In a gathering of faith-driven investors and entrepreneurs, the recent Impact Table event held at the Fisher Center on Nov. 16, 2023, featured a lineup of speakers who shared their insights on the intersection of faith and finance and how this connection can bring about positive change in the world.
Breaking Down Silos for Positive Change
Josh Yates, executive director of the Belmont Innovation Labs, which hosted the event, described the purpose of the gathering: “The deep challenges of our time require that we break down our silos and come together to figure out how to work on these things."
Henry Kaestner and Luke Roush from Faith Driven Investor and Sovereign's Capital
“The Impact Table is meant to be a place where anybody in this community, who is really interested in finding other people who care about these issues, can gather to encourage each other and learn from each other, celebrate one another, inspire one another," he continued. "We want to be able to be a place where we can bring together people not only to find each other, not only to learn with each other, but to actually take action together at the end of the day. That's really what we're trying to do is we're trying to mobilize and deploy and to do that together as a community.”
Infusing Faith into Finance
The guest speakers, including Henry Kaestner and Luke Roush from Faith Driven Investor and Sovereign's Capital, Lance Villio, executive director in the Tennessee governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and Reuben Coulter, a Belmont Innovation Labs fellow based in the United Kingdom, underscored a fundamental theme – the value of infusing faith into programs and initiatives.
Autumn Hanline, Director of Community at Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Investor
“The overarching thing that brings us together is to see, how can we bring God glory, bring his kingdom in the marketplace?” said Autumn Hanline, Director of Strategic Partnerships and City Networks for Faith Driven Entrepreneur, who helped emcee the event.
The idea is to shift from traditional investing and philanthropy to reflect on how faith can inform the impact and significance in all investment decisions. The speakers stressed that faith-driven investing should not compromise biblical values but should be driven by them. “God cares about our giving but he wants all our lives,” said Kaestner, co-founder and partner at Sovereign’s Capital and co-founder of the Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Faith Driven Investor ministries.
Spiritual Integration in Investment Portfolios
The event also delved into the importance of spiritual integration within investment portfolios. Attendees were encouraged to explore ways in which their capital could be stewarded to achieve ministry and mission goals while still aiming for competitive market returns. “We actually look for where God is at work in the marketplace and then double down into those companies, support those companies, help them grow,” Kaestner said. “Backing the right entrepreneurs early in the formation of the new digital economy can be massively transformational in terms of the way the culture and the business and the marketplace actually grows up within the emerging market.”
Faith at Work
The intersection of work and faith was a focus. Attendees were encouraged to view their professional roles as opportunities to be agents of positive change in the world, akin to being "salt and light" in their respective industries. Faith was presented as a primary mission, not merely a secondary calling.
Coulter said: “My real hope here is that the church begins to be known for its transformative effect that it has on society.”
Getting Involved
Looking to go deeper? Here are a variety of ways to get involved:
- Read the book Faith Driven Investing: Delve deeper into the world of faith-driven investing with insights from experts like Cathie Wood, Tim Keller, Finny Kuruvilla and Andy Crouch.
- Attend the Faith Driven Investor Conference Watch Party: Belmont is hosting a watch party for the Faith Driven Investor conference on Jan. 24, 2024. Join this two-hour event in person (or virtually from anywhere).
- Attend the next Impact Table event: Scheduled to take place in February 2024, this is your next opportunity to gather, learn and make a positive impact.
- Read about the previous Impact Table, which featured Kim Tan, co-founder of the Transformational Business Network (TBN), and Jacob Zikusooka, regional director of TBN – Africa.
Learn more about Belmont Innovation Labs.