Why "Change Lives?"

by Marjory and Peter Bankson

Note: For more information about the Change Lives campaign, 
please click the above link. Ed

We've made a major gift to the CHANGE LIVES Campaign because Faith@Work changed our lives and we want to help pass that gift to the next generation.

Back in 1965, when we were living at Ft. Benning, Georgia, our first small group grew out of a sermon discussion. One of the women, Patsy Southern, brought a copy of Faith At Work magazine. It was a small-format magazine, like the Reader's Digest. We pored over the articles and discovered lay people and clergy who were wrestling with practical questions like we were.

Peter: I was "on orders" for Vietnam the following summer and we needed help. The group met in our home, shared where God was at work in our lives (we used a 3-minute egg timer), prayed for each other (daily) and that was it. We thought of ourselves as a Faith@Work group, though we'd never met anybody associated with the ministry. We subscribed to the magazine then. It was a lifeline for us.

Marjory: Our first personal contact came in 1969, when we were living in Hanover, NH. I went to NYC for a huge Faith@Work Conference. Clarence Jordan (of Koinonia Farms) and Bill Milliken (of Young Life and later Communities In Schools) spoke, along with Bruce Larson. Bill brought a strong contingent of African-Americans from the Lower East Side and I was excited by the vision of building intentional community across racial divisions. After that, we began sending $10/month to support Faith@Work because we caught the "bigger vision." Regular giving marked a new level of commitment.

Moving to Kansas in 1970, we joined the newly-formed F@W Team that met once a month. People came from different parts of the state for a Saturday meeting where we practiced our skills at leading relational Bible study. That group sponsored the first F@W Conference in Leavenworth KA in 1976.

Between 1976 and 1980, we both attended the Leadership Training Institutes (I, II and III) to lay the biblical foundation for relational ministry and develop design skills. We met a whole generation of seekers from around the country and caught a vision for shared leadership. By then we were really "hooked" on Faith@Work and began giving a percentage as we did to the church.

When Peter retired from the Army in 1982, we moved back to Washington, DC and Marj volunteered with the new F@W Women's Ministry while she went to Virginia Seminary. After she became President of F@W in 1985, Peter was elected to the Board.

And now, after 15 years, it's time to turn the reins over to somebody else. We've made a substantial pledge to the CHANGE LIVES Fund over the next three years, included F@W in our will and plan to stay involved, grateful for the gift of new life in Christ that Faith@Work has offered again and again. In this era of spiritual search and hunger for community, we believe F@W has an important call to "stand by the door" for another generation and we are committed to help make that possible.

To make your own gift or pledge, please print the Change Lives Pledge Form and then,
call, write, fax or e-mail us. We look forward to hearing from you.