Faith That Works | Darrel Frater at Kiwanis Club of Tulsa

Okay. Hey, uh, today we have Mr. Darrel Frater here. He's the founder and managing partner of TGN Ventures, uh, the Good News Ventures, an early-stage investment firm, uh, backing venture funds. and companies creating enduring value and expanding economic opportunity. He's also a doctoral student in business administration at Oral Roberts University, where his research explores a central question: does faith improve business outcomes? Darrel is the co-founder of the Center for Faith and Business and author of Micro Obedience, Macro Impact. His work sits at the intersection of faith business and capital with a desire to glorify God and help others come to know Jesus Christ. Please give me— join me in giving a warm Columbus welcome to Darrel. I take it you can tell Marquise is kind of shy.

Wonderful. Thank you so much. for having me here, and thank you, Marquis, for the invitation. I know the slides are a little messed up because of technology, but we're gonna make it happen regardless. So as the introduction said, my name is Darrel Frater. I'm the founder and managing partner of an investment firm called TGN Ventures, which stands for The Good News Ventures. We're a faith-driven venture capital firm. We invest in companies and funds that Move forward, economic mobility, and also we want to be God's hands and feet in the investment world. I'm also the co-founder of a nonprofit called the Center for Faith and Business. We're a local nonprofit here in Tulsa focused on equipping entrepreneurs and helping to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through business. I'm excited today for my discussion Titled Faith That Works, where we're going to unpack and talk about how your faith can impact your work, but also how it can drive productivity and flourishment within your work life. And we're going to explore how deeper faith transforms leadership, business, and life. Aside from the professional stuff, I'm a father. I'm a husband. I have 2 baby girls and a 3rd on the way.

Ooh.

Another girl. So, uh, for some reason I can't produce boys, but, uh, I'm gonna talk to God about that. And what's most important to know about me is that I am deeply in love with the Lord Jesus Christ. I am unapologetically not ashamed to talk about my love for Jesus. And it's important to understand that when you love Christ, you desire for Him to be known to others. And that's what I wanna showcase through the lane of ministry that the Lord has given me, which is through business. I wanna be able to touch the souls and lives of people to know the love of Christ through the lane of business. So you can go on to the next slide. So the starting point, we're gonna talk about how faith was never meant to just be stayed on Sundays. Faith is something that should be existing through your Monday through Saturday and be renewed on your Sundays in your place of worship. God is present In the boardroom, the classroom, the job site, and in every decision in between. Our relationship with God should be a 24/7 present relationship that is surrounding your entire life in alignment with your faith. Nothing is outside of God's reach. He owns Everything. He owns your business. He owns your family. He owns everything, and he created everything. And our job is to steward everything God has given us. How many people here are business owners? Raise your hand if you own a business. Awesome. How many people here are currently employed?

Currently employed.

Currently employed, okay. How many people here are retired? Okay, awesome. And how many people here are people that have families? I say that last piece about family because God has a plan for the family unit, and he's designed the family unit For His glory and for His purpose. All right, I got this working. Okay.

That's forward.

Awesome, we got some tech here now.

Yeah, that's it.

Awesome. So the scripture has a quote at the bottom, says, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord. And that scripture is important because When we go about our day-to-day in our lives, we should go at it as if we're not doing it for other people or for men, but we're doing it to worship and to honor God. And there's a fundamental shift of how you show up and operate when you believe in your heart that everything you do, you're doing it unto God. Whether that be showing up at a meeting and how you interact with your members, your fellow members in a group, whether it's how you show up at work and are doing tasks and assignments for your employer, whether it be how you show up for your family, when you do it all unto God, it changes the way that you show up. And the way that you show His love through the way you work. Now, as I talked about, my ministry is speaking to business owners, so a lot of this stuff will be catered to business owners, but these lessons are applicable to all types of people, whether you're working, whether you're not working, whether you are running a business, whether you're not. These are all things that can be applicable. So your business changes when you change. The first outcome of deeper faith is a transformed leader. When you are able to see how faith can be impactful to your business, you're able to make a shift in your own life, and that shift transforms your business, the people that are involved in your business, and everything around your business. And we're able to break it down into 3 sectors. So first, it starts with surrender. How do you surrender your own desires and give it to God? You give God the plan. You release control. That's something that a lot of us have a hard time with, releasing control. And then you invite correction. That's the first step for you to have a posture that allows God to be able to use you In your business, in your work life. The next step is formation. How do you take that surrendered mindset and now you create formation and change the way you operate? You renew your mind, it strengthens your character, and you are able to grow in your wisdom and knowledge. Once you've stepped into the formation, now you can show up As a leader. And leadership is manifested in how you decide with clarity, how you lead with courage, and how you serve with humility. God often changes the outcome by first changing the leader. So it all starts with you, and the output that you're able to produce will follow. You guys with me? That's with me. So we're challenging you in your decision-making process to seek God before you seek the answer. A lot of times we're hit with problems and challenges in our life, but when these things happen, where do you go first for the answer? Do you go to your own desires, your own solutions? Or do you talk to God first for answers? Prayer should not be the last resort. Prayer should be the first move. The Bible speaks about seeking the kingdom first. There's a verse in the Bible, I believe it's Romans 8:28. It says, seek first the kingdom and all His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. It's saying that when you seek Seek God first, all the things that you desire will be added to you when you have a surrendered heart. So you don't have to worry about the solution or how you're gonna solve the problem or where you're gonna find the money or how you're gonna get the healing. Seek first the kingdom and all these things will be added to you. And that's a promise that the Bible provides to us.

Amen.

So seek first the kingdom, and then you're able to build the plan. God is a God that is all-knowing. He's omnipotent. He's omnipresent. He's everywhere. And when you seek first God, He will establish your steps and give you the plan that gives you confidence that you're able to produce fruit. So practical steps— bless you— you pray, you listen to God, and then you obey. When you follow those 3 steps, any challenge that you're facing in your business or your life, it becomes something that you have a solution to. Integrity is an integral part of running your business. Integrity makes trust possible. As a business owner, you all should know, or even if you are, you know, operating, you know, in a business, or you work alongside business owners, or even if you're contracting a business, trust is at the foundation of that relationship. There's no such thing as business without trust, and the Bible teaches many principles with integrity at the forefront. Your private obedience becomes public credibility. When you understand that I want to be obedient to God in the things that no one else sees, your public perception will also increase. Because when you're able to have private obedience, you'll be entrusted with opportunities in the public. So trust, in regards to how you are able to steward relationships with your customers— trust builds and keeps your customers. And the truth produces your reputation, and it protects your reputation because No one wants to do business with a liar. So integrity is incredibly important at the forefront of your business. That allows you to keep trust with your customers, and your truth will allow you to keep a strong reputation. The Bible talks about that whoever walks in integrity walks securely. It's meaning that when you do the right thing, God honors it. And He wants you to do the right thing, even when it's hard to do. Sometimes we're pressed with challenges that make it hard to do the right thing, where you might want to cut corners because it's easier. But God has a way of honoring when you do the right thing, even when it's hard. And that's why faith is important. Because faith gives you the courage to continue to build. I don't know about you guys, but as an entrepreneur, there are highs and there are lows, and some of those lows are really low. And when you have faith, it allows you to overcome those lows and persevere so you can continue to build even when it gets rough. So keep going. Obedience is needed before the outcomes. There is no way for you to produce an outcome or a sale or closing a deal or hiring a new employee or anything that surrounds business without first having obedience. And the source of that obedience comes from understanding God's word. And understanding how God wants you to use that business as a vehicle to serve other people. It's important to have your faith. And the Bible talks about not getting weary while doing good, because life is hard at times and you will get weary. You will get tired. But the faith that you have can sustain you in any season of your life. And it's that faith that gives you an excitement and a zeal to persevere when everyone else wants you to give up, or whenever the situation is so hard that you feel like quitting. But God knows your struggle. And He wants you to be able to have faith that perseveres. Some seasons require strategy. Others require endurance. But most seasons will require, require both. Require strategy and endurance for you to continue through the path and endure until Service is how kingdom leadership wins. Now the Bible talks about that Jesus Christ did not come to be served, but to serve others. And it's countercultural to where most people that are on top, that are kings, that are at the top of any hierarchy, are the people that serve them. But Jesus, as the King of Kings, actually flips that narrative, and he came as king but to serve other people, which is this incredible example for us to be successful in our lives but yet have a servant's mindset. And when you do that, it produces so many incredible things for your business that you are able to serve Others and seek that opportunity to serve, for you to be a blessing to others. And God has a way of just returning that blessing tenfold to you. So I encourage you to serve before you seek to be served. Listen deeply, solve real problems, because when you do this, you unlock something special in heaven. you unlock the opportunity for others to be served, for customers, employees, partners to remember how your leadership not only helped them out but how it made them feel. And that will be remembered long before— long after you've served them and helped them out in any way. That feeling that you were able to give them, it allows you to to leave a lasting mark that goes beyond the product or service that you're offering. You'll be surprised by the impact that your generosity and your ability to serve will have on someone's life. That you can be the only thing that makes them smile in that day. Something that they remember like, wow, that person made me feel so good. In every interaction that you have with someone, you have the opportunity to do that. So let's be discerning on how do we look out for those opportunities to make someone else smile, to serve someone in a way that they did not expect. Greatness in the kingdom is measured by service. It's a different measurement than what the world measures by. When you seek to serve first, Everything else is lifted up beyond that. Now let's get to the practicalities of this, because it's one thing just to say, oh yeah, I'm a Christian. It's one thing to say, oh, I believe in God, but it's another thing to actually put it into practice. Today, I want you to see what ways you can put your faith into practice this week. Good thing this is a Monday, 'cause now you have the whole week to think about this and actually see opportunities to bring your faith into your day-to-day. I want you to pray. I want you to invite God into one real decision that you have to make this week. It could be as simple as, where am I gonna go volunteer this week? It's gonna be, oh, what nonprofit should I donate to?

Woo!

Woo! It can be even as simple as, Lord, where do You want me to eat for dinner this week or tonight? Invite God into your decisions, because even in the small decisions, you can be operating in purpose that leads to someone else being blessed. So think about that in your day-to-day. Next, I want you to obey. Once you pray and you hear from the Lord and you've gotten confirmation that the Lord wants you to do insert thing here, be obedient and take the next step, even if that step feels small. 'Cause a lot of times we hear from God and then we just like go on with the rest of our day. If you hear from God, take action on it. Be obedient, and maybe even write it down so you don't forget. That's such an important step for you to take the next step and be obedient. Then I want you to review. After you've prayed, you've been obedient, and you've took the steps that God has told you to do, review. Notice the fruit. Learn, adjust, and keep moving forward. Because the fruit that is produced from an obedient person will be a blessing to others. And you'll be able to see that that good deed left a mark on others. And you wanna continue that cycle of hearing from God, obeying God, and reviewing the fruit that is created. Small obedience repeated consistently morphs into culture. Whether you wanna build a culture for your business, whether you wanna build a culture for your club, whether you wanna build a culture for your family, small acts of obedience repeated consistently will be the foundation of that culture. And guess what? The exact opposite is also true. Small acts of disobedience will also create a repeated culture Of things that you probably do not want to be a part of your culture. So it's a positive thing, but it also could be negative if you don't operate in obedience. And as we're talking about business, the KPI that we're all looking for as business owners, as people in business, as people that, you know, are producing a return on investment over time and our efforts, we're looking for For a profit. And yes, I believe that faith can improve your business's bottom line. When faith is not just a word or a statement, but it's actual practice, it does a number of things that helps you succeed in business. It takes faith, as we talked about, to pray first, the integrity that allows you to tell the truth and follow through all the things that you said you're going to do, the growth and the ability to persevere even in the hard times, the collaboration and the ability to do business with others, to collaborate with others, and then also the impact that you create when you choose to serve others as your primary decision. Faith forms the leader, and better leadership can build a more profitable business. As we come to the end of my presentation, I want to leave us with a discussion question. What do you think could happen in leadership, in your business, in your life if you went deeper with God? We all have a level of faith today. I'm challenging us all to what will happen if we dove a little bit deeper into that faith with God. Wherever you're at, whether you're a baby in the faith, whether you're someone that's been in it all your life. What will happen if we challenge ourselves to dive deeper? The Bible says in Romans 12:2, do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is— his good, pleasing, and perfect will. Think about that. Dive deeper into your faith, your knowledge, and your love for Christ, and watch your mind be transformed, your communities be renewed, and for this city of Tulsa, the Kiwanis Club, and everyone here to be elevated as we all serve and support one another. In this thing that we call life.

Awesome.

That is my talk, y'all. That is my talk. I did mention, or what was mentioned in my bio, that I'm a faith-driven investor. I feel called to use capital as a vehicle to bless people, to support endeavors that make Opportunity accessible for all people. I wrote a book called Micro Obedience, Macro Impact, and it speaks about how small acts of obedience leads to large impact in God's kingdom and the world. I have a few copies here today. It's a book that will challenge you to say yes to God in the small things, so that way you may have impact in a big way through obedience. My wife and I started a nonprofit a year ago called the Center for Faith and Business. As I mentioned, we're an organization here in Tulsa that's dedicated to equipping entrepreneurs and to spread the gospel through business. All donations or all sales of that book goes to that nonprofit. So when you're supporting that book, You're supporting the spread of the gospel through business, and you're helping entrepreneurs get access to capital, resources, and community that helps them build flourishing businesses here in Tulsa and beyond. About 3 weeks ago, we hosted a banquet at the library around the corner from here, and we had Sean Copeland, who's the CEO of Regent Bank, do our keynote, and we had Mayor Monroe Nichols do opening remarks, and it was phenomenal. event, we were able to give away a $5,000 check to an entrepreneur and a $1,000 check to an entrepreneur, which was a blessing to those entrepreneurs. And at the end of it, Regent Bank actually matched our donation. So those entrepreneurs were able to leave, one with a $10,000 check and one with a $2,000 check. And we're excited to put money in the hands of entrepreneurs here locally in Tulsa.

Beyond.

And it's not just money alone that we give. We also give mentorship and support and advice to entrepreneurs. As an investor, I've raised millions of dollars, I've invested millions of dollars into businesses, and I know what good business looks like. In the world of venture capital that I work with, we only support a small segment of the business, of the business world. and entrepreneurs that I've— we started this nonprofit to make this kind of business advice accessible to all people. So we'd love for you to support the book. We'd love for you to support the Center for Faith and Business. And if you know an entrepreneur that needs mentorship and that needs prayer and that needs to help get help with moving forward in their faith, we'd love to connect with them. We'd love to serve them. We'd love to help them grow as business owners. And as believers. Thank you all. Anybody have any questions for our speaker? How much is the book? Books are $20. Is there anything else we need to talk about regarding either FC or anything else? Do we have any update on Prosperity?

Um, the Philosophy Academy, uh, did get back with me. They were excited to hear that we would, uh, be willing to sponsor their chartering fee, and they said They are having a meeting that first— this first week of September here. They have identified 11 students so far, so I think 10 is all they need to get chartered. So we should be moving ahead with them quickly here. And remember, if you can come to the Kiwanis office after this and help me unload, that'd be great.

Thank you so much for having me. All right, thank you. Appreciate it.

Thank you so much. Here you go, pretty girl.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.