Christians engaging with their city-centre work community

In Edinburgh a group of men and women from across the denominations have joined forces to serve their neighbours in the workplace.

They have formed The Business Matters Edinburgh Trust which operates under the name of ‘Business Matters’.

The founders of the service included a banker, a lawyer, two actuaries, an accountant and a client relationship manager. Iain Archibald one of the founders said, “We wanted to reach out and be of service to our neighbours around us, building a sense of community.”

The trust operates with a team of four, two paid staff and two volunteers, who make contact with Human Resources departments. They hold lunchtime talks on work-related themes in any offices willing to offer them hospitality.

They don’t operate from a church building and they don’t usually invite people to a church building. Instead they seek to meet people in an environment they feel comfortable with and are used to. For example, when they run the Alpha course, they use an elegant hotel, which gives the course a ‘corporate’ setting and a business feel, much like a networking event or training course.

You might call Business Matters an expression of church without walls.

Serving people at work

‘Business Matters’ goals are simple: first and foremost, to meet and serve people where they are, in their place of work. As such, they have an inclusive ministry, supporting people of all faiths and no faith.

Secondly, they seek to commend the Master Worker whom they follow, through their professionalism, values and integrity. They aim to do so mostly without the use of words. Sometimes, when invited to do so, they are more explicit about the Christian faith that motivates them. When the opportunity arises and it seems natural to do so they invite people to the Business Alpha Edinburgh (BAE) course.

The distinction between the two brands - ‘Business Matters’ and ‘Business Alpha Edinburgh’ – is important. Everyone and anyone, any office or employer, can relate to the practical business talks that are offered by ‘Business Matters’.

This trust only states it offers “a supportive Christian presence” in the offices of the city centre.

BAE on the other hand offers opportunities to explore spiritual aspects of work life and life in general. It offers those who have expressed an interest the opportunity to explore the person of Jesus and what it means to follow him.

The first brand is regarded as “safe” by employers. The second brand is more obviously Christian and people are free to choose whether to opt in.

In this way the trustees and staff hope to give people the opportunity to journey towards faith at their own pace and at a level they feel comfortable with.

The analogy they use is that office workers of all types and levels relate to ‘Business Matters’ and BAE in the same way they might to a department store.

On the ground floor to welcome them in are work-related talks. These cover such subjects as coping with stress, work/life balance, or helping a colleague suffering from depression.

Talks touching on themes in Rob Parsons book and DVD The Heart of Success (available from Care for the Family) have gone down well.

On the next floor they find a listening ear. As relationship grows, they have the chance to talk over work or personal matters in a confidential one-to-one environment.

If people want to take the escalator and go higher, they can choose to embark on a journey of spiritual exploration and do the Business Alpha course.

So far the course, which runs at lunchtime, has welcomed well over 300 people. Over the years a lot of lapsed or nominal church members have attended, many of these coming fully to faith.
Others have found faith for the first time.

One reason the course works so well is that business men and women give the talks each week – people from the same world as the guests. Another reason is that the guests find the city-centre venue of a hotel familiar, and therefore non-threatening.

A Christian lawyer has said:
‘This is by far the most significant venture I know of for inviting non-Christians. I’ve invited people along who would never come to church - and they’ve come!’

Like any good department store, ‘Business Matters’ looks to respond to the needs of the market. In these recessionary times, much of their time and energy has been spent helping people who find themselves between jobs.

Their ‘New Futures Group’ meets weekly and helps people re-assess their skills and passions, work out what sort of new job they want, and compose the best CVs and job applications.

In these ways ‘Business Matters’ is seeking to be a good neighbour to those who work in the centre of Edinburgh, whether people are in or out of work.

For more information, visit:
Business Matters
www.businessmattersedinburgh.com
Business Alpha Edinburgh
www.businessalphaedinburgh.com
 

Last Updated 05 February 2010