CINCINNATI (PRWEB)
July 22, 2022

Christian leaders from around the world connected with community peers and tapped into the theme of bringing heaven to earth at the 2022 XL Summit hosted by At Work On Purpose (AWOP).

More than 200 Christian workplace leaders attended this year’s summit, held on July 15 at Grace Chapel in Mason, Ohio. Attendees from around the globe also participated in the XL experience online.

“This year’s faith-at-work focus was on how to ‘bring heaven to Earth’ through the unique vocational contributions of everyday work. Together, we explored how to become ‘more than conquerors’ (Romans 8:37) as we confront the many ‘isms’ that get in the way of God’s Kingdom – the world as it should be rather than the world as it is,” said Chuck Proudfit, AWOP Founder and President.

The day-long summit included engaging presentations, insightful interviews, and interactive discussion focused on what it would look like for the Church at work to bring redemption to a society flooded with anxiety, discouragement, volatility, unrest, and polarization. “We seek to heal the ‘isms’ which create schisms in the Church and in the world at large,” explained Proudfit at the start of the summit.

The first panel interview focused on addressing racism, featuring Orlando Hale of the National Network of Youth Ministries; Walt Tracy, CEO and Co-Founder of UrbanNext; and Daniel Rumley, VP of Campus Development for UrbanNext. Hale shared the challenges of securing funding for his youth ministry, with black ministers statistically far less funded than white ministers, and how the Church can “even the scales.” Tracy and Rumley shared how their private school for disadvantaged minority students is bringing their black educational achievement outcomes closer to those of Caucasian children.

The second panel, focused on improving gender equality, featured Jane Doerman of Church Relations with Women in the Marketplace, and Teresa Tanner, Founder and CEO of the Reserve Squad. Doerman and Tanner shared actionable ways attendees could empower women in the marketplace with a focal point on leadership development and more empathy towards our female leader’s family needs.

The next discussion examined elitism, with panelists including Dr. Rob Hall, President of Trauma Free World and Mike Henry, Founder and CEO for Follower of One. Hall and Henry shared how marketplace mobilization efforts are often geared toward organizational leaders, yet the greater opportunity is to steward the right resources to reach each person in the marketplace.

Both Trauma Free World and Follower of One have developed platforms to equip those integrating their faith at work, regardless of their title. Hall and Henry explained how these platforms are accessible and have a low barrier to entry, allowing everyone to become involved—not just those in leadership. In hearing about both ministries, attendees learned common denominators to having a greater impact when integrating their faith at work.

In addition, a panel interview addressing ageism featured Spencer Hogan, Director of Young Professionals AWOP; Dana Dunmyer, President of TQI Solutions; and John Davis, VP of Human Resources at Cedarville University. All three panelists provided a series of practical solutions for multiple generations in the workplace learning how to bring the best out of each other, rather than simply clashing with each other.

In the second half of the summit, Karla Blair and Chris Batty of General Electric (GE) shared how they are working with colleagues to establish an Employee Resource Group at GE. Designed in alignment with the company’s human resources requirements, this breakthrough initiative allows Christian employees at GE to be faith expressive. Blair, Batty, and their Christian teammates were awarded the Transformation Trailblazers commendation by AWOP for 2022.

The last two sessions uncovered ways that God is leveraging marketplace resources for Kingdom impact.

Chris Beard, Lead Pastor of Peoples Church, spoke with Proudfit about the art of leveraging the resources of national and international ministries without losing the local context of cities; Nathan Smith of Glenmary Home Missioners shared how he is using small group discipleship in the marketplace to bridge denominational differences between Catholics and Protestants; and Chuck Peckham of Compassionate Justice spoke about the need to customize city transformation one neighborhood at a time.

Additionally, Steve Chua of InsightOut described how this innovative firm is harnessing Christians in consulting, coaching, and training for solving business problems in companies worldwide; Bob Seymore of The Global Leadership Network shared about a citywide pilot underway in Cincinnati, where revenues from their annual leadership summit will support local ministries in the Greater Cincinnati area; and Mike Larkin of the Great Awakening Project shared updates on how this ministry network is organizing Christians for faith expression across every channel of cultural influence.

Each year at the XL Summit, attendees are inspired to spur change in the workplace and in their everyday lives—and this year was no different. Explained Proudfit, “Our society is in upheaval from health anxiety, economic disruption, social unrest and political polarization. The Church in the working world can make a huge difference in addressing the intractable challenges.”

About At Work On Purpose (AWOP)

At Work On Purpose is a pioneer in the workplace ministry movement, advancing citywide workplace ministry around the world. With offices in Mason and Blue Ash, Ohio, more than 12,000 individuals from the private, public, and social sectors are a part of the AWOP community in Greater Cincinnati alone, with thousands of others in the AWOP network globally. For more information on AWOP and its specific initiatives, visit http://www.atworkonpurpose.org or call 800-513-9580.

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