Where Church and Business Overlap (and Where They Don't)

I live at the intersection of church and business. After five years with the Missouri Baptist Convention, serving at Concord Baptist Church, leading Sports Crusaders ministry, and running multiple businesses in Jefferson City, I've learned valuable lessons about where faith and entrepreneurship connect—and where they absolutely should not.

The Tension Between Church and Business

Let's address the elephant in the room: church and business often feel at odds with each other.

The church talks about serving others, generosity, and sacrifice. Business talks about profit, competition, and growth. The church emphasizes humility and putting others first. Business rewards ambition and self-promotion. The church operates on faith and spiritual principles. Business operates on metrics, strategy, and ROI.

How do you reconcile these seemingly contradictory worlds?

The answer: you don't need to. Church and business aren't contradictory—they're complementary when approached with wisdom and proper boundaries.

Where Church and Business DO Overlap

There are powerful, legitimate connections between faith and business. Here's where they beautifully intersect:

1. Character and Ethics

Biblical principles shape how I do business. These aren't "nice-to-have" values—they're non-negotiables:

• Honesty in all dealings: No bait-and-switch. No hidden fees. No misleading marketing. If I say something, I mean it.
• Treating people with dignity: Employees, customers, vendors, competitors—everyone deserves respect.
• Keeping commitments: My word matters. If I commit to a deadline, price, or deliverable, I honor it.
• Fair compensation: Paying people what they're worth, not just market minimum.
• Excellence in work: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord" (Colossians 3:23).

These values aren't unique to Christianity, but my faith is what grounds them as unshakable principles rather than situational preferences.

2. Servant Leadership

Jesus modeled servant leadership—leading by serving, not dominating. This translates directly to business.

In my businesses, servant leadership means:

• Hiring people smarter than me and empowering them
• Prioritizing employee wellbeing over short-term profits
• Asking "How can I help you succeed?" instead of "Why haven't you hit your numbers?"
• Taking responsibility when things go wrong, giving credit when things go right
• Viewing customers as people to serve, not transactions to extract value from

Servant leadership isn't soft—it's the most effective form of leadership. People follow leaders who genuinely care about them.

3. Stewardship Mindset

The biblical concept of stewardship—managing resources that ultimately belong to God—transforms how I view business ownership.

I don't own my businesses in the ultimate sense. I'm stewarding resources, opportunities, and people that God has entrusted to me. This means:

• Using profits wisely, not wastefully
• Investing in people's development and growth
• Being generous with resources beyond just profit maximization
• Making decisions with long-term faithfulness in mind, not just short-term gains

4. Purpose Beyond Profit

Business can be ministry—not in the cheesy "everything we do is ministry" way, but in genuinely serving people and creating value.

Through BXP (my software company), I help Jefferson City businesses implement technology that makes them more effective. When a local nonprofit gets better software that helps them serve more people, that's kingdom impact. When a struggling business gets tools that help them survive and provide jobs, that matters. This is part of what I call the AI Renaissance—using technology to unlock new possibilities for faith-driven innovation.

Profit isn't evil—it's the fuel that allows businesses to continue creating value, providing jobs, and serving customers.

5. Community Service and Generosity

Faith compels generosity. Business provides resources for generosity.

My businesses enable me to:

• Support Sports Crusaders and other ministries financially
• Provide pro-bono or discounted services to nonprofits and churches
• Sponsor youth sports and community events in Jefferson City
• Employ people and provide livelihoods for families
• Give generously to church and missions

Business success creates capacity for kingdom impact.

6. Relationship-Building Skills

Church teaches you to care about people genuinely. Business teaches you to build strategic relationships. The combination is powerful.

In Jefferson City, many of my strongest business relationships started at church or through ministry. Not because I was networking—because we built genuine friendships around shared faith, then discovered opportunities to work together.

Where Church and Business Should NOT Overlap

Now here's the crucial part that many Christian entrepreneurs get wrong. There are clear boundaries between church and business that should not be crossed:

1. Don't Use Church as a Business Development Tool

This is the number one mistake I see Christian entrepreneurs make—treating church like a networking event.

Wrong approach:

• Joining a church small group primarily to find clients
• Using prayer requests as subtle sales pitches
• Targeting wealthy church members for business opportunities
• Pitching your services during church fellowship time
• Viewing church relationships transactionally

Go to church to worship God, serve others, and grow spiritually. Period. If business relationships develop naturally over time through genuine friendship, that's a byproduct—not the goal.

2. Don't Confuse Business Decisions with Spiritual Ones

"God told me to start this business" is often code for "I have a business idea and I'm using spiritual language to avoid doing market research."

God cares about your business, but He's probably not giving you specific direction on pricing strategy, marketing tactics, or which CRM to buy. You need to do the work—research, planning, testing—and make wise business decisions.

Pray for wisdom. Seek counsel. But don't spiritualize every business decision to avoid the hard work of strategic thinking.

3. Don't Expect Christian Customers to Pay Less

I've had Christian business owners tell me they expect discounts because "we're brothers in Christ." This is manipulation disguised as spiritual language.

Your faith doesn't entitle you to free or discounted services. If you want to support Christian businesses, pay them fairly for their work. If I choose to discount services for a church or ministry, that's my decision based on stewardship—not an obligation.

4. Don't Use Faith to Avoid Accountability

"Trust God" doesn't mean ignoring cash flow problems. "Have faith" doesn't mean skipping business planning. "God will provide" doesn't excuse poor financial management.

Faith and wisdom work together. Proverbs is full of business wisdom—planning, saving, diligence, accountability. Use your faith to trust God with outcomes you can't control, not as an excuse to avoid responsible business practices.

5. Don't Hire Based on Faith Alone

Being a Christian doesn't automatically make someone a good employee. I've made this mistake—hiring based on someone's church involvement instead of their qualifications and fit for the role.

Hire the most qualified person who aligns with your company values. Their faith might be one factor, but competence, work ethic, and cultural fit matter more for business success.

6. Don't Mix Church Leadership with Business Promotion

If you're in church leadership, be extremely careful about promoting your business to the congregation. This creates conflicts of interest and can damage both your witness and your church role.

When I serve at church, I'm there to serve—not to generate leads for BXP. If someone asks what I do for work, I'll tell them. But I'm not using my platform or influence for business development.

Practical Wisdom for Christian Entrepreneurs

Here's what I've learned about navigating faith and business effectively:

1. Your Work IS Ministry (But Not All Work Is Church)

Everything you do can glorify God—including business. Running an ethical, excellent business that serves customers and provides jobs is kingdom work.

But that doesn't mean every business is a church or every transaction is evangelism. Sometimes business is just business—and that's okay.

2. Make Decisions Based on Business Wisdom, Filtered Through Faith Values

When making business decisions:

• Research the market
• Analyze the numbers
• Consider strategic implications
• Seek wise counsel from business mentors
• Then filter through biblical values: Is this honest? Does it serve people? Is it wise stewardship?

Don't skip the business analysis and jump straight to "praying about it." Do both.

3. Be Excellent, Not Just "Christian"

The worst advertising for Christianity is mediocre work with a fish symbol on it.

Don't market yourself as a "Christian business" and then provide subpar service. Be so excellent at what you do that people want to work with you regardless of your faith—and then let your character and ethics reflect Christ.

4. Profit Isn't Evil—But Greed Is

There's nothing wrong with making money. The Bible doesn't condemn wealth—it condemns loving money and trusting in riches instead of God.

Build profitable businesses. Pay yourself well. Accumulate wealth. And then steward it wisely—generous giving, wise investing, supporting kingdom work.

5. Guard Your Integrity Ruthlessly

Your reputation as a Christian in business matters deeply. One ethical compromise can damage both your business and your witness.

In Jefferson City's tight-knit community, this is especially true. People watch how Christian business owners operate. Live up to the standards you profess.

6. Remember Who You're Ultimately Working For

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Colossians 3:23).

This verse transforms business. You're not just building companies to get rich or gain status. You're stewarding opportunities God has given you, serving customers as an act of worship, and using business as a platform for kingdom impact.

Questions to Ask Yourself as a Christian Entrepreneur

Here are the questions I regularly ask myself to stay aligned:

The Role of Sabbath Rest in Business

One area where church and business overlap in powerful ways: the concept of Sabbath rest.

Entrepreneurs are notorious for working 80-hour weeks and burning out. The biblical principle of Sabbath—one day a week set apart for rest and worship—is countercultural but essential.

I don't work on Sundays. Period. No emails, no business calls, no "quick" tasks. This isn't legalism—it's wisdom. Resting one day a week acknowledges that God is in control, not me. The business will survive without me for 24 hours.

This rhythm of work and rest makes me more effective the other six days and protects my family and spiritual health.

When Business Success Becomes an Idol

Here's the dangerous part that many Christian entrepreneurs face: success can become an idol.

You start with good intentions—building a business to provide for your family and serve others. Then success comes. Revenue grows. Recognition increases. And subtly, your identity shifts from "follower of Christ who happens to be an entrepreneur" to "successful entrepreneur who happens to be Christian."

Warning signs that business is becoming an idol:

• You can't stop thinking about work, even during church or family time
• Your worth feels tied to business performance
• You're willing to compromise ethics for growth
• You resent time spent in church or ministry because it takes away from business
• Your prayer life is mostly about business success
• You're neglecting family, health, or spiritual disciplines for work

I've felt these temptations. The solution: regular heart-checks, accountability relationships, and remembering that business success is a tool, not the goal. (See also: how God orchestrates divine appointments in business.)

Using Business Success for Kingdom Impact

Here's the beautiful part: when business success is kept in proper perspective, it becomes a powerful tool for kingdom work.

Successful businesses can:

• Fund missions and ministry generously
• Provide jobs and livelihoods for families
• Serve communities through products and services
• Model ethical business practices in corrupt industries
• Create platforms for sharing faith naturally
• Support churches and nonprofits with expertise and resources
• Demonstrate that Christianity is relevant in all areas of life, not just church

This is why I work hard to build successful businesses—not for wealth or status, but for the capacity to make kingdom impact at scale.

Final Thoughts: Integration Without Confusion

After years navigating both church ministry and business entrepreneurship, here's my conclusion:

Your faith should inform every area of your life, including business. But church is church, and business is business. They overlap in values, ethics, and purpose—but they have different functions, different goals, and different boundaries.

Integration means: Letting biblical values shape how you do business, stewarding resources wisely, serving people excellently, and using success for kingdom purposes.

Confusion means: Using church as a networking tool, spiritualizing business decisions to avoid hard work, or making business success your ultimate identity and worth.

Be excellent in business. Be faithful in ministry. Keep clear boundaries between the two. And remember that you're ultimately working for an audience of One—not for wealth, status, or human approval.

Build businesses that honor God by serving people excellently, operating ethically, and creating value in the world.