Keeping the Faith

Chick-fil-A, Forever 21, Timberland, Interstate Batteries, Tyson Foods ... the list of companies goes on. There’s a wealth of American businesses that are known not only for their products but also for the religious beliefs that guided their founders.

According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2014, more than 70 percent of Americans categorize themselves as Christians, with an additional 5.9 percent identifying as another religion such as Judaism, Islam, or Hinduism. It’s no surprise then that remodeling companies that highlight religion can readily be found in all 50 states. 

However, whether it’s breaded chicken or contracting services, religion is a polarizing subject fraught with controversy. So how do remodelers successfully incorporate faith into their businesses without running the risk of alienating potential clients as well as employees? The approach may vary from company to company, but it’s clear that religion can be found at the core of thousands of remodeling businesses nationwide.

What Makes a Faith-Based Company? 

Faith can be indicated by something as simple as a small fish symbol on a website or more boldly stated as part of the company’s actual name. It may be expressed by targeting a specific clientele or highlighted in management or business practices. But, of the faith-based firms we interviewed, all emphasize three elements: high ethical standards, strong corporate citizenship, and a belief that they’re accountable to a higher power.

ProVia, an award-winning manufacturer of door systems, windows, and vinyl siding, has woven faith into its business model for more than 30 years. The company opened its doors in 1977 in Ohio’s Amish heartland and has used two deep-seated religious values as the foundation for its business success: “Love thy neighbor,” and “Do good deeds.” Today, ProVia’s core messaging is tied to values inspired by faith. Those ideals stand front and center on the About Us page of the company’s website, which also features a quote adapted from the Bible.

“We are a faith-based business,” says Joe Klink, ProVia’s director of corporate relations. “We don’t put it out there for marketing purposes, we put it out there for accountability. We never want to say, ‘You need to do business with us because we’re Christians,’ but anybody who does business with us understands our founding principles.” 

The ways in which that faith manifests itself depends on individual company owners. Remodeler David Turner, for example, centers his business around helping people who are trying to change their lives. “I’m a recovering drug addict and alcoholic, but I was always good at remodeling,” says Turner, who is the owner of Christian Faith Ministries, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based remodeling company. For Turner, the act of serving God is intertwined with his business, so much so that his website reads, “As a family owned and operated business, we are free to focus on merging faith and ministry with home renovation and repair services.”

Today, he employs both skilled and unskilled workers with troubled pasts to help on remodeling projects, as a way to aid them in building a career. “It is my mission to provide those in need with an opportunity to grow in faith while also building a more prosperous future,” Turner says. “I’m in this business because I believe it’s possible for clients to enjoy the home of their dreams while also helping others obtain a fresh start. I like to say I am restoring not only homes, I am restoring lives.” 

Another example of how faith can be defined is through fiduciary responsibility. Rob Jackson, president of Servant Remodeling, a design/build firm in Dallas, explains that prompt payment to employees, vendors, and subcontractors represents a critical value in his faith-based company. “We pay people when we promise them we will pay them. … So many in this business rob Peter to pay Paul, and innocent people get caught in the middle,” Jackson says. “We don’t preach. We show our faith in the way we treat others, including prompt payment.”

Benefits and Challenges

One of the most commonly cited benefits associated with running a faith-based remodeling company is the unique bond that can form with clients. This mutual trust and respect can be a rich recipe for long-lasting business relationships and the source of many repeat referrals. “I’ve always tried to run my business the way God would want me to run it,” Jackson says, “and in that way I can show my real character. … People aren’t stupid. They are very perceptive when it comes to actions.”

Yet there are complications inherent in combining business with religion, or even publicly declaring faith as part of a company’s identity. Some of these challenges are relatively small, such as constantly being targeted for charitable donations. “We get calls on a daily basis for donation requests, and while we wish we could accommodate them all, the truth is we just can’t,” says Nate Yoder, marketing director for Mullet’s Aluminum Products, in Sarasota, Fla. However, other challenges are more serious.

Protecting Against Discrimination

Tajuddin Sabree is a practicing Muslim and the owner of Sabree Inc., a Washington, D.C., company that provides construction, remodeling, engineering, and environmental services. For Sabree, discrimination is not common, but he has seen it. “I see a lot of ignorance and discrimination, but it doesn’t bother me,” he says. “I tell myself that I must rise above it and try to teach others to be excellent in what they do. My faith is sometimes under attack, and so I must spread my best messages through my actions, and always demonstrate my highest level of work standards.”

Other challenges associated with faith-based business practices can be downright litigious in nature. Just ask Stuart Walker, lead broker for Emery & Webb Insurance, which serves clients throughout New England and Pennsylvania. Walker specializes in underwriting insurance coverage for faith-based enterprises, including churches, and says that more than at any other time in history, companies that emphasize faith as an overt business philosophy now run the risk of being targeted for discrimination lawsuits. “If you are a faith-based company [of any kind] and you want to emphasize faith but are concerned about liability, then you are right on the money,” he says. “Recent Supreme Court decisions have many people in the insurance industry very concerned. You may think it’s OK to emphasize religion and faith, but society may say something very different.”

In the past, the most common type of liability insurance used to protect faith-based businesses was called Employment Practices Liability Insurance. EPLI coverage insures against lawsuits filed by employees, former employees, and even employment candidates relating to their relationship with a potential employer. This coverage is crucial because it protects the firm and its officers, as well as current and former staff. EPLI policies also extend to seasonal employees as well as independent contractors. 

“However, these days, even a straightforward EPLI policy will not protect companies against religious discrimination lawsuits,” Walker says. “It really just protects employers from employee lawsuits. What has become common today for faith-based businesses is to add a ‘third-party’ inclusion to the EPLI.” The third-party EPLI is a separate insuring agreement contained within the policy that covers liability claims brought by nonemployees, including customers, clients, and vendors. “I would tell any business today that wants to emphasize faith to consider the third-party EPLI. It is money well spent, believe me,” Walker says. 

Of all the ways to illustrate faith within the remodeling industry, Aaron Gray and Josh Arnett may have found the most memorable and unique. The two Indiana subcontractors incorporate religious songs into their plumbing, roofing, and painting work. 

While the two singing tradesmen don’t necessarily consider themselves professional singers, it would be hard to convince their audiences of that. To date, The Singing Contractors have produced two CD recordings and are currently working on a third compilation called To God Be the Glory, slated for release by the end of the year. 

“We’ve known each other since we were 12 or 13 years old, attending the same church camps and the like,” Arnett says. “Later on, we both became subcontractors and sometimes we would find ourselves working on the same job together.”

One day, while the two were working together inside an empty house, they happened to notice that the bare walls and floor created beautiful acoustics. Almost spontaneously, Arnett and Gray started singing one of their favorite gospel tunes, “How Great Thou Art,” and the magical effect was instantaneous, Gray says. The next day, the two recorded the song and posted it on Facebook. The video went viral, and almost overnight The Singing Contractors had 7 million viewers who wanted more. 

“Singing about God is the most important thing for us,” Gray says. “We grew up in church, and it has been unbelievable how God has helped us on our journey and how He has used us for a bigger purpose.” 

This simple, organic expression of faith revolving around their contracting work has changed Gray and Arnett’s lives forever. “A lot of guys we subcontract off of tell us how much their customers really like us,” Gray says. “We’re honest, we do not use profanity, and at the end ofthe day, we like to sing.” 

The two have made television appearances on The Today Show and the Fox & Friends Morning Show on Fox News, and they perform at many industry events including the upcoming National Frame Building Association’s trade show next March in Nashville, Tenn. As part of the expo, The Singing Contractors will be performing at the world-famous Grand Ole Opry. 

However, one of the most profound results of their approach to faith within the remodeling world comes in the form of the hundreds of messages the two receive from fans each week. “One day we received this message in response to our ‘How Great Thou Art’ video, and that blew us away,” Arnett says. “Someone wrote in and said, ‘Thank you so much for singing that song. It’s made me question myselfand stop myself from committing suicide.’ If we have done nothingelse in this world but saved one life, that is what makes it all worth it to us.” —V.A.

Faith has always been a big part of Butch Mullet’s business. The founder of Mullet’s Aluminum Products, in Sarasota, Fla., traces his belief to an Amish and Mennonite upbringing. After spending the first part of his childhood in Ohio, Mullet’s family moved to Sarasota, where he attended public middle and high school. He still vividly recalls the transition he had to make from a private, faith-based education in Amish country to the public classrooms of Sarasota. “It was a real shock for me, I can tell you that,” Mullet says. 

In his last year of high school, Mullet met someone who would change his life. The father of an ex-girlfriend was a general contractor who offered Mullet a job and a chance to build a career. “He actually hired his own employees as subcontractors, and one of these jobs was installing aluminum siding,” Mullet says. “One day, the boss tells me ‘Butch, you’re going to help install aluminum today,’ and I realized I really liked this job. It proved to be a great opportunity.”

The firm is also 10-time winner of the Aluminum Association of Florida’s Award of Excellence forthe company’s strictadherence to a code ofethics that permeatesMullet’s entire workforce. 

But Mullet never forgot the lessons he learned as a schoolboy in Ohio, and he continues to emphasize helping others as part of his own and his business’s faith-based practices. In part, that means hiring people who may be homeless or otherwise down on their luck. 

“I think you would have to say the company practices lovingour fellow man,” Mullet says. “You are what your parents instilledin you, and for me that is a solid faith-based foundation andappreciation for people.” —V.A.