Welcome to the, iWork4Him podcast. I'm Michael miracle producer of the, iWork4Him radio program, the voice of the faith and work movement. Our mission is to transform the workplace of every Christian into a mission field. What does that look like in your workplace? Let's find out right now.

Jim: You've tuned into, iWork4Him, the mouthpiece for the faith and work movement, we're your hosts, Jim and Martha Brangenberg.

Martha: Happy ninth birthday.

Jim: Could you say that with more enthusiasm?

Martha: I am so excited. I love birthdays. I love parties. I love celebrating. And, um, I'm just excited to have everyone here along with us for this conversation today.

I want to encourage all of you. If you're listening to this, take a little Gander out to our YouTube channel, a Gander, a little journey, a little journey. Go navigate your way over to the YouTube channel for iWork4Him. Subscribe, and then, oh, you're going to navigate with the garment could be a little tough.

I don't know if he can get to YouTube from there, but anyway, there's some special content for visually that we want you to enjoy today. So, but thank you for being here with us today. Thank you for this journey. We appreciate each and every one of you,

Jim: you mean that's special visual stuff like that cool video.

Oh, which if you're watching this on YouTube, it's actually part of today's show.

Martha: Yeah, so it's exciting. It is exciting. All right. Are you ready? We're ready.

Jim: It all started with a speech, a speech about five ways to incorporate your faith into your workplace. Nine years later iWork4Him is a legacy organization with over 2000 produced podcasts.

That's actually now over 2100 produced podcasts, over 3000 different guests, three brands, three books. And so much more. I work rooms become the mouthpiece for the faith and work movement, a movement dedicated to you. The workplace believer. There's so much to talk about and celebrate Martha, let's get going.

Martha: Oh, I'm excited for this conversation. You know, one of the things it's almost like, you know, when you have a new year, when you have a birthday, when you, when you get to reflect and look at what God has done, and that's one of the things we just get to do today.

Jim: So, where are we at today? Let's talk about where we're at today.

What's amazing is that, you know, both Martha and I have a background in insurance, both commercial and personal lines insurance, but where we're at today, we are at an organization that is dedicated to really lifting up workplace believers across the country to let everybody know who's a believer in Jesus, that your work matters to God that who you are each and every day in your workplace.

That is your place of ministry. It's your mission field? Because it was filled with it filled full of loss and hopeless people. So where are we at today? We're in a spot, a sweet spot that God has put us in to encourage and lift up what God is doing across the country. And you're a

part of that,

Martha: you know, and if you want to talk, literally we're inside your phone, we are on your desktop, we're in your laptop or in your.

Earbuds, whatever you have a bookcase. That's a good one. So you're and your bumper

or your back window,

there you go on yours, even on your cell phone. Not digitally, but also like we have a little business card holders. I mean, so anyway, we're could be in your hands with the pen. sheWorks4Him Pen. God has us all over the place.

And we're just so grateful to be along for the journey.

Jim: And so we want to thank you. As we opened up the show nine years ago, saying something like this: your workplace, it's your mission field. And in that mission field, you and me, we may be the only Jesus, our coworkers, our employees, our bosses may ever meet the job that you hold, the work that you do.

The people that you work with, none of that is by chance, the people that you work with, they need to meet Jesus. And you may be their only chance that has become really the direction of iWork4Him. We're not an organization that has a ministry model that we want you to adopt. We're an organization that is dedicated to the over 3000 faith at work ministries across the country, helping you to connect to them.

So that you can get discipled deeper in your faith and in recognizing the ministry place that you call work,

Martha: you know? So it's kind of fun to look back and think of all of the things that have changed in the last nine years.

Jim: My hair, I had hair

Martha: I didn't think we were going to talk about our ourselves aging nine years.

Just like everybody else's, um, you know, over the last night, But, you know, just in little things that it's funny as we onboard different team members or different contractors that have helped us over the years. Um, I'll, I'll say like, well, when we started this nine years ago, we had no idea. Like we've used MailChimp since the very beginning, Jim and the technology has changed so much in the last nine years, things we were doing nine years ago.

They don't even create them that way anymore. So, you know, just the way we communicate. Aside from the actual show, how we communicate this show has changed in so many ways. Um, but hopefully we've adjusted and gotten with those ways as well.

Jim: And what's cool is we started podcasting from the very first show.

In fact, if you are really like to live dangerously, you can actually go back and listen to the very first show that we did over 2100 podcasts. Again. I don't recommend it, but if you want to have a good laugh, you certainly could. But what's amazing is of course back then it was just audio. And it was just a couple of people who we thought this was just going to be a part-time gig.

Actually. Martha thought it was my calling and then it was just one night a week and we were on the radio and we were podcasting. And now you go nine years later and we produce three different podcasts for every week. We're on the radio five days a week with our one minute. And we're no longer rookies.

In fact, we're helping four other organizations help produce their podcasts because it's so much fun to help people share their stories of what God is doing and the work that God has called them to do. I mean, it's cool.

Martha: Well, you know, you think it, Jim, that at the very beginning we used to drive. What, 40 minutes in rush hour traffic to get to the station to do a live show, had to be there, but you think about the process just to get a show going. And, um, the way technology has changed in how so many people have become more accustomed to podcasting today than they were nine years ago.

Um, but you know, I just was thinking about like, we had to worry about, is there going to be an accident on the way there are we going to get there in time so we can go on this. Are we going to, are you going to hit the mark? You know, are you going to hit the pole? So you get hit and the ball, whatever it is, where you get out in time for a commercial, you know, there was, there's so many things that, um, it's just been, it's fun to think about that.

Uh, the, the transition, the changes, the things that have been created along the way.

Jim: It's amazing to me because nine years ago, we never imagined that this. Grow into what it's grown into and really has it grown into something, make it Jim and Martha famous know what's been fun as it's grown into making Jesus famous in the workplace.

And that's what this is all about. It's it's about the 55 million workplace believers that go to work every day. And it's somewhere between 50 and 65 60 million give or take a million here or there. But it's to recognize that so many of us felt second class in the kingdom. So many of us felt like, well, I'm not a pastor and I'm not a missionary.

So I just go to work and I'll use that money to support the pastors and missionaries. But in fact, the calling on our lives is actually to be a missionary to our workplace, to take our faith where we go and to be a light to everyone around us. So we're going to talk more about that when we come right back.

Happy anniversary. iWork4Him, a happy anniversary to all of you are faithful listeners, nine years under the belt, and we're super excited to see nine more years. You're listening to, iWork4Him with your host, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. And we'll be right back,

Martha: you know, the kind of person that always tells you about the latest trends or the special deals around town we'll lean in because here's a message from that kind of person.

The awaken podcast network is the place to be. Go to awakenpodcastnetwork.com and unlock God's purpose for your work. With help from some friends, you will find a gathering place of podcasts that provides simple tools, faith stories, and conversations that will inspire and equip you to vibrantly live out your faith in your work today.

Go ahead. Check out awakenpodcastnetwork.com and then be that kind of person and tell a friend,

Jim: Hey, welcome back to iWork4Him is Martha and I celebrate our nine years of iWork4Him on this

very day, the 15th of April, 2013, we kicked off and we celebrated nine years later on another tax day. Just enjoy paying your taxes and celebrating iWork4Him. You Martha, we've had some big victories and in the last nine years. I remember the first time we celebrated a hundred shows and then when we celebrated 500 shows and now we're over 2000.

Martha: Sorry, we quit celebrating those numbers.

Jim: Can I get a cake for 1500 or 2000?

Martha: Okay. If anybody knows you well enough, they're going to know you've not been shortened on.

No, I can't. I make cakes for lots of occasions. I'm sorry. I didn't make one for each one of those milestones.

Jim: I think what's really cool is the biggest victory is that God has taught us how to help people. Share their stories share what God is doing in their hearts and he's, and he's made us good at it.

And in fact, we get called on to do that often for other organizations. And, and that's a victory because this has been all about what Jesus has done in our own lives. And we really want to share that with other people, but we've had some doubts along the way. Haven't we.

Martha: Like I did well. Okay. So Jim always says this, he's like, oh, you Martha always thought this was my calling.

Well, the fact of the matter is, is I think maybe I'm not allowed to do impressions cause I'm not very good. I'm not allowed to. Okay. So. But the truth of the matter is we really didn't even discuss that Jim. It was kind of like, Hey, this is a conversation we need to have and Jim's going to have it behind the microphone.

Oh no, no, no,

Jim: no. We should. That we did because when we went for a one day a week and we had the second, second day week,

I'm talking about at the beginning or at the

beginning. That's what I was saying. That's when we went to five days a week and you, you said, I just thought this was your calling. I didn't know.

Okay.

Martha: Because that's how we'd been living it, but I was behind the scenes. But anyway, as you can see, I have taken the seat next to Jim over the years and we've enjoyed it. And what's really funny at the quiet. I don't know. Never, never, I, I don't think anybody would ever say that, but I let you, you know, kind of drive the boat, captain steer the boat.

I don't know. Drive the race car. Yeah. In our world. It really is more of a race car. But anyway, so God did open the doors for us to be able to do this together and to really, um, yeah. Any of those doubts that I did have, that it was supposed to be Jim behind the microphone. Um, Like it, God created us to be doing this together.

And just so people know. I in real life really don't like to banter. So, but Jim

Jim: in real life, really always like to be in trouble. Good for fun. And I'll do it to be annoying, but I do like to do it. It's it's got a

Martha: funny, but you know, I have to kind of just stand up and be, I learned to get some

Jim: words in edgewise overall,

Martha, I think what the cool thing is, and this is, we've really learned this about.

Our workplace calling as a Jesus follower. Everything about us should be changing the transformation, the redemption of our lives. Everything about us should be changing and everyone around us should be benefiting from our faith, whether they believe in Jesus or not. Right. That's the. And that's really what's come out of the last nine years is that we have learned that as Jesus followers in our workplace, we're a light and a dark place.

In fact, over 80% of the people that go to work every day, never darken the doorsteps of a church. And that number before COVID was over 70%. Now it's really actually closer to 90% of people don't go to. Uh, it doesn't mean that people aren't listening to church online, but they're not going to church, but where are they going to hear about Jesus?

And it's up to us as believers to let our faith just flow through us. The good and the raw faith I'm not talking about. You gotta be this. You're going to be perfect all the time, but to build, to be that person where you're living out your faith in rawness and transparency and authenticity. And when you screw up, you're really good at apologizing and asking for people's feelings.

But we're supposed to be a light in our workplace.

Martha: Yeah. And what I think has been amazing. Hearing the stories over and over again to the people that we get, the opportunity to interview of how God has worked that out, how the different way, what it looks like for every single person has been different, but they're learning.

We've seen this growth among people that they understand that God created me to be a really good school teacher. So I'm going to be the best school teacher I can be if that's their story. And how they're living that out in that environment,

Jim: he created you to be just amazing. And you do that really, really well.

We've got to do a lot of fun things with, iWork4Him. We started taking the show on the road in the fall of 2016. Uh, and when God told us in June of 16, you would know that, well, our first thing was at the national at a faith and work association national event in Dallas. Yes. That, uh, um, our good friend Bill Peele, uh, helped us, uh, attend that event.

And that was the beginning of now over probably almost 200,000 miles on the road for, iWork4Him. What if you were to think about our most fun on location shows where we've gone and produced shows either live or. Uh, recorded memory ex uh, w what, where where's your fullest most fun.

Martha: Most fun. I would say actually our second faith and work summit when we were in Chicago, because we did something really out of the box.

Most of the things we do are out of the box, but, um, we actually recorded shows right at our expo table, right. In the hallways people walk into. Um, having conversations about, um, either their organization, their workplace, whatever their role might have been a book that they wrote. But, um, To me, that was, that was the beginning of like, we can actually have conversations with people and have people around us almost like an audience.

And not that they w you know, not for that, but the energy for the guest. I think it just took it to a whole new level. And that was really a lot of fun.

Jim: Okay. I think the most intimidating one we did was on location at the museum of the Bible, with the founders of the museum of the Bible and the CEO of hobby lobby.

That was probably the most intimidating, but they turned out to be that just Steve and Jackie green, just amazing people, but I was a little intimidated, but probably the most fun on location for me inside the Ark in Kentucky. Yes, we've done them on location at conferences, but in the belly of the art.

And we're talking to Noah's Ark in Kentucky, the Ark encounter.

Martha: It's a, it's a rep. It's not the Noah's Ark.

Jim: Do you know that? For sure?

Martha: Yes, because it was just built.

Jim: Okay. It was built in 2017. And if you haven't been to the Ark encounter in Kentucky, it's gotta be on your list of things to go to. It is worth every mile driven to go.

It will transform your life and your thinking, and it will encourage you in your faith. And it is just an amazing experience with

Martha: know, what, I just want to share something. We could talk literally for hours like this, about just place after place, that we've been people that we've met, things that we've highlighted, things that we've learned, um, you know, like sharing about the arc.

I just, I think that that's probably been the overarching highlight for me, Jim, is that God wired us to share other people's stories, whether they're hard. What their victory is because God's in the middle of it.

Jim: We'll be right back with more on. With your host, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. Thanks for listening. Enjoy this message.

Commercial: Want to build a profitable side hustle that impacts people with truth and healing in themselves and in their leadership? Then look at becoming a certified leadership coach with giant. Giant has been in the leadership space for over 13 years and has over 500 coaches in over 127 countries.

Their coaches are being hired by fortune 500 companies and organizations. Like iWork4Him, Martha and I took the giant Sherpa training under one of these great coaches to become leaders worth. Following giant gives you everything. You need to start your own coaching business from scratch. Like hands-on training from top level coaches, access to an all-in-one online platform to run your entire coaching.

And you get to join a thriving community of coaches around the world to get started giant is hosting a coaching business workshop to help you learn how to build a successful coaching business. This workshop is 100% free and you can reserve your spot by going to giant.tv Ford slash I work for. If you're ready to impact people and get paid to do it, go to giant./IWork4Him.

That's giant.tv/ IWork4Him.

Jim: Hey, welcome back to iWork4Him. I hope you enjoyed that special treat in there where you got to see our anniversary video as if you were watching. Yeah. If you're not watching this on YouTube, you should subscribe to our YouTube and watch us. You could actually see me make funny faces.

And see Martha make those funny scowl marks that she makes when I make

this funny face.

Martha: Man, I don't know where he's going to go with this one, but that's okay.

Jim: What's really cool. About 2022, the year we're recording this nine year anniversary show for, I worked for him is in August of this year, Martha and I will have known each other 40 years, 40 years.

Wow. She was 16 and I was 16. And so yes, that makes us 56. This. But thank you for a reminder. Just amazing. But here's, what's really cool is that that those four decades have gone really fast, but we've known each other a really long time, which is why she can give me that scowl and I can laugh about it.

Now y'all Martha. I think of some major accomplishments. We used to do one show a day and we used to do a live show a day. And then we went on location the first time in 2019, and we had to do four shows in a day. And then one time we did them at, for the Christian leadership Alliance. 12 shows in 48 hours.

Like that was a lot. And now we've gotten to where we have days where we can produce seven shows in a day, and God has just given us that ability to actually run a marathon. And that's, that's a great accomplishment because we do a lot of talking.

Martha: We do. It's amazing that even you and I can run out of words at the end of the day, but God always shows up and gives us the energy to do each and every one of them. So, Jim, I'm going to, I'm going to ask you a question.

Jim: Sometimes the energy has to be supplemented with a cool, refreshing mountain Dew. This is true, but never a Chick-fil-A lemonade because it dries you out.

Martha: We've learned that the hard way. So Jim, let's let, I want to hear from you.

What are some of the biggest dreams that God has laid on your heart right now for iWork4Him.

You don't really like big dreams. I would love to see us as we head into 2023 for us to launch iWork4Him for the next generation to have some millennial hosts that will take over this show and take it down generation, uh, to people that are in their twenties and their thirties.

'cause we keep taking it up because we're aging, right?

Jim: I do. You still look the same as you did when we were 16. Um, but the, the other big dreams we would really love to do, we have three things on our hearts. Number one, we would love to be able to connect everybody that's participating in the faith and work movement, all the ministries.

We want to connect them all together and connect all of you to all of them. No matter where you are in the country, do you know the closest ministry that's perfectly equipped to help you take your discipleship in your workplace to the next level? That's something we really want to do. That's really something we're really excited about doing.

Martha: And what else?

Jim: Oh, well, what's the number two thing

Martha: we want?To, uh, what are we wanting to do? I don't know. Why are we drawing a blank here?

Jim: Hey, the next thing we really want to do is we really want to have a marriage retreat center for executives who run ministries, whether they're pastors or whether they're business owners that are running a ministry.

Because if you're a manager, you're a pastor over people, or whether you're a pastor of a small church. We really want to have a place. where all those people have a place to go work on their marriage, not if it's not just cause if it's a trouble, but actually work on strengthening their marriage. That's one of the things that we really want to see, get done.

Martha: You know, and let me just remind people that years when we, I, at some point early on, we used to do shows called together on Tuesday with Jim and Martha and our passion

Jim: with Jim and Martha Brangenberg.

Martha: There you go. That's about what it used to say. So, um, we just have a real passion for marriage because we believe that it is the foundation of so much that we can do in all of our work. Our work is affected. If our marriage is stressed, our marriage is stressed. If our work is, I mean, it goes back and forth.

And so having that conversation all the time. Is, um, something that's just a big passion of ours and not waiting till crisis that's right. But being able to be proactive, which is something that is sometimes hard for people to do and to have a place to do that. So that's just a real passion for it.

Jim: And I don't know if you've noticed, iWork4Him listeners, but the enemy doesn't like marriage because marriage is the foundation for strong families and strong families have the foundations for strong churches and strong communities.

And when you destroy the marriage, You can destroy families and destroy communities. Divorce carries on its repercussions to the children and the grandchildren. That's the opposite is the opposite. We're trying to strengthen marriages so we can be a blessing to the children, the grandchildren of the great grandchildren.

 Martha, our last big, hairy, audacious, super audacious goal is to create the, iWork4Him network, not a television network, but a complete network dedicated to the workplaces of America. So in other words, there are many, many organizations that will break up the economy. The United States into seven different sectors, education, business government, uh, the church, family arts and entertainment and media.

And there are people that work in all of those different, uh, sectors of the economy in every state and our, our wish. Sometime this decade, we actually have a show dedicated to every one of those sectors in every state at a minimum that's 399. Podcasts will be released every month. That's really our big, hairy, audacious goal multiplied times three, because take for instance education.

How about you can have a primary education. You can have secondary education, you can have college education and graduate education. That's four different podcasts for. We just, we know that God is doing amazing things and all parts of our economy, but where do you go to listen to those stories? What news channels can you tune into here?

That's right there. Isn't one. We want to help create that.

Martha: You know, being able to hear the good news, being able to hear someone that works in an area similar to you and has allowed God to infiltrate decisions that are being made or conversations that they're having or whatever that might be in their workspace.

We just believe that there's a reason that we can gravitate towards people that are. That same experience and we can learn from each other. So that, that is a big dream. So Jim, okay. You know, it's, I don't usually do the glass half empty thing, but you know, I think sometimes in, we even talked about actually, I'm going to switch here.

We haven't talked at all about the, sheWorks4Him and iRetire4Him, which I know. So I just, I feel like that is such a great thing that God has just opened the door for to be able to expand beyond just work in general and really speak into the Christian working woman and also to the Christian retiree.

Who's who they're calling does not retire when they. So being able to have those conversations has been very exciting

Jim: and writing books to those same three audits audiences. iWork4Him. iRetire4Him And sheWorks4Him. Yeah, Martha, the biggest disappointment of the nine years is that we're not doing live radio every day. I really liked that, but the good news is it makes it so that we can actually get other things accomplished. Cause we're not just producing live radio every day. This is what we've got a hopeful future. There's God is preparing us for even more things. And we're hoping that you get to be a part of this.

As we, as we take, iWork4Him into 2022 and

Martha: beyond, and taking you with us. So I just I'm. For the donors that have made it possible. Lots of people that have, I'm sending encouraging notes to just say, keep it up. You're making a difference. Or here's something God's doing in my life to know, we know God is alive and well in the workplaces all around us.

And you're a part of that. And we're just, I can't believe it's been nine

Jim: years. Thank you Father nine amazing years. Of calling us to do radio, to do podcast, to do speaking, to do emceeing, to write three books. I'm sorry. Connie Johnson, my English teacher in eighth grade. I know you never thought I could actually write a full sentence.

All of that for God's glory. It's amazing. And we're super glad that you've been part of it. If you, this has been new, maybe this is one of the first time you listen to our. Check us out online. iWork4Him.com that's I work the number 4 him.com. You can access, get access to all of our brands out there on our website, all of our written resources and find out where we're going to be the events that we're working at.

I mean, just everything that we're doing. We'd love to meet you face to face. If you happen to be in an audience that we're speaking at, come up and say, Hey, I listen to the podcast, Martha I, the nine years has gone fast.

Martha: Yes. Happy birthday.

Jim: Happy anniversary. Is there cake?

Martha: There's always cake,

Jim: but she didn't make a cake cause I don't smell one.

Okay. Okay. There's no cake in the studio to us. Otherwise we'd have it right here because Martha would have me show it on the video. You will listen to, iWork4Him with your host, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. We're Christ followers, our workplace, it's our mission field, but ultimately iWork4Him.

Commercial: Did you know that God has a calling on your life?

It's true. He's called you to bring Jesus to the world for some that may look like a pulpit or a foreign mission field, but for most of us, it looks like a construction site, the cubicle, a hospital, or a classroom,

wherever it is that you. With volunteer and invest. That is your mission field. To learn more about integrating your faith into your work and retirement.

Check out our books: iWork4Him. sheWorks4Him and iRetire4Him. by Going to iWork4Him.Com/bookstore.

Thank you for listening to the, iWork4Him podcast with your hosts, Jim and Martha Brangenberg, please visit. iWork4Him.com to learn more about connecting your faith and work to join the IWork4Him nation or subscribe to our weekly blog.

You can also follow us on social media @iWork4Him to stay up to date and meet our guests. If today's message spoke to you, please subscribe, rate, and review the show on your favorite podcast. Your review will launch more workplace missionaries across America. That's @iWork4Him and online iWork4Him.com. I work the number 4 him. Dot com.