Our Manifesto
This Is Bigger Than a Directory
We are building a nationwide network of Christian business owners and City Owners who believe business can be used to strengthen communities, create opportunity, and fulfill the Great Commission through Marketplace Ministry.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations...” — Matthew 28:19
A Shared Mission
A Mission Bigger Than Any One of Us
At first glance, someone may see a business directory.
We see a network.
Not simply a network of websites, but a growing network of Christian business owners, City Owners, leaders, families, customers, and communities throughout the United States who are being connected around a shared mission.
Every city directory becomes a gathering place. It gives Christian business owners in that city a place to find one another, support one another, refer one another, encourage one another, and work together to reach their community.
One business can make an impact. But when dozens or hundreds of Christian businesses in the same city begin seeing themselves as part of something greater, they become more than separate businesses.
They become a network. They become a team. They become a presence in their city.
Shared purpose creates shared impact.
Business as a Tool God Can Use
The Marketplace Is a Mission Field
Every Christian business owner already has a powerful tool in their hands: their business.
Business owners meet people every day who may never walk into a church. They serve customers. They employ people. They solve problems. They build relationships. They earn trust. They become part of the everyday life of their community.
This is Marketplace Ministry — recognizing that God can use the place where He has already positioned us.
The Great Commission does not belong only inside church buildings. It belongs in our homes, our neighborhoods, our workplaces — and it belongs in the marketplace.
You do not have to stand behind a pulpit to make a difference for the Kingdom of God.
A Christian business owner may minister behind a counter, at a desk, on a construction site, inside an office, driving a truck, repairing an appliance, selling a home, serving food, preparing payroll, or helping a customer. Every one of those places can become an opportunity to represent Jesus Christ well.
Every Directory Can Impact a City
One Directory. One City. Unlimited Possibilities.
Every Christian City Directory has the potential to become a connecting point for the Christian business community within that city. Imagine what happens when Christian businesses become connected:
- Christian businesses referring customers to one another
- Business owners meeting and building relationships
- Owners gathering together for prayer and encouragement
- Businesses helping local families in need
- Business owners supporting churches and ministries
- Successful entrepreneurs encouraging younger business owners
- Businesses cooperating on local service projects
- Owners combining resources to meet needs in their community
- Christian businesses becoming visible to people who want to support them
The directory connects the businesses.
The businesses connect with people.
Relationships create opportunities to change lives.
City by City Across America
Imagine This Happening Across America
We are not building isolated directories. We are building a connected network across the United States.
One city connects with another. One City Owner encourages another. One business owner discovers another. One community learns from another.
Over time, something much larger begins to take shape: a national network of Christians in business who understand that their business is more than simply a way to make a living.
An illustration of the long-term vision — a connected network, city by city.
Their business can:
PURPOSE AND PROFITABILITY
Profitability With Purpose
There is nothing wrong with building a profitable business. There is nothing wrong with a City Owner creating income.
Businesses must prosper in order to employ people, serve customers, support families, give generously, and continue growing. But our vision is larger than profit alone.
We believe purpose and prosperity can work together. The City Owner can prosper. The Christian business owner can prosper. Customers can find businesses they want to support. Communities can become stronger. And the Kingdom of God can be represented throughout the marketplace.
We are not building something where only one person wins. We are building something where we help one another win.
“Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” — Philippians 2:4
The Power of the Network
When One Grows, We All Become Stronger
When one directory grows, the network becomes stronger. When one Christian business succeeds, the local Christian business community becomes stronger.
When one City Owner discovers a successful strategy, that knowledge can help City Owners across the country.
When one relationship leads to encouragement, prayer, ministry, or someone coming closer to Jesus Christ, the impact can extend far beyond the original business transaction.
The greatest impact of this network may happen through people we never personally meet. A customer discovers a Christian business through a directory. That owner develops a relationship with the customer. That relationship creates an opportunity for prayer, encouragement, assistance, or a conversation about faith. And that person's life may then influence someone else.
We may never know every life that is touched through what we are building. And that is exactly why the vision is bigger than any one of us.
A Vision That Outlives Us
Real Vision Goes Beyond the Founder
If a vision depends entirely on one person, it is too small. We want to build something that continues growing far beyond any individual.
Something future City Owners can lead. Something future Christian businesses can join. Something communities can embrace. Something families can benefit from. Something that can reach people we will never personally meet. Something that can continue from one generation to another.
The Vision Will Change Lives Beyond Any One of Us.
Every person involved becomes one part of something much larger. No one person owns the mission. No one person receives all the credit. Everyone contributes. God gives the increase.
What You Are Really Part Of
You Are Part of More Than a Directory
Every Directory Is Another City.
Every Listing Is Another Christian Business Connected.
Every Relationship Is Another Opportunity.
Every Community Is Another Mission Field.
What God Has Placed in Your Hand
Use What God Has Given You
Christian business owners already possess resources God can use:
Your business is not simply something you own. It can become something God uses.
THIS IS OUR MANIFESTO
- We believe business can be ministry.
- We believe Christian business owners can strengthen their cities.
- We believe relationships can change lives.
- We believe Christians in business should know one another, support one another, and grow together.
- We believe profitability and purpose can work together.
- We believe every city is a mission field.
- We believe every Christian business has something God can use.
- We believe no single person can accomplish this vision alone.
- We believe that together we can build something far greater than any one of us could build individually.
This is bigger than a directory.
It is bigger than a business.
It is bigger than one city.
It is bigger than any one of us.
We are building a network.
We are building community.
We are building Marketplace Ministry.
And by the grace of God, we are building something that can change lives for generations to come.
Find Your Place in the Vision
Whether you are a Christian business owner, a City Owner, or someone who simply believes in strengthening Christian businesses and reaching communities, there is a place for you in this mission.