If you work with people in almost any context you’ve heard some crazy stories, and I’ve heard them all ranging from the deeply sad to making me ask “am I on the right planet?” When you hear them over and over, they start to merge into themes..
We were invited to lunch (Amy Alexander, the other Founder of Founder’s Table, and I) with a local businesswoman. She owned a couple of local businesses, one of which was built on community networking.
As we ate lunch, she told us a story that was hard to swallow.
At the local church where she attended, she noticed that there was no Vacation Bible School (VBS) planned for the summer. As someone who had been involved in running VBS before, she decided to offer to staff, market, and fund one for the church. Seemed like a great investment to her and a natural “yes,” for her local church.
Here’s what she heard. Instead of “wow, that would be great,” or “let me connect you with another leader who could help work this out,” she got a response that was simply, “Why don’t you go work in Sunday School?”
While there could be multiple reasons for that response, here’s the question that it caused this businesswoman to ask us: “What is wrong with my gifts that they aren’t accepted? What is wrong with me?”
Another version of this story illustrates the impact that this problem is having on the church in stark terms. We made it into a brief video - the names have been changed, but the story is what an entrepreneur told us.
While these stories may or may not shock you, it has been the consistent repetition of that same journey that has my attention. We heard this same story, not from just a couple of other entrepreneurs, but from almost all of them. We’ve talked with hundreds in the last couple of years, and the challenge is always the same.
My reason for sharing this story is because, whatever the underlying reasons for the trend, it is doing damage both to the church and the entrepreneur. What’s more, what this means is that the gifts that these entrepreneurs and business owners carry (gifts and resources given to them by Jesus), are essentially sidelined. They don’t grow in their gifts, and the church lacks the momentum that they create.
Changing this story is one of the reasons that Founder’s Table was developed, and we see it working in churches across the country. When churches begin to gather entrepreneurs on purpose and help them feel seen, the grace that they carry matures, and the impacts reach into the local church and the community.
Here’s what a couple of North Carolina entrepreneurs said after their church offered Founder’s Table:
“It was an answered prayer. I had left my corporate job and needed a likeminded group of believers in business.”
“I saw the priority of being intentional about being a better steward of my employees so I could give them the opportunity to grow spiritually.”
“The lights came on…I realized that my business is a ministry and that I can do more.”
Meetup Challenge Kit - a kit with resources to start the conversation in coffee meetups, small groups, or gatherings where entrepreneurs are invited.
Founder’s Table Grant - with the help of a generous donor, we are able to provide funds for the kickoff, coaching, all the materials at no cost to local churches.