Christian Workplace Groups really do Make a Difference!
Christians in Royal Bank of Scotland (CiRBS)
Christians in Royal Bank of Scotland (CiRBS) is a network of Christian Workplace Groups that span the UK and Ireland.
Lee is a member of CiRBS; he recently met with Ros Turner, one of Transform Work UK’s lead ambassadors, and he was able to share his testimony with her.
Lee belongs to the CiRBS Bishopsgate group which covers three main offices in the area. Every Wednesday lunchtime 4-10 people have committed to come and pray for each other, their colleagues and organisation. Lee says, “We would love to see more people come along and join us.”
Lee’s story of meeting Jesus really began when a colleague asked him if he believed in God. Having attended church from time to time, Lee just said ‘Yes’. So when invited by one of his work colleagues, he went along to a ‘Christianity Explored’ (CE) session at a nearby church in his lunchbreak. Lee wasn’t sure what it would be like but enjoyed the first experience, so continued with the course. Three months later Lee attended another CE course as he still had unanswered questions that he wanted to resolve.
During this time, another Christian colleague met with Lee during their lunch break to read through the gospel of John. Lee mentions that during these times of study Jesus really came alive. Lee used to go to a local church but recalls that Jesus seemed to only be mentioned in the readings, and the sermons were of a social, rather biblical nature. After committing his life to Jesus he found another church to attend that better met his spiritual needs.
When Ros asked Lee how CiRBS had helped him since becoming a Christian, Lee smiled and said “well, it’s the fellowship with other Christians that I find invaluable. I have somewhere to go to express my faith whilst at work. It is really refreshing. We come together to pray, encourage one another and discuss the issues we're facing in our particular work teams.”
Lee reflected and went on to say, “I don’t know how people cope without the support of a Christian work group. I could have been easily discouraged if CiRBS wasn’t there. Just to know there are other ‘Believers’ in the place where I work is comforting and spurs me on.”
CiRBS is a recognised staff employee network and managers are positive about allowing all staff the opportunity to learn more about Easter. Lee outlined the plans that CiRBS have for Easter: “we are trying to reach out to our colleagues with the good news. Leading up to Easter we have an event taking place in our building. We’ve asked a guest speaker to talk on 'Resurrection - Fact or Fiction?' We are excited to be able to host this in our workplace. We are able to do this because as a CWG we are part of the organisation’s multi-cultural network and so have the opportunity to run events endorsed by the company. What a real privilege! In fact our multi-cultural communications team are sending out an electronic flyer advertising this event to all staff. We’ve also been given permission to use the e-boards (plasma screens) in the lift areas.”
What a great story! Please do pray that many would see the invites to the event and come along and hear the good news.
For more ideas of Christian Workplace Groups at Easter please go to Transform Work UK's Easter resources page.