11/12/25 - 2120:

Jim: You've tuned into iWork4Him, the Voice of Collaboration for the Faith and Work Movement.

Martha: And we are your hosts, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. And our mission is to inspire every workplace believer to recognize their workplace as their ministry place where they work with God every day. What can that look like in your workplace? Let's find out right now.

Jim: 2026 will be a momentous year for many reasons. One of the biggest for us will be our participation in the US Christian Chambers Biannual Expo in Orlando, Florida, in April of 2026.

700 to a thousand business people from Christian Chambers all over the country will gather to worship, learn, network, pray and develop deep and strategic relationships with other marketplace believers. Krystal Parker, the founder and CEO of the US Christian Chamber, is here today to talk all things Chamber and to roll out the Black Friday registration deal for swc2026.com. Krystal Parker, welcome back to iWork4Him.

Krystal Parker: Thank you so much. I'm excited to be here.

Jim: All right, Krystal, you have a storied role in the marketplace side of the kingdom here in the US. What is one thing you've seen God do in the last few months here in the US?

Krystal Parker: Let's just reflect on what we've actually seen happened. We've seen the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and we've seen a whole generation rising up in a new way, under new light. So we're seeing new leaders emerge in the marketplace. We're seeing an awareness of some of this maltreatment towards believers and freedom of speech for Christ. And so I think what we've seen in the past, which was really in part why I believe US Christian Chamber of Commerce accelerated our growth, was because we were seeing Christians be debanked, defunded.

They were being fired for praying, they were being thrown in jail, and we hadn't seen the level of anti-Christian discrimination or even, this situation, assassination. So we're seeing a world that is evolving significantly. The voices of the believers, I believe, are louder. People are seeking that light, and we're seeing God strategically position organizations to lead in a time of crisis.

And so I'm feeling - while we're seeing the world spinning in ways that's different - I feel encouraged because I know God is on the throne. I see so much light that is taking place, and I'm very excited about this movement that we get to be a part of through the US Christian Chamber, the growth of the local Christian Chambers and our conference SWC 2026.

Jim: Wait a minute, just one thing. The world is still spinning in its normal direction, in case everybody's worrying, because that's gonna happen. Gravity is still working. (laughter)

A little concerned because when the world starts to spin differently... that's right.

Krystal Parker: Yeah. I'm so glad for Gravity because there was a time, several years ago, the gravity pulled me down on my knees and on my face, and I'm so grateful for that because that was a real time, a real change in my life for me was because of gravity. And God has a way of getting us on her knees so that we can put him on the throne.

Martha: He sure does. So Krystal, let's talk about that growth for a minute that you just alluded to. Let's talk about what is happening as far as the expansion of the US Christian Chamber and things that are happening regionally and locally regarding Christian Chambers all across our country.

Krystal Parker: We just actually brought in a new Christian chamber in the Arizona community, the greater Tucson area Christian Chamber of Commerce. We're seeing a north and south California working together in that region. We also have a incredible business leader team, husband and wife team, that's launching in Pennsylvania as well. And so we're just seeing God move all over the US very strategically in some of these places. Our strategy for this has never been outbound.

We've never went to seek people to do this work. We have only grown from an inbound growth, and I wouldn't even call it a strategy. I would just call that a growth alignment with the Lord. God is sending people, the right leaders, in to say, Hey, I want to see it change. I wanna see a difference in my community and my state, and I believe that I can use my gifts, talents, and abilities to do my part to advance the kingdom through this model.

People understand that seven of 10 people are not in church. People understand that our greatest opportunity to advance and accelerate kingdom of God is through the marketplace. People also understand that there is a fight for business owners around money and around power and true surrender and using their business as a force for good. And when we do that, we see cities transformed.

And so I do believe that this model, the Christian Chamber model, is a powerful vehicle for kingdom advancement. People are seeing that they want it in their communities, they want it in their states, and we're seeing the fruit of that to now. At this point, we're reaching nearly, if not over 1500 Christian business leaders that are members either with US Christian Chamber or one of the Christian Chambers in our coalition.

Jim: When you launched this officially in 2022 and it rolled out in 2023, what has surprised you most about how the US Christian Chamber has - really it's gone California to Maryland , you're from sea to shining sea. What has surprised you most?

Krystal Parker: Actually the biggest surprise came when I started Central Florida Christian Chamber, started as the president. I didn't start Central Florida. I started as the president there. And when I came in, of course I was a bit Pollyanna because I hadn't really spent a lot of time in this faith and work world. I was still so excited. I was just like just thrilled that there was such a thing, like you didn't have to be one or the other. And so that was just a real thrill to my heart, my spirit.

And so I started in central Florida and I remember doing a study to find out how many churches are in central Florida because- I can't believe it. Like at the time we had maybe one church that was a member. " Every church is gonna wanna be a part of this. Every church has business leaders and people in their pews that are going to want to know about this. And we're all one family and we're all working together." And so I thought for sure that we were going to grow by over 1200 members very quickly, just by serving churches so that we could reach and help their staff and help their business leaders.

And what surprised me was that wasn't the design that God had planned for the work that we're doing. We love our churches. And actually what happens when people come into a Christian chamber meeting, maybe they haven't been to church in some time. They come in, the spirit wakes up and they realize, oh, I'm missing community, I'm missing something. And oftentimes we see people get plugged back into their local church.

And we never want to take the place of a church. That's not our mission. That's not what we do. We wanna work hand in hand, body of Christ, every joint supplies. It's biblical. That's what is written. But what I learned and what surprised me was that we're all gonna do different parts to reach the kingdom.

And so God tells us in his word, some plant, some water, and he's the God of the harvest. And so I had to realize, what is our lane? How do we serve in that lane? And how can we partner and work with others and not necessarily have to become a member so that we can work with them?

Martha: Such a good word. So you talk about membership though, and of course people are listening to this podcast or watching the YouTube and they are maybe even hearing for the first time that there is such a thing as a Christian Chamber. Maybe they all belong to Chambers wherever they live, but they did not know that there could be a Christian Chamber. Talk to our listeners about why they should become a member. Of the US Christian Chamber.

Jim: People may also be watching on Rumble.

Martha: Yes. I realize there's lot of formats.

Jim: I just wanna make sure people know.

Krystal Parker: Yes, I like it.

Martha: We're out there.

Krystal Parker: Hey, we're gonna reach, we're gonna reach people wherever they are. I like that.

Martha: That's right.

Krystal Parker: That's right. Okay, so here's the deal. Chamber of Commerce - is it anything new? It's been around for four plus hundred years, and so the concept of a chamber works. It really does. However, what happened? Chambers begin to look more like the world, and unfortunately, in the world that we're in, we're a post-Christian society. So what used to be founded on biblical principles, with a heart for Christ, which was our nation, all of this was all founded on biblical principles became more worldly in nature, and therefore Christians got pushed out into the shadows.

And I'll give you a perfect example of this. The very first Christian chamber we helped to launch was Pastor Russ in West Ohio, in Lima, Ohio. And he found us, he was a very successful thrift store business owner. He had a great philanthropic arm. He drove around with a mobile baptism, but his store was very successful and he had been a member of his chamber of commerce for more years than he could count, and he was a very big part of that community.

He noticed and he started to feel more alienated from his chamber because his chamber, which began to look like the world, started to do more and more activities that had evening alcohol, things of that nature, that weren't in alignment with his values. He didn't feel comfortable going to those events, and so there was less and less for him to be involved in. His annual meeting for that chamber was a casino night. He didn't feel comfortable with that. He didn't believe in that.

And one day when he went to his business listing to update his listing, next to his business was a brand new business in town and the business was Adam and Eve's Porn Shop. So Pastor Russ was troubled by seeing that, but then he became even more troubled when he looked to see what did his chamber, who he had paid membership dues and even sponsored a number of things, they did ribbon cutting, they advertised for this business. They really rolled out the red carpet to bring awareness for this new business in town.

So Pastor Russ took a biblical approach and called his chamber leadership and said, is this the kind of business that we want to bring into our city and really promote and bring awareness to? And they said, they paid the dues we're just doing our job. He was bothered by that in a deep way. He knew at that point that this was no longer a place that he could call his tribe. This was no longer a place that he would feel comfortable doing business. And so the Lord led him to the central Florida Christian Chamber and he launched the Christian Chamber.

We have over 22 stories of people that have launched Christian Chambers around the US. Or that are a part of that leadership because they're bothered by what's offered in this world. And we wanna give Christian business owners a place to do business together. People do business with people they know and trust.

The chamber model is social capital, relational marketing. And what it helps you do is think about the funnel, the marketing funnel. You get right to, I know you, I like you, I trust you, I wanna do business, because you're in the same sphere of influence. And that's what's happened to our Christian business owners is they've been pushed out of these models.

They're in the silos, they're in this broken infrastructure, and what we're doing is we're shifting the world's economy for kingdom commerce. We're rebuilding an infrastructure for Christians to come together, to do business together, and to really iron sharpening iron for business excellence and integrity for Christian business.

Martha: Okay. So everybody listening has now been intrigued to know that there is a reason for them to be involved with a US Christian Chamber and then possibly, what is God stirring locally or regionally or statewide for each and everyone listening ?

Jim and I are really blessed to be involved in the US Christian Chamber and to talk about it with our audience today. That's our biggest thrill. This episode will just barely touch the surface of some of the things that are being offered through the U-S-C-C-C, but today I feel it's really important to invite everyone listening to join us in April, the 22nd through the 24th, in Orlando, florida.

You can find all the details at the link i'll put in the show notes, but it's swc2026.com and register with code iWork4Him to get 10% discount. This immersive three day experience will help Christian leaders unite in order to break barriers to build bold businesses and advance the kingdom. So we hope to see each and every one of you listening in Orlando this spring, in 2026.

Jim: Krystal, we're gonna gather at the Sea World doubleTree in Orlando. What's our theme?

Krystal Parker: Oh gosh. Our theme is called Yes&. that's the theme.

Jim: I see that recently Sam's Club adopted your theme.

 (laughter)

Krystal Parker: I saw that.

Jim: Very exciting. You are making a worldwide influence now. I love that. What does that mean? "Yes&"

Krystal Parker: It's interesting that you would ask that because when people hear Yes& and they don't have a spiritual or biblical lens, they might not fully understand it. For followers of Christ, we know that it's not either or, it's yes and. When I first, the Lord showed this to me, and when I first saw it, I thought instantly, oh, okay, God, he's talking about faith and work. Not either or, it's yes and. I don't have to leave my faith at home. I can show up in my business with my faith.

And as I've prayed into this and leaned into this, I realize that is true. That's the milk. And that's fine. There's gonna be some people that have never experienced what it means to operate their business from a faith perspective. Those individuals that show up for the conference, they will grow and they will walk out of there emboldened and empowered to do the work that God's called them to do without living separate lives or leaving it on Sunday in the church.

The meat side of this is totally different. What I believe is that many people have been called beyond the work that they're doing today. Many times people are called and they say yes to God, but then there's this very scary place. It's the "and." It's the step in faith. It's stepping out so that you can see God's hand move. And oftentimes people are in fear. They say yes, and they don't do it. And think about Peter stepping out of the boat.

A perfect example. "Is that you, Lord?" "Yes, come to me." He steps out. That took great faith. And there's so many businesses I believe that are gonna be birthed and movements that are going to come out of this because now we're gonna catalyze 750 to a thousand Christian business owners that are no longer going to allow fear to hold them back from the life and purpose that God's called them to.

And we want to inspire, equip, and prepare people to step out of that boat, step out into the "and" because it says, "in him is the amen." If we all go out of that conference and realize that we're not called to know the outcome, but we are called to step out in faith and trust our Lord and be obedient in that and candidly, that was what this launching of the US Christian Chamber was for me. God shared with me, showed me, that this launching US Christian Chamber in leaving central Florida Christian Chamber, that was a very scary place. And I could have stayed in central Florida and just brushed off what God was calling me to do and so many of us do it.

But what we're believing through this conference is that Yes& is gonna take on a whole new life and a whole new meaning and a whole new purpose. Because what I've also learned in the kingdom of God and working in this world is it's not profit or purpose, it's profit and purpose. It's not strategy or surrender. It's surrender and strategy.

And there's so many Yes&s in this framework that we're gonna unpack, deliver for people that they're gonna walk into a kingdom foundation for doing business, which in some cases may seem upside down without gravity for the rest of the world, but we will walk out boldly as followers of Jesus and see amazing things happen as a result of people attending this conference.

Martha: I love that, and you have cast this idea and this vision and this topic so well, but I know you're not gonna be the only one on the stage. So can you share with us any of the names or speakers yet, or do we have to wait a little longer?

Krystal Parker: I have held this like tight bark on a tree, and I am busting at the seams to share about our incredible speakers. But I will tell you this - coming very soon after this is released, I can't wait, because you won't have to wait long, just a few more days and you'll get the speakers and we want to shine a light on all of the speakers.

We do have some incredible MCs that I feel are the glue of this conference, and provide levity and provide information and keep it all together. And these two amazing leaders and board members and champions for this movement are part of this conference. And I'm so excited about that. So we'll share.

Martha: Okay. And we are excited about that too because really Krystal, you give us a front row seat to see what God does and is doing in people's lives in real time when we are there. So yes, we will be there and we're looking forward to it. And the release of the speakers is gonna be is wonderful.

Jim: But if there was ever an example of Christian word salad, that's what that was.

Martha: Word salad. (laughter)

Jim: I wanna know!

Martha: It's be a big release.

Jim: What date are you going to release the names of the speakers?

Krystal Parker: What, when, what date?

We will release these on November the 20th.

Martha: Okay.

Jim: Okay. Okay.

Martha: So everybody needs to get subscribed to, to really following US Christian Chamber on LinkedIn, reaching out and getting on the email list so that they can get notifications.

Krystal, those are all the things people need to do?

Krystal Parker: Absolutely. Yes. Get involved. There's a place you can subscribe. Be first to know, but here's what I would say.

Jim: This is just, I thought, wait, I just, I,

 (laughter)

Martha: She's really smart.

Jim: I can, I just cannot believe... I thought we had the scoop on iWork4Him. Apparently some other podcasts across the nations, can we get those names?

Krystal Parker: Nobody's getting those names. Tight as bark on this thing.

Jim: Okay. Who's leading worship? Can you tell us who's singing?

Krystal Parker: Nope. Oh, I can't. And here's what's really cool about this, is that the Lord has so much favor over what we're doing. We have been so blessed, our ticket sales- people believe in this so much. They don't even care who. They wanna know, of course. It's exciting.

Martha: Yeah.

Krystal Parker: But they don't care who's gonna speak because they know God's gonna move. If you attended last year's conference, and I know you guys got that front row seat and many people that listened did as well, there was one comment in the survey and I read every survey comment, and we will ask for that again, but one comment someone said, when I step out of my hotel into the courtyard, I feel met with the presence of God before I even walk into the conference. And that right there was everything to me.

And so we know that if we have the covering of the Lord for this conference, it doesn't matter who's anointed or who will be speaking on that stage, we know that the Lord, his will be done. And it will be an incredible experience.

Jim: Amen. It was like a three day marketplace worship event in 2024. So 2026 will be even better 'cause there's gonna be hundreds of more people there.

Most of us use our mobile devices or our computers to listen to music and podcasts as well as conduct business and communicate with other people. Imagine if you get a virus on your device and you can't use it for what you need to be using it for, like making phone calls or texting or saving your data or send an email, whatever.

It can not only set you back time and energy, but potentially compromise the work you're doing, like leaking the list for the speakers. (laughter) What if somebody breaks into Krystal Parker's computer? SaferNet is a trusted partner of iWork4Him. And we're gonna make sure they're not a trusted partner of the US Christian Chambers so we can hack their computers and get the names of these people, (laughter)and then we'll sell 'em on SaferNet right after we get them. All right? I don't think so. We've got it on all of our mobile devices, all of our computers. We totally recommend you check out SaferNet.com. Let him know that iWork4Him sent you.

Alright, here's one thing I think you could tell me - and off the air we're gonna have another conversation (laughter) - but registration's already underway, as you've said, hundreds of people have already signed up. But you mentioned to me off the air that there's a Black Friday deal, which means that people will know who the speakers are before they get the Black Friday deal. What's the Black Friday deal? What is it?

Krystal Parker: I can't tell you that either. And the only reason I can't tell you that one -

Jim: People! I gotta tell you, we've never scheduled a show like this. We've never scheduled a show like this where somebody totally stonewalls us on information.

Martha: But Jim, the whole idea behind a Black Friday deal is that they find out - if they knew now that the TV, the biggest TV that they could buy was only gonna be $200, they wouldn't buy it now.

Jim: Nobody needs a big TV anymore. Nobody needs a bigger TV.

Martha: You anticipate. It's anticipation.

Krystal Parker: Maybe when we roll out the speakers, we'll give a hint or two what that Black Friday deal is, but it will be Black Friday, cyber Monday. You'll have the weekend to participate with us in that , unless whatever that Black Friday sells out, and so be ready.

Martha: It's like lining up around the store, those first people to get a hold of it.

Krystal Parker: Martha, can I ask you a question about Jim?

Martha: Yes.

Krystal Parker: Was he one of the, is he one of those people that likes to open the present and peek in there or acts like he has to know every one of his gifts under the tree?

 (laughter)

Martha: Yeah.

Jim: No, he is not.

Martha: I don't even, I was gonna say, I don't even know how to explain him, but he does like to be the one to share the news. He's a newscaster through and through in that way. But it's okay because this is all about anticipation, looking forward.

Jim: So this is a Heinz ketchup commercial right here.

Martha: It is.

Jim: It's making me wait. All right. So who should be coming to the US Christian Chamber event in April 22 to 24 of 2026 at the DoubleTree SeaWorld Orlando? Who should be coming, Krystal?

Krystal Parker: Yep. Every single person that runs a business, is in business leadership, entrepreneurs, anyone that needs encouragement in their spirit, people that are global are coming. We've been sending and working with some people to help them get their visas. We did just hear one person got denied on their visa and he's crushed. And that really spoke to my heart because we have this right in our backyard here in the United States. We have the freedom to go and openly express and worship Christ through our businesses, our lives, and don't take that freedom for granted.

Come on. Be present. If you're not even running a business but you want to be in the company of business owners, leaders, people following Christ that are at this conference, join us. There's no one that cannot come to this conference. We even accept Sunday Christians. We love those. So if you're just operating separate, and you're going to church but you don't incorporate Christ in the rest of your life, we'd love to have you come and see what it looks like to be around other people.

Those are gonna be such a mix. There's preachers that'll be in that room as well, and yeah, it's a little bit of everyone. You'll see and experience. That's who should come - everyone.

Jim: You won't be disappointed, guaranteed.

Martha: That's awesome. So Krystal, I know you well enough to know that you really are, you want God to control the outcomes of whatever everyone experiences while they're there. But in your heart, what does it look like? What do you hope for the outcomes for this event?

Krystal Parker: Yeah, I truly hope that we're able to catalyze people in a way they've never stepped out in faith before. My hope is that the stories that come in, the new businesses, the new movements, are birthed as a result of that. I always pray for divine connections to come out of these conferences. Afterwards I'll hear about business deals that are going on still as a result of people meeting in these conferences. So even though we talk about "we serve, we don't sell," that's the sort of our motto, how we walk into relationship. It's not transactional. And as we build those relationships and serve one another in an environment like this, there will be millions of dollars of business conducted as a result of people showing up and being in the room.

We do a lot of virtual events throughout the year. Micro learnings and networking. This is the one time a year that we do in person, and there's just something about being in the room that you cannot get from a screen. And so if somebody's looking to be a part of something bigger, then you've got to get in the room. And that takes courage to be able to do that. And so I designed this conference, this immersive experience, this one is designed for the introvert to be able to help them step out in networking situations and grow.

And I am an introvert. I will go into a conference like this and stay in one place if you've ever noticed for me, and I'll just stay in one place. Because I just feel comfortable right there. So we designed this so that people would be able to naturally flow through the networking experiences and grow in that aspect as well.

Martha: Awesome.

Jim: We encourage all of you to check out the US Christian Chamber online, US christian chamber.com, and also the event that we will be part of next year, the swc2026.com. SWC - Spiritual World Citizens - 2026.com.

Krystal Parker, thanks for being on iWork4Him today. Thanks for disappointing me. I'll cry myself to sleep.

 (laughter)

Krystal Parker: Thanks for the laughs.

Jim: You've been listening to iWork4Him with your hosts, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. We're Christ followers and our workplace, It's our mission field, but ultimately, iWork4Him.