More than 400 hundred people crammed into the Grace Chapel last Saturday, Feb. 25, for the 10th annual Faith Forward event sponsored by At Work on Purpose (AWOP).
Chuck Proudfit, founder and president of At Work on Purpose, interviews local Christian business leaders on how they incorporate faith values at work at the 10th annual Faith at Work event Feb. 25. (MemoriesMatter Photo)
“We want to mobilize the work world for Christ and boldly tell others to do the same,” said Chuck Proudfit, AWOP founder and president. “Our work world is largely disconnected from God, so we need practical, proven practices to integrate faith and work.”
While on stage, Proudit interviewed local members of the business community and told the audience ways they could integrate faith into the work world.
“Too many of us have bought into the lie that the sacred and secular are separate,” Proudfit said. “But we can live out our faith lives fully at work by adhering to biblical principles in the way we treat others. Taken within the context of your sphere of influence, your workplace is your congregation.”
Other speakers from the event included Molly Talbot of Life Enriching Communities; Christ Flores of The Katalyst Company; Greg Orcutt of Orcutt & Company CPAs, Ltd,; Bernie Reagan of Duplicator Sales, Inc.; Ryan Chapin of General Electric; Darrel Geis of Christian Blue Pages; Art Garza of Star 93.3; Mike Peters of Christian Marketplace Network; Pete West of Procter & Gamble; Brad Rogers of Urban Harvest; Rob McCann of Self-Sustaining Enterprises; and Kevin Gilles of 25th Hour Associates.
Also during the event, Jeff Greer, senior pastor at Grace Chapel, spoke on re-conceptualizing church as a place where marketplace ministry is not just allowed, but encouraged.
Currently, Grace Chapel invests in and supports BizNistries, which are philanthropically-minded businesses that dedicate excess profits to fund ministry work. The local chapel is also the umbrella organization for Self-Sustaining Enterprises, a nonprofit that supports ministries such as Back2Back Ministries, dedicated to widow and orphan care; H2O Nigeria, a fresh-water drilling project near Jos, Nigeria; Roc-A-Fellas Pizza in Sharonville; New2You thrift stores in Mason and Clifton; All4You Apparel in Mason; and the Mason Food Pantry.
“We’re on the front end of a movement,” Greer said. “If God can multiply us by hundreds of thousands, think what ‘damage’ we can do for the Lord.”
For more information about AWOP, visit www.atworkonpurpose.org or call 800-513-9580.
