Building a
Kingdom Business
Growth that honors God
Jay Owen
Business Builders CEO
The Church of Eleven22 Chief of Ministry Staff
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Opening Hook · 0:00
A question nobody asks
If you handed Jesus your last P&L statement, what would He celebrate?
What would He grieve?
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Reframe
The premise
Faith and business are not two tracks.
They are the same track.
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Defining Kingdom Business
Clearing the baggage
A Kingdom business is not what you think it is.
What it is NOT
- A Christian bookstore
- A company that tithes 10% and calls it done
- A place where everyone must share the same beliefs
- A recruiting pipeline for the church
- A company with a fish on the logo
What it IS
- Every decision seen through stewardship
- Books, meetings, and hiring can be opened without shame
- A business that actually grows
- Transparently examinable by the One you report to
- Built so Jesus would be honored to be associated with what you do
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Say it twice
A Kingdom business is a business that
GROWS.
Profit is not evil. Poverty is not holy.
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Scripture
Colossians 3:23
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."
Whatever. Not just what you do on Sunday.
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Working definition
The bar
A Kingdom business is built and grown in a way that displays the worth of Christ to a watching world.
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The Framework
Three phases, one goal
Start. Grow. Last.
01 / START
START
A foundation that honors God.
02 / GROW
GROW
Growth that honors God.
03 / LAST
LAST
A legacy that honors God.
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Part One · 0:17 to 0:37
START
A foundation that honors God.
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The red wagon lesson
Lesson from a 7-year-old with a red wagon
How you show up matters more than what you are selling.
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The Why Test
The harder question
Why has God assigned you to business?
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Your why is NOT
These might be fuel. None of them will sustain you.
The whys that won't last.
- Money alone
- Status
- Revenge on the boss who fired you
- Proving your parents wrong
- Because you hate working for other people
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A Kingdom why
If it boils down to one word, it's
A Kingdom why sounds like this.
- I am here to help people who need what I can uniquely do
- I am here to provide for my family and bless others along the way
- I am here to create something that reflects the God who made me
- I am here to steward resources and people who need leadership
- I am here to point to something bigger than myself through my work
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Quote
"
Stop selling. Start helping.
Zig Ziglar
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0:25 to 0:30
Let's fix them
Mission statements usually stink.
Here is how to fix yours.
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Quote
"
I have seen too many mission statements on company walls that looked more like a wish list or a history lesson than the true mission of the company.
Dave Ramsey · EntreLeadership
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Business Builders · 2014
Our mission
Business Builders · Est. 1999
To help others grow their business through practical strategy, quality design, and measurable marketing that is friendly, honest, and glorifying to God.
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Eleven years later, zero clients lost
On those three words
Say the quiet part out loud.
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Core values
Three about the work. Three about who we are.
Our six core values.
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Value 05
Faith
Faith is the foundation of everything.
All values need a cornerstone.
Ours is faith in God.
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Homework · 0:34 to 0:37
START action items
Write it down. Put it on the wall. Make it true.
01
Write down, in one sentence, why you are in business. Not the version you would say in a networking meeting. The real version.
02
Block two hours this week to draft a mission. If you have one, ask three team members to recite it without looking. If they cannot, it is not a mission. It is decoration.
03
List the values that describe how your company actually behaves today. Compare that to what you claim. If there is a gap, you have work to do.
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Part Two · 0:37 to 1:12
GROW
Growth that honors God.
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Three marks
Growth that honors God has
Three marks.
Mark 01
People Over Pixels
Every human in your orbit bears God's image. Line items do not.
Mark 02
Steward, Don't Own
You were handed it for a season. Grow it like it isn't yours.
Mark 03
Integrity > Image
Who you are when no one watches is who you actually are.
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Mark 01 · 0:40 to 0:52
People
Over Pixels
Lives rich in people, not just pixels.
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The phrase I hate most
"
It's not personal.
It's business.
What we usually mean: I'm about to do something you won't like and I don't want to feel bad.
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Response
The truth
Business is personal.
Say so.
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Lou Holtz · EntreLeadership
Full stop
If you cannot lead your family well, you cannot lead your company well.
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Work and life
It is not a balance. It is a
BLENDER.
Some weeks are work. Some weeks are family. All weeks are intentional.
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Scripture
Matthew 18:15
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone."
Correct in private. Hire slow. Fire with dignity.
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Mark 02 · 0:52 to 1:05
Steward
Everything.
Own Nothing.
On paper, yes. In the Kingdom economy, no.
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Scripture
Psalm 24:1
"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."
Everything. Including your business.
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Matthew 25 · Parable of the Talents
Faithful stewardship is active, not passive
Kingdom business is not about playing it safe.
It is about multiplying what you have been given.
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Five responsibilities
Every Kingdom business owner stewards
Five things.
01
TimeThe one you can't make more of
02
MoneyMeasurable. Idolizable.
03
PeopleEntrusted, not owned
04
CustomersRelationships, not wallets
05
ToolsAI is the test of our generation
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0:58 to 1:05
Stewardship of tools
AI is the biggest stewardship test of our generation.
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Scripture
Luke 12:48
"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded."
We have been given a lot. What will we do with it?
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The operating rule
Never the other way around
Human-led.
AI-powered.
The moment we flip that order, we are in trouble.
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The working rule
Using AI well
When AI lets you do bad faster
Don't.
When AI lets you do good at scale
Use it until your fingers cramp.
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Free resources
Keep learning the tools
aiwithjay.com
The tools are changing fast. The values are not.
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Mark 03 · 1:05 to 1:12
Integrity
Over Image
Every shortcut in private catches up to you in public.
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Working definition
Integrity vs. Image
Integrity
Who you are
when no one
is watching.
Image
Who you are
when everyone
is.
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The Simple Test
Ask two questions
Would I be embarrassed if this showed up on the front page of the newspaper?
Would I be embarrassed to explain it to Jesus?
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Homework
GROW action items
Four things this week.
01
Ask one team member: "Am I treating you like a person or like a resource?" Listen. Do not defend.
02
List what your business owns. Cross out "own." Write "steward." Look again. What changes?
03
Use AI for one thing this week. Not to replace a person. To free one up for better work. Write the rule that keeps it human-led.
04
Find one place you're leaning on image instead of integrity. Just one. Fix it. Nobody has to know but you and the One you report to.
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Part Three · 1:12 to 1:25
LAST
A legacy that honors God.
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The progression
Three words
Starting is easy.
Lasting is hard.
Legacy is everything.
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1:14 to 1:18
The one trait I see in every leader I respect
Leaders are readers.
And listeners.
And learners.
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Scripture
Proverbs 18:15
"An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge."
Student first. Expert second.
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1:18 to 1:22
The bus question
Build a business that does not need you to run it.
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Discipleship is a Jesus word
The model
The goal is not to be needed.
The goal is to multiply.
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1:22 to 1:25
The Eternal
P&L
Every business will end. Yours. Mine. Every one in this room.
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The real question
When your business is gone
What will remain?
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Fruit that outlives the business
Not the currency of eternity. Christ alone is that. But the fruit that remains.
What remains.
- The people you led well
- The clients you served with integrity
- The families you provided for
- The generosity you sowed into your community
- The witness you were to the One who gave you the business in the first place
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Closing · 1:25 to 1:30
Three
Commitments
If you take away nothing else, take these.
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Commitment
01
I will
make my why clear enough that my team could repeat it back to me today.
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Commitment
02
I will
lead like a steward, not an owner.
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Commitment
03
I will
build something that lasts beyond me, because I am not the point.
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Back to where we started
The question that opened this talk
If you handed Jesus your last P&L, what would He celebrate? What would He grieve?
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End of talk
Make that answer a good one.
Thank you.
Jay Owen · jayowenlive.com · aiwithjay.com
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Questions
Let's talk.
Continue the conversation.
Jay Owen
Founder & CEO, Business Builders · Chief of Ministry Staff, Church of Eleven22
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