just been reading. These were not coincidences; they were opportunities God was allowing me to share my faith.  

In my junior year of high school, my instructor introduced me to Lee Company, based in Franklin, Tennessee. It is a Christian-led company with chaplains who go on mission trips. This was everything I could have dreamed of. 

When I graduated, I got a job at Lee Company. Though this was a Christian-led company, you don’t have to be a Christian to work there. My first conversation with most coworkers and bosses was about how I had moved six hours from home in WV because the company does mission work and I felt that God had led me there. I then had the same experience I had in high school, where people most of the time wanted to hear more. I would also read my Bible in my van during my lunch, and coworkers would ask why I was reading it all the time. They would ask why I was so happy and smiling so much. 

There was one guy at the supply house we always went to who was rude and short with most customers. The same was true for me for a while. Over time, he became incredibly patient and kind to me and would call me "smiley" every time I walked in. He knew I didn’t cuss, get upset with him, or fight back, and I would thank him every time I was in. 

People noticed something different about me and then gave me opportunities to share what it was. 

Pretty soon, I had the opportunity to pray with multiple coworkers and customers and to be someone they could turn to when they needed to talk about something hard or ask for prayer. These opportunities have followed me wherever I have worked, with friends and with customers. 

I start by being myself and staying consistent with everyone. I then pray for ways to be a tool for God where I am. This isn’t a quick process. I must trust that God will reveal the right opportunities as they are meant to unfold. I am ready to lead others to faith in Jesus, but I must also accept that I might not be the one who directly leads them to the Lord. Maybe I’m just an example of what a true Christian can look like and a positive light along the way to their accepting the Lord. It’s not about us; it’s about doing what God calls us to do, whatever the outcome.