Category Archives: Ministry Actions

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My First International Christian Business Conference!

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Christian business conference

Just reading the title of this post makes me feel weird! I am not that guy in my mind. I am not someone that gets the opportunity to teach a group of Christians one third of the way around the world. I have so much to learn myself…I could not possibly be able to teach anyone, right? Even if the subject of the conference is Christian Business, something near and dear to my heart, I do not feel qualified.

Regardless of how qualified I feel, that is exactly what I had the opportunity to do a couple of weekends ago. I was given the opportunity to teach a small group of Christians in Chandigarh, India about Christian business and taking their faith into the marketplace. Before I give you more details about the event itself, let me tell you a little about how it began.

My Passion

I started this blog only eight months ago. I started from scratch. I did not have a platform ahead of time. I did not have a name in the Christian business world beyond my fairly small circle of influence. All I had was a passion welling up inside of me that had to get out.

This passion is for Christian business – using our businesses and/or leadership positions to do ministry for eternal impact in the business world. This passion is what has driven me to attempt to run my business with an eternal perspective for the past eight years. This passion has brought disappointment and victory, but it has also brought opportunities I never would have imagined before.

First Contact

After several months of blogging about Christian business, I received a comment on one of my posts from Pastor Rajeev in India. We exchanged emails and began communicating about our similar passions.

Rajeev mentioned another contact here in the U.S. named Scott Pitman. Scott is actually a car dealer like myself! He owns a very successful Suzuki dealership in Wichita, KS. More than that, Scott is a prime example of a Christian using his business as a platform for ministry. Check out his foundation’s website (Walking in the Reign) to learn more about what he is doing in Wichita as well as Haiti and India!

The Invitation!

Anyway, I talked to Scott about Rajeev and got some information on the work Rajeev has been doing with Scott’s help. I continued communicating with Rajeev about his ministry and mine. One day, he asked me if I used Skype.

I told him I did. He went on to ask if I would be interested in using Skype to teach some of the business people and professionals in his church about Christian business and marketplace ministry. I was shocked at first (reread the first paragraph of this post!), but then I realized God was certainly working in this. There was no other way that someone like me would get this opportunity – except by God!

My Fears

We made necessary preparations, including a practice run with Skype, and then set the date. The closer the date got, the more nervous I got! Surely something would happen and it would get canceled or postponed…maybe they find out I am not really qualified! More likely, they will run across someone else with better skills and more knowledge. Maybe I should even find someone for them and suggest they make the switch!

Maybe you would not have thought all of these things, but I did. I must have asked Rajeev ten times to give me a better feel for the cultural differences, his expectations, the make-up of the audience, etc. I wanted to know more so I could feel more secure. Unfortunately (or not), he just kept saying that I would be fine and that God would take care of it.

Successful Christian Business Conference!

Finally, the day came and the conference went without a hitch…that is if you ignore the 20+ times our internet connection failed! Even so, it really did go smoothly. We were prepared for the hiccups and God paved the way for a smooth presentation (with Rajeev translating). It was truly a remarkable experience.

Christian business conference

Audience in India in prayer.

I cannot explain the excitement that was pulsing through me as I sat in my office in Georgia watching a group almost 8,000 miles away in India sit attentively listening to what I had to say about running a Christian business. The teaching lasted three hours straight (1.5 hours of material and the same amount of time spent in translating!). They never took a break, but sat quietly on the floor soaking it up.

Future Opportunities?

They ended the session with a couple of questions, including the request for further teaching. Rajeev also has another church or two that wants to do the same session in their nearby churches! I honestly do not have any idea where this is headed. Nor do I need to! I am much more inclined to just trust God at this point and see where He takes it!

My Take Aways

Here are some take aways I have from this experience:

  1. Don’t underestimate God. He can do more than I can imagine. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
  2. These things do not depend on my ability, but on His will. (Proverbs 21:31)
  3. Learn and grow as I wait on Him. He will use the knowledge I gain. (Psalm 37:34)
  4. Moses did not get off the hook just because he felt unqualified. (Exodus 4:1-13)
  5. Be faithful in the small things and He will give me bigger ones. (Matthew 25:21)
  6. Relax and trust Him. Worrying is not productive. (Matthew 6:27)

What is God preparing you to do?

Are you being patiently faithful?

Do you see a take away I missed?

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Ministry Action: Resource Library for Employees

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Do You Have A Resource Library…?

As a Christian business owner or leader, you are most likely a life-long learner. Whether you read books, blogs, and magazines or listen to podcasts or other audio materials, you most likely consume teaching resources on a regular basis. You may even have your own resource library. I bet you consider the expense of learning to be necessary – just a part of being a leader.

resource library

…For Employees?

My question is this – do you give your employees the same opportunity? Have you even thought about this? Obviously you see the benefit of constant reading and learning for your own growth. Don’t you think the same is true for your employees or team members?

ministry actionWhat I am suggesting here is not a program that forces them to read. I am not talking about forcing them to do anything.

First, it may be that no one else has ever before emphasized to them the importance of reading. Their lack of reading could also come from a lack of the financial resources. Regardless, for those that see the benefits of continuous learning, you can certainly offer your support.

Recently, I posted about easy ways to do Christian ministry in the course of doing business. Now I am about to add another one – a resource library for your employees. There is nothing complicated about doing this at all. In fact, it may be easier than you think.

How To Set Up A Resource Library

Here are some of the steps we went through to set up our resource library:

    1. Decide where you will locate it.

      It needs to give them easy access while also being monitored so it does not turn into a hide-out or junk collection point.

    2. Decide who will approve the material and the guidelines they will use.

      Depending on your purpose, you need to make sure there are guidelines for what you will and will not include. Our guideline is simple – it must not conflict with our mission statement.

    3. Decide how it will be funded.

      We fund ours through the business, but I am sure you could come up with any number of ways to raise the money to make this happen.

    4. Solicit book donations.

      Allow your employees to bring some of their favorite books and materials and donate them or loan them to the resource library. They need to understand the risk of loss, but most are fine with this.

    5. Begin with basic materials.

      I would suggest you start with your own books – those fitting the overall purpose – and then adding those resources you think will meet the basic needs of your people.

    6. Accept requests from employees.

      In the event an employee sees a book they would like to read, have them submit a request for it. If it fits your criteria, buy the book and add it to the resource library.

    7. Add your own twists.

      a. We stock several translations of the Bible. In the event an employee wants a Bible, we will buy it for them. In this case, they get to sample the various translations and choose one they like. This is one book they do not have to return to the resource library. It is theirs to keep.
      b. We also stock multiple copies of several more popular books. We encourage the employees to share these copies with anyone they meet that is interested. This is especially true with the Christian books.

As a reference only (not necessarily a guide), the following is an estimate of the mix we currently have in our resource library.

resource library resource library

Do your employees have access to a resource library?

How hard would it be to establish one for them?

What benefits do you think you would see?

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Christian Business: 7 Easy Ways To Integrate Faith And Work

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Christian businessI am a strong believer in the great need for Christian business owners and leaders to begin integrating their Christian faith and their businesses. I do not think enough people are thinking this way, so I write this blog in an effort to get the message out.

As part of this effort, I often include practical ways to do ministry in the normal course of doing business. The following is a list of 7 easy ways to get started. Each item on this list is something we are already doing and is further described in separate post. The link to each post is included in each brief description. At the end of this list, I will tell you how to find another 101 ideas!

7 Easy Ways To Integrate Faith and Work

1. Christian mission statement

    This is so crucial that it really should be the first thing you do. A mission statement that acknowledges your business as a Christian business not only tells others what you are about, but also serves to keep you on track for years to come. Read more here – Mission Statement – Step 1 in a Strategic Ministry Plan.

2. Impact Fund

    Your employees will get into the giving spirit if you lead the way. Creating a fund that allows them to support their co-workers in times of need is a huge opportunity to lead. They will surprise you with their response! Read more here – How Could a Business Help with Employee Hardship?.

3. Gospels in the lounge

    You do not have to hit people over the head with the Gospel to spread it as a Christian business. Simply placing these simple Gospel messages in your customer areas is a great way to sow seeds. Let God do the rest. Read more here – Ministry Action: Gospels in the Lounge.

4. Employee Newsletter

    Communication is critical for any business. This is especially true for a Christian business. You can easily improve your company-wide communication through the use of a company newsletter. Using even the simplest of newsletters to convey a Biblical message or promote Christian values can bear fruit. Read more here – Advice from Coach Wooden.

5. Message at company gatherings

    Company gatherings, such as Christmas parties, can be an excellent opportunity for the Christian business owner or leader to reinforce the mission of the company. An easy way to do this is to carve out 10-15 minutes or so and tell a story or interesting illustration that conveys the Gospel message. While the first time may be uncomfortable, God will honor your efforts. Read more here – Christ and the Company Christmas Party.

6. Message to customers

    Different companies will have varying opportunities to share the Gospel with customers. For us, including a copy of the New Testament, with a cover that reads “Owner’s Manual For Life”, in the glove box of every car we sell seemed like an easy way to accomplish this. Read more here – Taking Action: Owner’s Manual for Life.

7. Chaplain program

Don’t Delay!

You should have no excuses to delay. Pick one or two ideas to get started, grab a couple of your key people to help, and lay out your plan. I promise you will not regret taking action!

Do you see any ideas you can implement immediately?

What can you add to the list?

What results have you seen from your efforts?

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What Do Cancer, Children, Car Shows, and Chaplains Have In Common?

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Just before Christmas this past year, one of our long-term employees took her 14 yr. old son to the doctor to have a knee injury checked out. What they thought was simply swelling turned out to be a mother’s nightmare – a rare form of bone cancer. Obviously, this is a life-changing event. It poses the question: What ministry responsibilities does a Christian company have in responding to this kind of situation?

ministry

Ministry Through Business

Now, I will be the first to tell you that we are not the perfect Christian business. Not even close. There are so many ways we fall short of where we want to be. I am sure we miss ministry opportunities every day.

On the other hand, we give it a lot of effort and I am proud of what God has accomplished in our company over the past eight years. In fact, this blog is an attempt to share some of what He has done to change this company’s focus. So, when a situation comes along that exemplifies this kind of ministry, I feel compelled to share.

Flexible Schedule

First and foremost, we wanted to make sure that this mother had full freedom to be with her son at every possible moment through the medical maze of full diagnosis, planning, and treatment. Though she is in a critical role within our company’s accounting department, we gave her the freedom to effectively set her own schedule.

She worked when she could (occupying her mind) and she was with him whenever she needed to be. In this case, we took Andy Stanley’s advice and did for one what we wish we could do for everyone. While our employee handbook does not exactly deal with this situation, we made sure we gave her every freedom we could. We cannot allow everyone this freedom all the time, but we can bend the rules when we have to.

Employees Engaged

Next, we had several employees step up in various ways from providing gas for her multiple trips to Atlanta (60+ miles each way) to chipping in with her work responsibilities and even helping her set up an account at the local bank for donations toward medical expenses. Everyone did their best to show their support through encouragement and prayers. She has never been in doubt that we were supporting her and her family.

One of the sales departments had the idea of hosting a car show, with the profits going to help out with medical expenses. This idea gained support and that department really put hours of effort into pulling it off. The event drew 60 cars, raised close to $1,500 for their medical expenses, and even served as the capstone to her son’s birthday party!

Chaplain

Finally, and likely most importantly, our company chaplain has been able to give her and her family the spiritual support they need. In addition to his normal support through weekly visits, he has been able to provide focused support for her and her family throughout the process so far.

Yesterday, the chaplain was able to sit with the family as the son went into surgery to remove the tumor from his leg. He was able to pray with them before and after the surgery and to wait with them until the doctor came back with the results. In fact, he was there to hear the doctor report that the surgery went better than expected! It appears that all of the cancer has been removed and that the leg is going to look great and operate normally!

This situation is not completely over for this family. We will need to maintain the support and continue to look for ministry opportunities. Our prayer is that our actions will help to get them through to the other side of this situation with their family intact. We also hope that their faith is strengthened as a result. The main goal is that God gets the credit for all that is done.

Eternal Impact

As far as can tell, there is not a book that specifically addresses how a Christian company is supposed to respond to an employee crisis like this one. I believe we are simply to seek to honor God and love our neighbors as ourselves. Regardless of the crisis, this behavior will have eternal impact!

How has your company responded to similar situations?

Do your employees have the opportunity to engage?

What more could you do next time?

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How Could A Business Help With Employee Hardship?

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ministry actionOne of the main purposes of this blog is to share ideas relating to running your business as a platform for Christian ministry. I have shared many examples of things we do in our business in an effort to minister to our employees, their families, our customers, and the community. Today, I want to tell you about a ministry action called the Impact Fund program that we currently run within our business to help with employee hardship.

Employee Hardship Assistance

The Impact Fund is designed to help employees going through a hardship. All employees have the opportunity to contribute to this fund directly from their paycheck. Anytime we become aware of an employee going through a tough time financially, we use money from this fund to help them out.

employee hardshipThe contributions are voluntary and range from $2 to $40 per donor each month. All assistance given is confidential and the decisions to assist are made by the Leadership Team. We make sure the needs are legitimate and not reflective of a trend. Rarely is assistance given to the same employee twice.

I have been amazed at the response from the employees giving. I have also been amazed at the opportunities we have had to help those in need! This really is a great program. I urge you to consider something similar for your own company.

Below is one of my recent articles promoting the Impact Fund program in our company newsletter.

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    Working Together

      Not long after the I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) test was developed, several studies were conducted to find out how different groups of people scored on the test as groups. The test was administered to men and women, young and old, rich and poor, and many ethnic groups as well. It was in this context that the I.Q. test was given to a group of Hopi Indians.

      When the Hopi received the test, they immediately started to ask each other questions and to compare their answers. The instructor saw this happening, and quickly intervened, telling them that they each had to take the test alone. “You are not permitted to help each other or to share your answers among yourselves,” he told them.

      When the Hopi heard this, they were outraged and refused to take the test, saying, “It is not important that I am smarter than my brother, or that my brother is smarter than me. It is only important what we can do together!”

    Folks, I am NOT recommending group work on factory certification tests! At the same time, I am telling you that we need to look around and lend a hand to those in need of help. If we are truly going to act like a family and reap the benefits of being part of a family, then we all need to make sure we are acting like Hopi Indians!

    One perfect opportunity to do this is what we call the Impact Fund. Each month, you have the opportunity to contribute some amount (of your choice) from your check into this fund. The money in this fund is used for responding to employee hardship. This money is not used for anything else. While I cannot go into detail on any of the specific employee situations that this fund has helped with, I can tell you with confidence that it is working!

    Here are two ways you can help your fellow employees…

    1. Contribute some amount from your check to go into the fund.
    (anything from $1 or $2 up to $20 or more per check – anything helps!)
    2. Make us aware of employee hardships that you see or hear about.
    (see Brian, Chris, Allen, Tim, or Mike)

    I appreciate all who are currently contributing! I know the recipients of the help appreciate it! I encourage everyone to consider participating as you can.

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Do you have anything like this at your business?

Do you have any success stories to share?

What would it take to do something similar?

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Ministry Action: Gospels in the Lounge

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Several weeks ago, I did a post on Christian Ministry in Business. I mentioned that I would be following up in the future with ministry actions that our company takes. So far, I have posted about several examples listed below:

Other Ministry Action Posts

ministry action

    Newsletter article
    Christ-centered TV ad
    Christ-centered message at company Christmas party
    “Merry Christmas” on business windows
    New Testament in every glove box

Another Ministry Action Idea

Today, I would like to tell you about another idea that you may be able to use in your own business. This is a very simple idea that costs very little.

ministry actionOur business has three separate buildings with three separate service departments (one for each franchise group – Honda, Ford, Chrysler). In each of these buildings is a customer lounge that includes leather club chairs and sofas, laptop workstations with free WiFi, flat screen TV’s, and complementary refreshments. These lounges are very comfortable and are frequently full of customers getting maintenance completed on their cars.

As most waiting areas do, we offer various magazines and newspapers for customer use. We also have brochures for vehicles, accessories, and warranty protection. Up to this point, you are probably thinking that there is nothing abnormal about our customer lounges.

Pocket-sized Gospel of John

Well, the part that I wanted to tell you about is the way we offer God’s Word as a part of this experience. We also have a small display case full of pocket-sized Gospels of John. We have one of these display cases in each of the lounges.

We included a sticker on each of the displays that says, “Please Take One!” in an effort to encourage customers to take one to read or share. Inside each gospel is a simple plan of salvation along with a phone number to call for more help.

Pocket Testament League

We order these gospels from The Pocket Testament League. The league has been around since 1893 and has given away more than 110 million gospels in its history! You can order the gospels for free, but they ask for donations to support the ministry. We donate $1 per gospel, or $30 per box of 30 gospels.

One cool feature of these gospels is the variety of cover designs they offer. Currently, they offer 50 different cover designs that are all very attractive. You can choose from so many themes that I cannot even begin to list all of them here. You just have to take a look yourself to see which ones fit your needs!

Pocket Testament

Above is just a sampling of the 50 or so covers they offer. While we have not yet done it, they also offer custom covers for orders over a certain volume. This organization is so flexible!

Inexpensive Results!

As I said earlier, this is a very inexpensive way to spread the gospel message in your business. The plastic displays may have cost $3 each and the gospels themselves are just $1 each. In 2011, we had roughly 200 gospels taken from these displays. I do not know what the results are beyond this, but I do know in Whose hands they rest!

Give this a try in your own business!

Does this ministry action encourage you to do something similar?

What are some other ways you could distribute these gospels?

What is holding you back from signing up and ordering your first box right now?

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Advice from Coach John Wooden

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Christian ministryThe following is an example of the type of article I write every month for our employee newsletter, The Employee Matters. In these articles, I attempt to use real-life examples or stories to convey something that matches up with our culture, mission, and/or values. In this article, I use wrote about some very simple advice from UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden, arguably college basketball’s most successful coach ever.

John Wooden

Advice from Coach John Wooden

It was roughly eighteen months ago that we lost the legendary Coach John Wooden. He was arguably the best coach who ever lived…in any sport! He had a wisdom and insight into people and their needs and he was able to get more out of people than even they thought possible. Following is an excerpt from How to Be Like Coach Wooden by Pat Williams.

Coach Wooden insisted that his players always acknowledge the help and support they received from other members of the team. For example, a player who scored a basket after receiving a pass from a teammate was expected to acknowledge the assist as he headed back up the court to play defense – usually by pointing, smiling, winking, or nodding at the man who had helped create the scoring opportunity.

Some players asked, “But Coach, what if he [the teammate who gave the assist] isn’t looking?”

“Believe me,” Wooden replied, “he’ll be looking!”

Acceptance and Approval

See, what Coach Wooden understood about all people is something that many of us know about ourselves, but have never applied to others. He understood that EVERYONE needs acceptance and approval.

We seek it at every opportunity. We need it from our parents and we need it from our children. We need it at work and we need it at home. Anyone who says they do not have this need is simply lying or does not recognize the need in themselves!

So What?

So why is this important to us? Because it is our responsibility to meet this need in those around us. Whether these people are co-workers, family members, or friends, we should be attempting to meet this need in their lives. It is a simple fact that if we help enough other people get what they want in life, then we will get what we want!

If we all become people who consistently meet this need in the people around us, can you imagine how much better our world would be?

[You can download a copy of this article (and others) here in my Resources.]

What are your thoughts about the point of the article?

Do you have an opportunity to do something similar for your employees?

If you already do, what results have you seen?

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How To Do Christian Ministry In Business

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I often get asked (and ask myself) “Just exactly HOW do you do Christian ministry in your business?” or “How do you integrate your Christian faith into your business?” In my last post, What is Christian Ministry?, I put forth my belief that we ALL are to be in full-time Christian ministry, whether that is our paid vocation or not. Now I want to help you learn HOW to do that!

Christian ministry

Christian Ministry Practices In Business

Based on multiple requests from readers and others, I am going to start a new series of posts. Unlike other series I have done, these posts will not be back-to-back in a continuous stream. Instead, these posts will be scattered among my posts from week to week. The common subject of this series will be actual Christian ministry practices in our business that are designed to bring the Christian faith into our business. Many of these practices came out of our Strategic Ministry Planning.

I will tell you what we are doing and how we are measuring our progress (if we are!). I will also tell you about any results, feedback, success stories, etc. that we have received. I will include any documents (on my Resources page) that apply.

Christian ministryYou will be able to recognize these posts right off by seeing this symbol to the left. I will include it anytime I add a post to this series!

As you can see, the cross, representing the Christian faith, is integrated into the upward-tracking graph arrow, representing business. While it is simple, I think it conveys what we are trying to do.

Goals Of The Series

In showing you how we are attempting to integrate our faith into our business through Christian ministry actions, I hope to accomplish several things:

  • Give you ideas that you can implement in your business
  • Help you think outside of the box in coming up with your own ideas
  • Get feedback from you about how we might improve our practices
  • Generate conversation that contributes to everyone’s learning

I hope this series will be helpful to you as we go. I know it will be helpful to me…especially if you do your part in commenting at the bottom! Feel free to ask questions, add suggestions, or just make general comments for each practice. I am truly interested in hearing from you and learning with you.

Pray First

Before we go into this series, I encourage you to begin praying about how God might want you to start doing ministry in your own business. If you are already bringing Christian ministry into your own business, then pray about how you can improve on what you are already doing.

Maybe He wants more from you in this area. Maybe He wants you to share what you are doing with other business people. It could be that you need to start including more of your employees in the Christian ministry already going on. Who knows?

Whatever the case, you need to start with prayer. I am not the expert in the area of Christian ministry in business, but I know that God is. Seek His wisdom as you try to invest the talents He has given you. I hope to have some ideas that will help you, but He is the source of all ideas and creativity.

What is God placing on your heart right now relating to Christian ministry in your business?

Are you seeking His wisdom and guidance?

What do you need to do next?

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When Should You Say No?

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In a previous post about the Pitfalls of Running A Christian Business, one of the specific pitfalls I mentioned was that many people think a Christian business should never say no to anything! They evidently believe that having a Christian philosophy means we should agree to help anyone with any cause they have. I am not sure of the basis for this feeling, but I have seen it repeatedly exhibited since we began to attempt to integrate our faith into our business.

say no

WHY Say No?

Before we look at WHEN you should say no, let’s answer another question – one that is central to this post. WHY should you say no to some opportunities? I mean, within reason, shouldn’t we always be prepared to help others? If we say no, are we not turning away those in need? If we say no, are we not missing some good opportunities to impact people?

The truth is we are. When we say no to some opportunities, we are turning some away that are in need and we are missing some good opportunities to impact people. The problem for most people is that they cannot see that it is critical to say no to some good opportunities in order to be available to take advantage of the best opportunities.

Good vs. Great?

Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, said that good is the enemy of great. He says we have too few great schools because we have too many good ones. We do not have enough great businesses because we have too many good ones. The same goes for churches, organizations, etc. The problem is that too many people and organizations settle for being good rather than striving for being great!

Rather than saying “Yes!” to every good opportunity that comes along, we should instead save our efforts for the best ones. Rather than spreading ourselves too thin by taking on every good project, we should focus on those that are the best. In this way we are maximizing our effectiveness. We are also leaving those “good” opportunities to someone else that may have a “best” fit with them.

What Next?

So, let’s say you get this philosophy and you agree with it. Now you want to know what to do next. How do you take this philosophy and execute in the Christian business? How do you apply this to your life as a Christian leader?

Let’s look at a few key steps in this process.

    2. Determine your mission

      In what area(s) are you going to focus? What is your purpose?

    3. Determine your resources

      How much time, money, effort, etc. do you have to give to your various roles?

    4. Build in some cushion

      Do not forget to build in some cushion or margin when determining available resources. You should maintain this margin for those times you underestimate a need or when you simply cannot say no!

    5. Be proactive

      Don’t sit and wait on the best opportunities to come to you. Go find them! Create them! Begin investing your resources for an eternal return!

You can use this same list as your litmus test for opportunities that come your way. Does this opportunity fit your gifts? Is it within your mission’s area of focus? Do you have the resources to take it on? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then you should think hard about saying no to the opportunity.

Still Unsure?

If you are still unsure, ask yourself this question. If the opportunity fits at least two of these criteria, is it important enough to you that you would be willing to spend some of your cushion in the third category in order to take it on? Sometimes there are simply reasons we know we should not say no. If we have the margin to spend, it can sometimes make sense to say yes.

What first came to mind when you thought about something you should have declined?

Have you had a successful experience saying no?

What are the obstacles to you saying no?

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Taking Action: Owner’s Manual For Life!

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In my post on Action Plans in the series on Strategic Ministry Planning, I mentioned one piece of advice. That advice was to make sure there was at least one action step you could take starting the next day! Rather than focusing all of your attention on planning, I recommended taking action! I also told you in my last post (Are You Living The Story?) that I was committing to living the story more, rather than just telling it!

taking action

Taking Action

Well, in an effort to live out what I am blogging about, our team has made the decision to start taking action and move forward on an idea that has been lingering around here for quite a while. While this idea will not change the world, it may change just one life…and that’s enough, isn’t it?

If you remember, in my post on the Brainstorm Session in Strategic Ministry Planning I mentioned how the Buck Knives Company inserts a simple message from Al Buck in the box with every knife they sell. This message talks about how their company views God as their Senior Partner and encourages the reader to seek God for themselves. I think this is a great idea!

As an automobile dealership group, we retail and wholesale roughly 2,000 – 2,600 new and used vehicles every year. As our team looked for ministry opportunities (similar to that of Buck Knives) that would leverage this volume, we came across one idea that is very simple and cost effective.

Owner’s Manual For Life

Beginning now, we are going to start placing a copy of the New Testament in the glovebox of every vehicle we retail or wholesale. The unique thing about this New Testament is the cover (shown below). As you can see, each one is titled, “Owner’s Manual For Life.” That is perfect for a glovebox, right?

taking actionWe are still working on documenting the process for every employee involved, but I know this much: Each one will have a sticker inside the cover with a message from me to the reader, stating that I believe this book to be the most important book they will ever encounter. I will have a couple of phone numbers for them to call if they want help understanding what they are reading. These numbers will ring straight to my office phone or our corporate chaplain.

Sowing Seeds

These New Testaments will go to all of our retail customers. They will also go to other dealers who trade new cars with us for the purpose of meeting a customers request for color or equipment change. In addition, we will include a copy in the glovebox of every used vehicle we wholesale to another dealer for sale on their lot. The eventual audience will be widely varied and God only knows when and how the books will actually be found! It is our responsibility to sow the seeds.

We do not plan to review the presence of this book with the customers or the dealers. The New Testament will simply be placed in every vehicle during the prep process prior to going on the lot. The cost of these New Testaments is only $1.50 a piece! I think this is a phenomenal opportunity to literally spread God’s Word!

What do you think?

Is there a similar action you can commit to take today?

What are you waiting for?