There’s a company called Camcraft that makes precision-engineered components. They have about 280 employees with revenue just under $70 million. They decided to hire a chaplain.
Not for PR, not for a brochure, but because they genuinely believe their people have needs that go beyond a paycheck.
One employee, a convicted felon, was turned down by every company he applied to after a background check. Then, Camcraft hired him. The interviewer told him straight: “If we don’t give you a chance, how can we be true to our mission to glorify God?”
The question most entrepreneurs never ask
We spend a lot of time thinking about markets, margins and growth plans. Rarely do we stop and ask: who am I actually trying to love through this business?
That sounds like a strange question, but it’s the right one.
The great commandment is simple. Love God with everything you have. And love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus didn’t add a footnote that said, “except between 9 and 5.” Your work and business are included.
When you start seeing it that way, everything shifts.
Here’s something worth sitting with. A lot of us build businesses to prove something, to show people we made it or earn respect, security, and acceptance.
But that’s a fragile foundation. Because your worth was never meant to come from your output.
The gospel flips this around completely. Acceptance isn’t something you work toward. It’s something you receive. God says you’re His before you’ve built anything. Before you’ve hit a single revenue target.
When that settles in you, something changes in how you work. You stop building to prove yourself. You start building to serve others. And that’s where real motivation lives. Not pressure. Not ego, but Love.
What loving your neighbour looks like in business
This isn’t abstract. It’s practical.
When you build a product or service, are you thinking about the person who’ll use it? Not just their wallet, but their actual life. Does your work make things genuinely better for them?
Do your employees feel like people or like resources? Are you thinking about who they are outside of working hours? Camcraft shares its quarterly financials with every employee, not because they have to, but because trust matters.
Are you fair towards your vendors and partners? Do your business dealings reflect the same values you claim to hold on a Sunday?
You also have a responsibility to your investors. Running a healthy, profitable business is one way to honor that commitment.
None of this is easy, and it’s actually harder than just chasing numbers. But it’s more meaningful. Over time, it builds something that lasts.
Profit isn’t the enemy
One thing worth saying clearly, this isn’t a case against profit. Profitable businesses create jobs, and they reduce poverty. They produce goods and services that improve lives. A healthy business is one of the most effective tools for blessing people around you.
Martin Luther put it plainly. When someone prays for their daily bread, God doesn’t make it appear from nowhere. He answers through the farmer, the baker, the person who prepared the meal. God works through human hands, through hard work. Through businesses that operate with care and excellence.
Your business could be an answer to someone’s prayer.
The thing Jim Collins got right
In Good to Great, Jim Collins writes about the intersection of three things. What you’re deeply passionate about. What you can do better than anyone else. What the world actually needs.
When those three things line up, he says, your work becomes meaningful. A meaningful life, he argues, is almost impossible without meaningful work, work that blesses others.
Session 7 of the Faith-Driven Entrepreneur series brings all of this to life. The Camcraft story. The theology of work, what it means to love your neighbour through the business you’re building.
Watch it here: Session 7 – Ministry in Deed
Credit: Faith Driven Entrepreneur
