Under the title "Leaders who serve, servants who lead", the 5th nationl meeting of Christian business leaders was held in the Spanish city of Valencia, in two intense days that brought together 70 participants from different parts of the country.

Businessmen, managers and entrepreneurs shared a time of training and networking in a Christian setting, where they could get to know each other and offer mutual support.

Abraham Maldonado, president of Tres-e  group (Gospel, Economy and Business), welcomed the participants, recalling the importance of this type of meetings to connect Christians from different places but with common concerns. "There is godly networking going on here", he said.

The challenge of leading and serving

Pastor, author and coach Felix Ortiz was the main speaker. Ortiz challenged the participants to recover a biblical leadership model to apply to any life context, which also includes the management of companies and the business world.

"The purpose of leadership is not to take advantage of something or someone, but to align ourselves with God's plan in all dimensions of human life", stressed Ortiz. In order to do so, the example of Jesus, not only in his teaching, but also in the way he lived,is a guide.

With a dynamic presentation, sprinkled with much humour, Ortiz drew on the biblical basis and on what the scientific discipline of leadership studies is advancing, to make a valuable synthesis of what a leader can be according to God's model.

The speaker emphasised the importance of self-leadership, based on a proper recognition of our own identity, from which it is possible to develop a leadership that makes others flourish and contribute to the extension of God's kingdom. "Our work must contribute to the process of restoring what sin has broken", said Ortiz in the last session.

Worthy testimonies

There were opportunities to hear stories from Christians in the business and corporate world. Yukonda Esparragoza, a businesswoman who runs an industrial laundry in Gran Canaria, told how God provided in surprising ways in the midst of very difficult trials in her business and personal life.

Jesus Fernandez and his wife Ana, who run a custom production company, talked about how a genuine spiritual encounter they experienced changed their business and turned around the way they run the company.

Social media influencers Grace Villarreal and Jacob Henson shared how they have developed an entrepreneurial journey of integrity in this new online environment, and how they have been able to extend their vision to other areas of business such as restaurants and fashion.

Social action

There was also space for the presentation of two NGOs that are positively working to change thousands of lives.

Sara Marcos spoke about Sekeleka, a mission and aid project in Mozambique; and Laia Gallego presented Compassion's child sponsorship work.

Daniel and Ada presented the sustainable clothing brand with which they also want to contribute to the support of missionaries, as well as presenting their musical work and leading the audience in worship during the event. Loida García explained the short film she has been working on and hopes to release soon.

A growing project

Angel Gonzalez, on behalf of the board of Christian business leaders, gave a final report on how Tres-e seeks to unite Christian entrepreneurs and business managers, motivating them to bring about positive transformation wherever they have influence and emphasising that it is possible to have a spiritual vision that brings fruit at a business level.

The event ended with positive feedback from the attendees, and the hope that Christian business people can continue to work together in the coming months, not only on a national level but also by creating local groups to support each other and where they can find support.

This article was produced for the Líderes Empresariales section of Protestante Digital, an initiative of the Gospel, Economy and Business (Tres-E) group in Spain.