Return of the Tentmaker - Interview with Stu Johnson
We started a church plant by renting space in a forgotten strip mall. We had our core members but also began attracting the disenfranchised. That made sense because of where we were located. In time about half of our congregation was made up of people living on the fringes.
They were looking for family but traditional churches didn’t offer that. They needed stability but that kind of care also falls outside traditional churches. Many had become disillusioned.
We saw God calling us to serve the disenfranchised; the poor, widows, prisoners and single moms.
We began serving them and considering those who came family. In the process it became clear that they needed discipleship, including basic life skills and financial stability.
What emerged was a vision for our church community. We saw that in many ways work functioned more like family to people than their churches. Working side-by-side with others for eight hours a day provides a wonderful context for family – if approached properly. The “aha” lead us to begin creating businesses that provided financial stability and a context for discipleship.
When we started I was still head of real estate and manufacturing for a large medical equipment company. I cashed in some of my investment portfolio to buy a more suitable church facility in order to begin our journey creating community and creating Kingdom oriented businesses. The business umbrella is called Jesus Fishook.
Jesus’ model was clear and simple; take outcasts and invest in them 24-7 for three years. We believe in this pattern and have taken several steps to move in that direction. My passion for woodworking led me often to my favorite shop. One day the owner asked if I’d be interested in buying it. I didn’t have to think twice. We took over Wood World in Richardson, Texas and expanded it from supplies to fabrication. Then we came across an opportunity to buy another business, window tinting. The owner needed to exit due to health reasons and things worked out for us to acquire the business at very favorable terms. Last year we generated $1,200,000 in revenue. More importantly, these businesses provide a context to build financial stability and receive daily discipleship. We recently bought housing so we can offer a complete stable environment.
Classrooms rarely provide transformation but the OTJ discipleship we’re experiencing offers incredible life changes for everyone involved.
We work with some of the local prisons and provide a transition point for some of those released. Part of this effort included orientation to better understand the backgrounds for the people we will be serving. Part of this orientation is to sit in on some of the group counseling. This includes listening to each person’s story. I was amazed and saddened by the similarity in each person’s story. I was also surprised about the consistent common denominator. It wasn’t poor family backgrounds or economic class. The common element was a crisis that spun them out of control and isolation from any community network. In many cases the tipping point was a bad choice, but it was also a job loss or a family crisis. Once they fell out of their stable world what followed was a pendulum that never stabilized.
I recently retired and now spend my time working with our church community and in the local prisons. News of our efforts made it to the producers of the “Heartbeat of America.” They came in to film our businesses and interview several of our employees. We are excited because we feel God has led us to a personal understanding of his heart for the disenfranchised and provided us with practical ways to walk this out. I’m also excited and support The Return of the Tentmaker because I know there are other “me’s” out there; people who have a passion to find God’s heart through serving others.
They were looking for family but traditional churches didn’t offer that. They needed stability but that kind of care also falls outside traditional churches. Many had become disillusioned.
We saw God calling us to serve the disenfranchised; the poor, widows, prisoners and single moms.
We began serving them and considering those who came family. In the process it became clear that they needed discipleship, including basic life skills and financial stability.
What emerged was a vision for our church community. We saw that in many ways work functioned more like family to people than their churches. Working side-by-side with others for eight hours a day provides a wonderful context for family – if approached properly. The “aha” lead us to begin creating businesses that provided financial stability and a context for discipleship.
When we started I was still head of real estate and manufacturing for a large medical equipment company. I cashed in some of my investment portfolio to buy a more suitable church facility in order to begin our journey creating community and creating Kingdom oriented businesses. The business umbrella is called Jesus Fishook.
Jesus’ model was clear and simple; take outcasts and invest in them 24-7 for three years. We believe in this pattern and have taken several steps to move in that direction. My passion for woodworking led me often to my favorite shop. One day the owner asked if I’d be interested in buying it. I didn’t have to think twice. We took over Wood World in Richardson, Texas and expanded it from supplies to fabrication. Then we came across an opportunity to buy another business, window tinting. The owner needed to exit due to health reasons and things worked out for us to acquire the business at very favorable terms. Last year we generated $1,200,000 in revenue. More importantly, these businesses provide a context to build financial stability and receive daily discipleship. We recently bought housing so we can offer a complete stable environment.
Classrooms rarely provide transformation but the OTJ discipleship we’re experiencing offers incredible life changes for everyone involved.
We work with some of the local prisons and provide a transition point for some of those released. Part of this effort included orientation to better understand the backgrounds for the people we will be serving. Part of this orientation is to sit in on some of the group counseling. This includes listening to each person’s story. I was amazed and saddened by the similarity in each person’s story. I was also surprised about the consistent common denominator. It wasn’t poor family backgrounds or economic class. The common element was a crisis that spun them out of control and isolation from any community network. In many cases the tipping point was a bad choice, but it was also a job loss or a family crisis. Once they fell out of their stable world what followed was a pendulum that never stabilized.
I recently retired and now spend my time working with our church community and in the local prisons. News of our efforts made it to the producers of the “Heartbeat of America.” They came in to film our businesses and interview several of our employees. We are excited because we feel God has led us to a personal understanding of his heart for the disenfranchised and provided us with practical ways to walk this out. I’m also excited and support The Return of the Tentmaker because I know there are other “me’s” out there; people who have a passion to find God’s heart through serving others.
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