Working Groups

WHY A WORKING GROUP PROGRAM?

Have you ever considered that in our work God has called us to serve where he guides, equips us for faithfulness, and invites us to bless people he loves?

Work is the chief place where we love our neighbors as ourselves. Our work is more important than we often realize because it serves others. Through our work we have dignity and the capacity to please and obey God. Yet many people have trouble seeing the value of their work, and therefore miss the opportunity for gospel transformation of the workplace.

We at The Center for Faith & Work St. Louis desire that every disciple discover the position and authority they have to make this world a better place. Guided by biblical principles, our goal is to use those principles and our positions to make the workplace more pleasing to God and more satisfying to mankind.

To train for such a task, we have designed and developed a unique eight-week concentrated training program to equip you to transform the workplace by embedding biblical principles where you work. Join us in our mission to transform the workplace for the glory of God.

We’re meeting a unique need to equip leaders for structural change where they work.

“Extremely valuable and faith-stretching discussion...helped me reshape the intersection of vocation and calling.”
— Working Group Alumni

The Program

The Center for Faith & Work St. Louis Working Group Program focuses its discipleship efforts on equipping leaders to effect gospel transformation of the workplace. That’s unique.

  • Our program places you with a group of highly capable business leaders. You will learn from each other, not just your facilitator, as you consider ways to transform your work. This program is highly interactive and discussion driven - not one where the teacher is at the center.

    The curriculum includes: weekly readings from a respected monograph; analysis and reflection exercises designed by a Ph.D. in adult learning; test case studies of real-life faith-at-work examples; small and large group discussions; and a coached capstone project specific to your workplace.

  • This program concentrates on equipping leaders across all disciplines with positional authority. We welcome men and women who hold positions of influence, in both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, whether their workplace is small, mid-sized, or large. By focusing on current and emerging leaders, we seek to utilize the strategic significance, influence, or authority leaders have to impel change and allow the gospel to direct those efforts.

  • The cornerstone of our Working Group Program is a project that lets leaders draw on their training, experience, interest, and organizational role to practice brining love, mercy, and justice to the workplace. This cohort puts your faith into practice. That’s how we hope to change the world.

  • Leaders have a dense schedule. It might slow down when you retire. But you want to weave your faith into your work this year, not in ten years. That’s why we have designed a concentrated training program to include 12 hours of regular meetings over an eight-week period. Each session runs 90 minutes.Project driven

“...[the Working Group program] challenged me to engage in my work in ways consistent with God’s design for my workplace and all of his creation.”
— Working Group Alumni

FAQs

The center for faith & work st. Louis is a ministry focused on engaging the world through a biblical understanding of work and vocation. With a working group program designed for industry leaders, we seek to transform the workplace for god’s glory and our neighbors’ good. Our focus is to impel change, letting the gospel direct that effort.

  • You can start a Working Group with your co-workers, fellow-church members, or friends by using the Work That Makes a Difference book and the resources provided on our website.

    If you are in the St. Louis area and are interested in having Dr. Doriani or another member of our staff lead a Working Group at your business, organization, or church, the typical cost is $2,600 per group or $295 per person for the full 8 week course. Scholarships and sliding scales are available for non-profit organizations.

  • The Working Group Program is based around Work That Makes a Difference by Dan Doriani. WTMD is a workbook with readings, questions, and a series of case studies that prepare for the capstone project. Additionally, leaders may want to make use of our additional resources.

  • The program is ideal for men and women who hold positions of influence and authority. This ministry focuses on current and emerging leaders in the workplace. It welcomes participants in both for-profit and not-for profit sectors, whether their workplace is small, mid-sized, or large.

    Participants will commit to the readings, reflections, and the project and collaborate with the cohort, with each person playing an active role.

  • Our Program has Working Groups with approximately twelve participants and one or two leaders. We meet for eight weeks, ordinarily in a host home, in the evening. While cohort leaders will summarize key concepts each week, meetings are highly interactive. Each participant will interact with readings weekly and will help lead discussions at times.

    As cornerstone of the program, each participant will develop a project or proposal for his or her workplace. Drawing upon their training, experience, interests, and organizational role, participants will present a project that will help them promote love, justice, and faithfulness in their workplace.

  • The Center for Faith & Work intends to grow by training pastors to lead their own cohorts. Ideally, pastors will be co- leaders of a cohort and will then lead a group in their local church. In time, regional events may train small groups of pastors to lead groups in their city. The goal is to empower them to equip the kingdom-minded leaders in their churches. Qualified pastors can recruit additional partners and train them to lead in turn. In this way, the mentoring of teams of leaders will be built into the ministry from the outset.

  • Yes. The center focuses on equipping leaders to lead structural change where they work. Some centers focus on future leaders, adults in their twenties. Others do not focus on leaders. In preparation for his books on work, Dr. Doriani interviewed hundreds of people. He often asked, “Do you like your job and why?” People frequently began, “I like my work because my boss...” This discovery spurs our decision to focus on leaders.

  • The Center for Faith & Work is independent (501(c)(3)), but works closely with the local church. Working Groups ordinarily meet in a host home of a local congregation.

  • The director of the Center belongs to the principal network that seeks to apply Christian principles to the workplace, the Oikonomia Network, which meets annually. The members of Oikonomia work together to strengthen each other and share information. Member organizations have varied emphases and structures but a shared goal of applying their faith to work.

  • CFW adopts and slightly adapts The Gospel Coalition’s statement of faith, which is Orthodox, Evangelical and Reformed. Any believer is welcome to participate in the program; leaders will agree with CFW’s faith statement.

  • The first goal is to develop ministry leaders who are qualified to lead cohorts in their city or region. Future goals include lunch hour lectures on faith and work, regional conferences, and the development of curricula for specific fields, including artisans, artists, physicians, lawyers, and educators. If we have the right partners, we may introduce a program for young adults. We affirm the dignity of every worker, and the value of all honest work, paid and unpaid, while focusing on workers with a present position or clear potential to bring gospel- driven change to the workplace. Every worker possesses dignity and all honest work matters, but some callings have greater strategic weight.

“The Center for Faith and Work opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about every leader’s ability to exact positive social change through their work. The changes that emanated from our group of twelve leaders are good for the people in their organization, for their organization’s bottom line, and for society.”
— Working Group Alumni

What Leaders are Saying About Their Working Group Experience.

  • Jennifer, Educator

    “I found the insights and ideas shared across the [working group], in response to the well developed case studies presented, to be the most valuable. The course design engages participants in an inviting yet challenging approach that quickly builds trust and encourages the sharing of past successes and challenges among the group. With the trust among peers comes a rare and precious opportunity for spiritual growth within a career context. I was blessed to see the blossoming of the good works God has prepared for these men and women.”

  • Steve, Educator

    “The Center for Faith and Work opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about every leader’s ability to exact positive social change through their work. The changes that emanated from our group of twelve leaders are good for the people in their organization, for their organization’s bottom line, and for society.”

  • Anita, Real Estate Developer

    “Whether you are a business owner, manager, employee, or volunteer, you can apply these principles to your work. God places us in a number of positions of influence throughout our lives. [This Working Group] challenges us to consider how these opportunities may be a part of our calling, either as a stepping stone, pointing the way or a culmination of events that result in a calling.”

  • David, Manufacturer

    “Through insightful instruction, stimulating curriculum and lively discussion the Center for Faith and Work Working Group has helped me to see a bigger and richer purpose role in my vocation. This thoroughly biblical, and yet fresh perspective has challenged me to engage in my work in ways consistent with God’s design for my workplace and all of his creation. The experience has been well worth the time and effort and I highly recommend it to anyone truly seeking to integrate his or her faith and work.”

  • Landon Hobson, CEO Cosmos Corp.

    “Over the course of 9 lunch sessions, the Center for Faith and Work team facilitated invaluable discussions with our senior executives about how our faith changes the way we view our company mission, treatment of employees, and service to customers. In our organization, we strive to create a culture of trust, collaboration, and caring that directly impacts all areas of the business: community, customers, and employees. Dan and Jeremy provided language, frameworks, and guidance to help our team to wrestle with the tough questions of faith and work that we encounter every day. I highly recommend this program to any company or any leader whose faith impacts their business, their team, and their company culture.”

Join or start a working group.