The History Behind the Charlotte Worklife Network
The Charlotte Worklife Network was birthed out of a meeting in December of 2008.
During the course of 2008, Mission America, a national city reaching initiative, and several national workplace ministry leaders began to sense that God wanted to do something bigger in the workplaces of America than any one individual ministry was able to accomplish on their own.
As leaders prayed about this possibility, it was decided that a summit should be held in Charlotte, NC at the Billy Graham headquarters in December of 2008. The leaders in attendance represented several national workplace ministries and national ministries as well as Charlotte specific leaders. (see list below)
The purpose of the gathering was to be together in the same room to discern and discuss further what this broader activity of God might be about and how they as workplace ministry leaders should respond.
Out of this two day summit there was a strong sense that this “working together” needed to be “fleshed out” and “lived out” at a city level. There were several cities that each of these national workplace ministries had a presence in where God seemed to be already creating some enthusiasm for a stronger working together.
Charlotte, NC was one of the cities that kept coming up to the top of the list. It was agreed that leaders in Charlotte would begin to be more intentional about forming connections and aligning together toward what God was doing in our city. As a heavenly endorsement of this idea, God provided a double rainbow over the city that a few of the attendees saw upon leaving the meeting that afternoon on their commute home.
In the Spring of 2009, several Charlotte, Workplace Ministries, Church Leaders, and Christian Business Leaders, began to meet together intermittently to get a greater sense of God’s heart for Charlotte.
Through late 2009 and 2010, God continued to knit together these leaders in both friendship and in supporting and encouraging each other in the specific marketplace niche that each ministry, church, and individual was called.
Regularly throughout this time frame, God was glorified as situations and circumstances came together to amplify and accelerate what he was doing in the workplaces of Charlotte. Amazing connections were made, ministry was accelerated both locally in Charlotte and beyond.
The Charlotte Worklife Network continues to work together building relationships, resourcing churches and individuals, and working for city transformation.
Other known cities where similar collaboration efforts are underway include:
- Raleigh, NC
- Orange County, CA
- Denver, CO
- Atlanta, GA
Organizations Represented at Dec 2008 Summit
National Workplace Ministry Leaders
Christian Businessmen Connected (CBMC)
Corporate Chaplains of America
Fellowship of Companies for Christ (FCCI)
His Church at Work
Marketplace Chaplains
Priority Associates (Campus Crusade’s Marketplace Ministry)
Worklife Consultants
National and City Reaching Ministries
Billy Graham Association Workplace Initiative
Mission America
Charlotte Awake
Charlotte Pastors
Charlotte Christian Professionals
Understanding Organic Networks
The links below are web streamed videos and unpack the power of Organic Networks and how our network was formed in Charlotte, NC.
God’s Rainbow Promise
After the December 2008 meeting, those who were driving back toward downtown Charlotte were given a “Double Rainbow Promise” from Heaven.
We do not take this natural phenomenon lightly. The circumstances of this meeting just finishing and then followed timing-wise by a double rainbow over downtown Charlotte speaks to the fact that God has a purposes for our city that are bigger than we can ask, imagine, or think.
This is a graphical recreation of that phenomenon as there was never an actual picture taken at the time. If you would like a copy of this image, please contact us.