“Making a difference” was the theme of the sixth national meeting of Christian Business Leaders (LEC) of Spain, which for two days brought together around one hundred business people, managers and professionals in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) to receive training, generate synergies and analyse the challenges faced in the workplace.

The aim of the meeting was also to get to know each other. Participants were encouraged to join the regional groups that are already active in Galicia, Madrid, Catalonia, Valencia, Andalusia and the Canary Islands.

The small groups, which meet every month or two, allow Christian businesspeople to strengthen their relationships and try to apply gospel values to their work environments.

Contributing to a better society

In the first session, David Garrofé, who has an extensive experience both in the business sector and in the development of social projects, presented the “sphere sovereignty” proposal developed by the Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper, as a Protestant worldview model that would help the development, not only of business projects, but of society as a whole.

Garrofé called for “avoiding simplistic proposals which are false” and for breaking with the “‘short-termist’ models that abound in the current framework of ‘hypermodernity’”.

“We can bring transformation, but we have to start from a realistic point of view”, Garrofé said, and “examine how we can propose a model for the reconciliation of the individuals, civil society, companies, social agents and even the state”, he added.

The experienced entrepreneur encouraged participants to understand that “the Christian life is a race, not a collection of moments”, and to think about leaving a legacy for future generations. “God blesses a job well done, that is strong in vision and flexible in execution”.

He also urged entrepreneurs to “seek strategic alliances in different sectors”, understanding that we can be ”‘transformative agents by identifying those who share our vision”.

For Garrofé, Christians “must transform by mingling, by being present in every sphere, also in the political or in the social areas”.

“Let's use the gifts in intelligent and innovative ways”, he concluded.

Following God's plan in the midst of difficulty

The author and speaker Jaime Fernández Garrido was in charge of the two plenary sessions on Saturday.

In the first one, he explained how comforting others is a key task among Christians, recognising that what matters most to God “is us as people, not so much what we do”.

“We must admit that God's call to live in his kingdom is higher than our professional career or the work we are doing. If God has called you to be an entrepreneur, you have to bring Christ into that environment”, pointed out Fernández.

In the second plenay, Fernández shared several lessons drawn from Joseph's life (in the biblical book of Genesis), which also apply to the personal development of anyone, but with a special emphasis on business people.

He underlined that by seeing God's hand in the life of Joseph, we realise that we may not always understand what happens to us, but we can trust that God's plan is the best for our lives.

Presentations and personal stories

The program included several presentations and the testimonies of entrepreneurs and professionals in different areas.

One of them was that of Business Social Action, a Catholic entity that works in the business world. Javier Fernández-Cid underlined the “Christian roots of Europe” and explained how his group seeks to support others, “because we do not want to be alone in this task”.

Cristovao Pereira was visiting the event from Portugal, where he is one of the heads of an association of Portuguese Christian entrepreneurs called ASPEC. He explained how they emphasise their evangelistic work and prayer for one another, as well as the support networks they are building to “be a blessing” in their environments.

Furthermore, businessman and evangelical pastor Alberto Matíes shared his own experience, emphasising that "it is compatible to have a business with a mission, because the problem is the love of money, not the money".

Matíes encouraged participants to be faithful stewards. “I want my business to reflect Christ”, he said.

Martha Ramirez told how her faith has driven her vision in the field of art. Manuel Rodríguez shared how music has opened doors for him to reach high profile people and how finding other Christian business people with whom to share burdens and dreams was key in his journey.

And Eva Contador moved the audience by telling her family story, marked by the illness of some of her children, and how the health-entrepreneurial and social work has opened doors for her in the field of politics, to the point of being Deputy Mayor of the Cordoba City Council for several years now.

Christian Business Leaders: a new impulse

New developments of LEC were presented, highlighting the need to formalise an affiliation that allows the growth of a project that seeks, according to Ángel González, member of the LEC committee, “to supply a need for vision and companionship for the Christian Business Leaders (in Spanish, LEC), which is compatible with their professional work and also strengthens their spiritual life”.

This article was produced for the Líderes Empresariales section of Protestante Digital. Learn more about LEC here.