Fast-growing organization links Christian business leaders
GUELPH, ON—A group of Christian business leaders with chapters across Canada is growing at a fast pace and attracting other organizations and institutions—particularly, Christian universities and colleges.
Two years ago, the Canadian Christian Business Foundation (CCBF) had eight local chapters—groups of business leaders meeting each month over breakfast for mutual support and encouragement, and to discuss what it means to do business as a Christian. Today, there are 24 chapters stretching from Ontario to B.C., with more than 2,000 members.
But for CCBF executive director Keith Knight, one of the most exciting developments is the growing number of Christian universities and colleges that are becoming members of the organization because of its focus on mentoring and connecting business students with Christian business leaders.
Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario, Tyndale College and Seminary in Toronto, The King's University College in Edmonton and Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C. are part of the organization and building connections with local business leaders.
In a recent update, Knight wrote that he hopes the CCBF develops "a national network of Christian universities and colleges who can connect their business students in mentoring relationships with Christian business leaders."
Knight told ChristianWeek that mentoring relationships are important because they give students real-life knowledge of what they learn about in the classroom.
"You can learn some basic business principles in the classroom, but when you're involved in a mentoring situation, you see and hear the struggles first-hand that business people have competing with the secular world around them," Knight says.
Keeping one's integrity intact in business can be difficult when faced with the temptation to cut corners to save on costs, but it's paramount.
"It's tough; it's a challenge, but it's also important to tie in and have your faith reflect all that you do," Knight says.
Elden Wiebe, associate professor of management and commerce at The King's University College, says the school's CCBF membership is important because he hopes that King's graduates eventually become members themselves.
"You might graduate from a place like King's where you have been taught from a Christian perspective, but inevitably, if you join a large company…it's driven by the profit motive," Wiebe says.
"One of my personal fears is: Does all that education fundamentally get lost because of the pressure of making numbers and all the rest of it? The CCBF chapter potentially has an opportunity to help people think through issues they're facing and to remind people of what doing business from a Christian perspective might look like."
Andrea Soberg, dean of Trinity Western University's school of business, says her involvement in her local CCBF chapter might influence the school's curriculum.
"The more I hear of the challenges these businesspeople are having, the more it makes me realize what needs to be taught in the classroom to upcoming Christian business people," Soberg says.
At TWU, third-year business students are partnered with a Christian mentor to give them a sense of what it's like to do business as a Christian, as well as how to balance work with a personal life. Soberg hopes the school's membership with the CCBF could lead to finding more mentors for students.
"It is hard to find mentors, and to have solid people of faith share the challenges they've faced is valuable," she says.
Knight is excited about that potential as well.
"I have no idea where it will end," he says of the CCBF's growth. "We clearly are non-denominational. We have a wide range of members. It's really for any Christian who wants to come together with other Christians for discussion about mutual issues. There's no animosity or competition. We get together for a meal and encouragement."
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