Ministry Launches to Help Firmly Place Faith Alongside Your Work

God cares for every area of your life, and although it may seem obvious, He cares about how you live out your faith at work and inside the workplace. That's an area of our lives that could use more attention from churches, said Steve Lindsey, who is the visionary behind the Center for Faith + Work Los Angeles (CFWLA).CFWLA is a gospel-centered non-profit dedicated to transforming our relationship to work, fostering human flourishing, and renewing Los Angeles, states the organization. Lindsey recently shared his vision with Together LA, and about the group's first conference to be held in Santa Monica on April 1. The CFWLA is partnered with Pacific Crossroads Church for "cultural renewal to equip, connect and mobilize the church, sent out to care for the world of work."Lindsey's answers to four questions about CFWLA from TLA are below.TLA: What inspired you to start this ministry?Steve Lindsey: My interest in integrating faith with vocational life goes back to the '80s (though I'm not really that old). I loved early exposure to Francis Schaeffer’s teachings that God cares about every area of life. Yet my vocational work seemed under-addressed in church contexts and ministry, and felt lacking any ultimate value or purpose to God beyond providing for my family and church or being a platform for evangelism. After much reading, prayer, research, and discovering the pioneering work of the Center for Faith and Work in NYC at Redeemer Presbyterian Church (Tim Keller's vision), my wife Margaret and I saw that such a center located in Los Angeles could be just such a catalyst for transforming our view of work and it's pivotal place in God's kingdom.TLA: How is the Center for Faith + Work Los Angeles unique?Lindsey: CFWLA is unique in its addressing the needs of working believers in three primary ways: 1) In-depth theological and spiritual formation tailored to our vocational calls, within a rich and transformative community environment, 2) Envisioning God's redemptive purposes for our life's work inclusive of our vocational careers, and 3) Enabling the initiation of concrete expressions of social, cultural, and spiritual renewal in our city through our world of work.TLA: What is the most important thing people interested in attending your conference need to know?Lindsey: Come prepared to be fully engaged and receive an exciting vision for your vocational world and the future vision of CFWLA! Also, our website www.faithandworkLA.com is designed to make information and access simple to all of our events and offerings.TLA: How can Christians in LA come together to love on the city in terms of CFWLA goals?Lindsey: Loving the city well involves seeing God's love for all of creation more clearly. Our cities, communities and places of work are all extensions of God's creative work in the world. But so much has been broken and lost and in need of His restoration and redemption at the individual, social, and institutional levels. At the Center for Faith + Work Los Angeles we believe that the gospel affects everything, and as Chuck Colson once said, "Transformed people transform culture." Anyone longing to see God's hand more tangibly at work through their vocational contexts is encouraged to seek us out.