Gotta Have FAITH

Scott Haggberg used to own a Subway sandwich shop.

But that job didn’t fulfill him the way his current one does.

Haggberg’s still making sandwiches. But as the owner of the Our Daily Bread deli counter in the Crescent Court, he’s not only feeding hungry stomachs; he’s feeding souls, too.

“It’s become more than a business,” Haggberg says. “It’s become a ministry. It’s become an extension of our lives.”

A copy of the Lord’s Prayer hangs over the kitchen door and a hand-written message stuck on the cash register extols, “God bless you.” But Haggberg and his business partner-wife, Chris, say they don’t push religion on their customers.

A smile or a kind word — good customer-service strategies in any business — are outward expressions of their faith.

“We just want to show them love,” Chris Haggberg says.

Increasingly, business owners are putting their faith on the market along with their products and services.

Flip through the Yellow Pages and you’ll see dozens of listings with the Christian fish symbol in them. These aren’t just listings for churches; there are ads for chimney sweeps and attorneys, bail bondsmen and auto parts dealers, computer repairmen, electricians, and many others.

A dozen years ago, the International Coalition of Workplace Ministries had 25 members, president OsHillman says. Now, more than 1,200 organizations are part of the Georgia-based group.

“The organized church has not always affirmed their work life as a spiritual calling,” Hillman says. “No matter what you do, if you do it in an effort to glorify God, then that calling is as important as (evangelist) Billy Graham’s calling.”

More and more, business people feel they are being called by God to be entrepreneurs, says Doug Laher, an associate professor of business at Whitworth College.

“There seems to be a movement of business in general, looking at it as a ministry, as a way to make a difference in their society,” Laher says.

Lisa Fairburn, who co-owns Spokane’s Living Water Lawn and Tree Spray Service, says her husband, Mike, felt called to start a business.

While sitting in church one night, the couple heard a reference to “living water.”

“We just loved the name,” Lisa Fairburn recalls.

That was 14 years ago. The company now has 23 employees.

Like the Haggbergs, the Fairburns say they don’t preach to their customers. Rather, they demonstrate their faith in Jesus Christ by dealing with employees and customers in a respectful and kind way.

“We really want to be a blessing to the community,” Lisa Fairburn says. “We want to be more than just a professional business. We want to be a blessing to our employees and to our communities.”

To that end, the company sponsors Operation Neighbors and Friends, which helps provide child care, gas cards and other support services to families in the Air National Guard. Plus, Fairburn says, “We do actively pray for our customers and our employees.” And staff meetings typically begin or end with prayer, she says.

The Yellow Pages listing for Quick Release Bail Bonds includes the Christian fish symbol next to the message, “We will help you keep track of your court dates!”

“We’re a Christian-owned company,” co-owner Kirt Martinisays. “We just decided we wanted to keep our faith in it … It’s not a fire-and-brimstone deal with us. We just treat everybody fair. I guess you are innocent until proven guilty.”

Companies do run some risks when they make their faith known in such public ways, says Brad Sago, an associate professor of marketing at Whitworth College.

First, a business may risk alienating potential customers or employees who don’t share the same faith.

And second, a company with a faith-based mission might be held to a higher standard than others.

“It really sets a standard of performance and service you need to meet,” Sago says.

Fairburn is familiar with those high expectations.

She got a call a few weeks ago from a man complaining about an employee’s driving. Since the worker drove a truck with scripture written on the side, the man said he expected better behavior.

“We do have people on occasion who hold us to greater accountability because our faith is out there,” Fairburn says. “Sometimes we’re more in a fishbowl. We’re definitely not perfect.”

While some companies use faith to reach out to customers, Huntwood Industries has found a way to bring faith to its 700 employees.

For the past two-and-a-half-years, Gary Warrick has served as the company chaplain. He counsels workers, visits hospitals, even officiates employee weddings. Warrick says he’s one of only two company chaplains in Washington.

He spends his days walking through the Spokane cabinet-making business, talking with employees.

“I give them some of what I would call ‘Biblical advisement,’” Warrick says.

Sometimes, workers don’t want to talk with him. But, he says, “Overall, there’s been a good response.”

Huntwood’s owners hired Warrick in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he says.

“What the owners wanted after 9-11 was a place for people to come and get spiritual and emotional support and encouragement, he says.

“Unlike others, my goal isn’t so much to meet a bottom line, per se, as it is to let the people know they’re important and cared for.”

For Scott and Chris Haggberg, calling in their bread order to the bakery each day is like saying a little prayer — for themselves, their business and their customers.

“No longer are we serving sandwiches,” Scott Haggberg says. “We’re serving love.”