By Dave Hataj
Being called back to the family business, a small manufacturing company over 30 years ago, I kept asking “What could a little, dirty, dysfunctional machine shop have to do with ministry and the kingdom of God?
For more on that story watch the Faith & Co film Turning.
In 2014, I launched Craftsman with Character® (CWC), a high school course that introduces students to the world of manufacturing and the skilled trades through job-shadowing and a character development curriculum. My intent was to help what I refer to as “the Lost Shop Kids” in our local high school, find their career and life path. This is because I was one of them. We are the students that aren’t seen as being “college material.” We often don’t excel academically but we thrive in shop classes where we can work with our hands and get dirty.
The result has been nothing short of the miraculous. Students on the verge of dropping out of high school developed into some of my best young leaders. As we shared CWC with other communities and businesses, similar stories poured in. By God’s crazy sense of humor, three years ago the U.S. Navy heard about our course and asked if they could help bring it to other states across the nation. This next year, we’ll be in seven states and in over 50 high schools serving over 250 businesses, with more inquiries coming in weekly. Why?! What itch in our culture are we being asked to scratch?
I have often wondered how blue-collar Jesus would reach Gen Z. As I explored how Jesus called his disciples, their confession of salvation didn’t seem to be his first priority. Instead, he gave them a vision for their lives that is higher than they thought possible, while giving them a hunger to live a life of purpose and excellence. Jesus gave his disciples a strong whiff of the kingdom of God that was irresistible and showed them their place in it. Today, would He go to our local businesses and affirm their role in discipling the next generation for the Kingdom?
That’s what Craftsman with Character® does. The opportunity for Discipleship doesn’t begin when someone gets ”saved.” It begins the moment we welcome our students in our businesses as friends.
