Vocational Stewardship

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Steward YOUR Vocation

Latest News

Read the latest interview of Kingdom Calling here

Check out recent research showing that more pastors are preaching on work. here

IVP says: Kingdom Calling to be produced as an audio book
Release date to be announced later this year

Check out Today's Christian Woman interview with Amy Sherman
Read interview here

Kingdom Calling awarded Book of the Year
Kingdom Calling was chosen as Christianity Today's Book of the Year in the category of Christian Living.

Connecting Our Work to God's Mission
Sherman’s sermon on work & God’s Mission featured on preachingtoday.com

Sherman highlighted in Christianity Today
Amy Sherman was chosen by Christianity Today as one of the 50 most influential Christian women shaping the church and culture

Rejoicing the City

Upcoming Events

May 13-14, 2015
SURGE School
Phoenix, AZ

April 22-24, 2015
National Vocation Infusion Learning Community Retreat
Kansas City, MO

March 16, 2015
“Talking Points” @ Grand Rapids Theological Seminary
Grand Rapids, MI

Feb 3, 2015
Wheaton College Faculty Development Day
Wheaton, IL

May 7-8, 2014
SURGE School
Phoenix, AZ

June 18-20, 2014
Acton U
Grand Rapids, MI

August 2, 2014
City Gates National Conference
Columbus, OH

See All Events

Jim Reiner: Belay Enterprises

June 11, 2012

By Kelly Givens and Amy L. Sherman

Jim Reiner jokes that he is a “serial entrepreneur,” and has been so “pretty much my whole life.” However, like many Christians, Jim struggled to discern how his passion for business connected to his faith. Upon deciding to follow Christ, he assumed his vocational path would need to change. “I thought that [ministry] meant that you needed to sell your business, go to seminary, and become a traditional pastor,” Jim says. He started down that path, attending Denver Seminary. Three years in, however, an opportunity opened up that Jim soon realized was God’s calling for his life.

Jim was approached by leaders of Belay Enterprises who were hungry for his business acumen. Belay had been launched a few years earlier by a group of pastors, business owners, and community leaders in Denver, Colorado. Their vision was to take recycled building materials and open a combination home-improvement thrift store/job training program for those rebuilding their lives from addiction, homelessness, incarceration and poverty. “Bud’s Warehouse”(Building Unity and Dignity through was opened in 1995 to fulfill that vision.

The ministry was doing well in terms of its social aim: to provide biblically based life and job skills training and support to those needing a job. Many ex-offenders find it extremely difficult to land a job once they’re released. Bud’s Warehouse offered them that “first rung on the ladder” job that can help them build a good track record. During their six months at Bud’s, employees focus each month on different aspects of job training and participate in Bible studies, prayer times, and meetings related to the business activities. They were also mentored by volunteers from various churches supporting Bud’s.

But Belay was struggling in terms of the financial bottom line. It was operating in the red and in danger of closing down when leaders approached Jim. Since Jim took over as CEO, Belay has grown to be completely self-sustaining. Indeed, Bud’s now kicks off additional revenue that Belay uses to capitalize new social ventures. These include Baby Bud’s, which employs low-income single mothers, and Good Neighbor Garage, which finds and repairs cars for single mothers at low cost.  Most recently, Belay has launched a custom cabinetry business.

Jim is proud of the important work Belay is doing in the lives of both its employees and its volunteers. For the former, Belay has provided jobs and a safe place of community that has been a vital part of the workers’ journey from dependence to self-sufficiency. For volunteers, Belay offers business-minded, entrepreneurial Christians with exciting, fulfilling opportunities for deploying their vocational skills. “What [these church members] are really good at is entrepreneurial type stuff, starting things, running businesses, dreaming big, doing these big things. And yet, our churches often don’t ask big enough things of people like that,” Jim explains. “Almost every time I talk to businessmen [about Belay], I have someone coming up who says, ‘Oh my gosh, this is something that’s big enough for me to sink my teeth into. This is exactly how I’m wired and what I want to do.’”

Vocational Stewardship In Action

  • Cliff Nellis: Combining Law and Urban Youth Ministry

    Cliff Nellis: Comb...

    Cliff Nellis: Combining Law and Urban Youth Ministry by Amy Sherman and Kelly Givens Cliff Nellis, a graduate of the University of Chicago’s School of Law, became a Christian near the end of his clerkship for a federal judge in Colorado. He took some time off to bike cross-country, studying the bible with all the delight of the brand-new believer. During the trip, Nellis reports, “I started feeling called to ministry. I started thinking about whether I’d stay in the law or not.” Looking back, he sees that as a young believer, he “had this very narrow view: ministry is …

  • Anne Hughes and Jenny Oliver: Realtors Going the Extra Mile

    Anne Hughes and Je...

    Anne Hughes and Jenny Oliver: Realtors Going the Extra Mile By Kelly N. Givens December 7, 2011 As anyone who has tried to buy or sell a house in the past half a decade knows, the housing market is currently in a state of crisis. In the aftermath of the burst housing bubble, we’ve seen investment banks going broke, the government bailing out companies, and the U.S. economy in recession. Foreclosures have steadily risen since 2006, draining wealth from consumers and eroding the financial strength of banking institutions. Home prices have tumbled, and it’s unclear if they’ve hit their lowest …

Social Media

Resources

NEW! Great short video on Work as Worship
A new perspective on work.

Discussion Questions for Use by Vocational Guilds
Does your church gather members into small groups by profession (e.g., law, medicine, business, art)? If so, invite them to try out these discussion starters.

Ten Ways to Encourage Vocational Stewardship in Your Church
Here are some doable action steps you can take right now.

Small Group Discussion Guide on Vocation
Use these questions to enliven your small group’s ability to support members in living missionally through their daily work.

Annotated Bibliography
Short summaries of helpful books on vocation, for pastors and individual believers. Check back frequently as this list will be updated regularly.