Whether as an employer, teacher, volunteer or parent, being a servant leader requires an active interest in the well-being of the people we lead. God recently taught Mike Ng a valuable lesson in the power of faith in action in the workplace.
First through informal conversation and then a focused interview process, Mike discovered last year that the associates he and others lead at Bay City Flower Company located along the Coastsidewere struggling with financial stresses that not only impacted their ability to pay bills, but that also damaged personal relationships and overall quality of life.
“One of the things we want to do for our associates is go above and beyond as an employer so people can discover their potential and thrive in and out of the workplace,” Mike said.
Mike recalled hearing about the Spanish version of Financial Peace University at Mariners and approached Ivette Moctezuma, our outreach director. Mariners agreed to partner with the nursery to bring a six-week introductory class to a group of eight of the nursery’s associates.
Importantly, Mike and other volunteers asked God through dedicated prayer before and during the program to show them the next steps for this outreach.
The class went forward and three months later they gathered the associates together to see the result and determine next steps. All eight showed up for the postmortem and God made the next step very clear. Some participants had cut up their credit cards in order to eliminate debt from their life. By setting aside income for emergencies, one had been better able to manage the cost of an unexpected medical need. Another was prepared for a car repair. One couple no longer argued about shopping trips because they had decided to skip the cost of a meal out on a standard trip to the store.
“They had all become more mindful of their budgets. The overall response was, ‘I’m less stressed in certain areas of my life now because of this class,’” Mike said. “The results were very exciting for the facilitators, the participants, everybody! This class was bigger than a personal finance class, it was intended to improve their quality of life which we achieved!
A second class for a larger group with assistance from a donor is in the works, and Mike feels humbled by the privilege of feeling God’s guidance in this mission. “It’s encouraging when you see God, when he answers you definitively and you’re able to figure stuff out through a dedicated foundation of prayer,” he said.
Mike is a member of the Mariners Church Steering Team.
By Dan Page, Volunteer Storyteller
