Dear Friends,

Welcome to 2012! I love the start of a new year.. I love that it is an opportunity to reflect on what has past and get excited about what is coming. And it is coming, isn't it!

As you think hard about your 2012…about your personal life, your work life, your faith…I want to encourage you to invite WorkMatters to be a part of it. Use us. Make a commitment to push harder into bridging the gap between your faith and your work. Our mission and our passion is to serve you.

When you get a minute, look around in our website. Check out the equipping events and resources available to you, whether you live in northwest Arkansas or Tibet ( hi Mel! ). Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Let's work together to make 2012 the year that your work becomes more purposeful and influential!

David Roth
WorkMatters President

Year-End Fundraising - Thank You!!!

For eight consecutive years, God has been faithful!  On November 1, WorkMatters launched our One Day at a Time campaign to pray and work to raise $120,000  by December 31.

Because of God’s faithfulness and your support of our mission, we not only achieved the goal, we exceeded it!

We now begin 2012 with great confidence to continue to grow and impact more leaders through the marketplace.

Thank you! We are incredibly grateful for each of you who prayed and invested in our mission and vision.  Lives are being impacted, culture is changing.

Seven Pillars

The Seven Pillars of Faith at Work is the product of many years of personal and corporate experience, listening to many people share their workplace challenges, and through deep prayer and Bible study.

Each month, we target a particular Pillar to focus on in our blog.  Spencer Frazier, SVP for Sales at J.B. Hunt brought a powerful message to our Eight to Five gathering about the pillar, Influence entitled "The Source of Influence." He writes... 

"One of the keys to how we influence others is to choose to let God influence us first.  We need to lean into our Relationship with Him.  But how do we do that at work, specifically if we are faced with a challenging situation and we are just not sure what to do? "  Read more...

2012 WorkMatters Chick-fil-A Leadercast

Mark you calendars for May 4 for the 2012 WorkMatters Chick-fil- A Leadercast! The planning process is fully underway to take this year’s event to a whole new level.  We are making every effort to provide you an unforgettable day of inspiration, learning, connecting and more. This year’s theme,“Choose to Impact,”will emphasize how the choices you make define the leader you become.

This year’s speakers are again a great blend of world class leaders including best-selling author Patrick Lencioni, Denver Broncos quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, CNN Anchor Soledad O'Brien, Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts, Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer, best selling author and communicator Andy Stanley and more. Click here to read about all the speakers.

We are also excited to announced that we will the Leadercast will be held in TWO locations to try make it as convenient as possible for you to attend no matter where you live or work in Northwest Arkansas.  We will continue to host the event at Cross Church Pinnacle Hills.  The new location will be in Fayetteville at Central United Methodist Church on Dickson St.  This was where the first Leadercast was held nine years ago and we are so pleased to be returning to where it all started for WorkMatters. 

We hope that you’ll be able to join us on May 4^th. Be sure to purchase your tickets early to the largest Leadercast host site in the world. Hope to see you there!

Eight to Five

Thus far, it has been an amazing season for Eight to Five. Centered around the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work, the discussions this season have been focused on "how do I do it?"  Our sessions have been geared more toward teaching and helping people to better understand the practical application of these faith at work principles and how to live them out in the marketplace. 

The fall Eight to Five teachings covered Relationship, Integrity, Excellence and we closed the year with an excellent teaching on Influence. We are continuing to teach through the remainder of our season with discussions on Serve, Calling and Balance.  If you have not been able to attend any of the sessions, each topic is available for viewing or as a podcast and an executive summary of key talking points is available as well.  Click here to check them out!

One of the major improvements this season has been setting aside time after the teaching time for discussion groups.   The feedback we’ve received has been very positive with many saying that it really helps them to drive the message home.  These discussion groups are also helping people to connect with each other and build new relationships. 

We hope you will make plans to attend these powerful sessions as we truly are going deep this season and making every effort to equip you for success in living out your faith at work.

ENGAGE - Happy ONE Year Anniversary!

One year ago this month…ENGAGE was launched! 

Pursuing a strong felt need and led by a passionate group of young professional leaders, WorkMatters launched ENGAGE in January, 2011. This new marketplace focused ministry was created to give the next generation of marketplace leaders a different world view than the one they currently receive from the world.

The ENGAGE format includes a monthly large group Gathering, smaller Pop Up Groups discussing  specific work/faith/life related issues; monthly community serving opportunities; and a mentoring program with professionals ages 35+.

We have made some great changes to the monthly Gatherings; including a free dinner from our friends at Tropical Smoothie, a move from Thursday nights to  Tuesday nights, and a more "engaging" format. Join your Young Professional peers on at our next gathering on Tuesday, January 31! 

Kairos 2012 - Looking for a "high integrity" intern?

We are excited to launch our 2012 Kairos summer intern program! Kairos recruits "high integrity" college Junior or Senior leaders who are preparing for a career in the marketplace. We then connect them with companies like yours who want high quality interns and also want to make a difference in their lives while they work.

The 2011 Kairos class was extraordinary. On July 30, we commissioned 12 students (nine men, three women), representing three college campuses to become marketplace disciples! The students worked at nine different companies. Of our 2011 Kairos students, five graduated in 2011 and all five were offered and accepted jobs at their intern placement companies! Of the remaining seven who are still attending college, five continue to intern at their placement companies.

This is a powerful ministry for both our Kairos college students and their interning companies. A rare win/win for both.

If your company is interested in discussing a Kairos Intern for 2012, please email us.

Impacting Lives in Marietta, Ga.

WorkMatters Marietta continues to grow in it's influence in Marietta, Ga. Launched 18 months ago, WorkMatters Marietta hosts a monthly Eight to Five Speaker Series,  then caps off the year with the WorkMatters Chick-fil-A Leadercast. Last year, their first Leadercast, they hosted over 350 leaders!

We are excited about our partnership with the business leaders in Marietta, and we are anxious to continue to grow WorkMatters in other great cities across the US. If you or someone you know, has a passion for bridging the gap between faith and work in other US cities, send us an email. We would love to hear your story!