Kent Humphreys

Lifestyle Impact Ministries &

Fellowship of Companies for Christ

Kent and Davidene

Personal

• Name: Kent Humphreys (61) 405-917-1681 x102

• Web Site: www.fcci.org,  www.lifestyleimpact.com

• Education: BA in Business from University of Oklahoma

• Family:  Wife Davidene, 3 children, 8 grandchildren

• Business: Fellowship of Companies for Christ (Christ@Work)

• Hobbies: Family, traveling, speaking

• Home church: Cherokee Hills Baptist

How it started: Kent grew up in a church home and was saved at the age of nine. His father had a goal to be a millionaire and spent most of his energy in a department store which was losing money. Billy Graham came to Oklahoma and a member of his staff, Charlie Riggs, made a habit of personally mentoring two people from each community they visited. Kent’s Father was mentored by Charlie through most of Kent's teenage years and it left a great sense of being called to God's purposes in Kent. God did allow Kent's father to turn his business around and he retired at the age of 50. He then worked for the Billy Graham team himself... leading 5-10 thousand people to Christ through just training counselors. Thus Kent came from a strong heritage of mentoring and of seeing people come to know Christ through the influence of one businessman.

After high school Kent attended Oklahoma University, got married, graduated with a degree in Business Administration, took a tour through Vietnam, and came home to take over his father's prosperous business in 1972. Within 17 months Kent and his brother lost the entire business. By 1975 they started growing again and ultimately bought 23 distributorships employing 400 people all over the US, selling ethnic health and beauty aids and 12,000 other items. Kent sold the business in 1997 and contracted to manage it until 2000. Since then he was invited to be the CEO of Fellowship of Companies for Christ. He also stays involved in real estate, distribution, and manufacturing.

Personal Passion: Kent's personal passion is affirming and equipping leaders. He loves to study the Bible and teach from a life time of marketplace ministry experiences. Kent experienced personal ministry from the time he observed his father's relationship with Riggs and other mentors. Kent was greatly impacted by about 20 different men through the course of his life. He still maintains those kinds of relationships and now mentors a number of younger business leaders.

Although he loves to teach in large groups, he understands that life change occurs in groups of 12, 3 and 1. Kent's purpose is to leave leaders with a means of life style change in a small group of their own peers. Storms come to everyone; those that survive storms have two or three friends that throw them lifelines. Kent has captured the importance of those relationships two books he's written called Lasting Investments and Shepherding Horses.

Personal Benefit: Most people and ministries are clueless about how life change really happens. Kent has had the privilege of seeing lives change through relationships in his business and ministry for twenty-five years. His ministry message of change through small groups is really an extension of his own family relationships. He was wise enough to make his business feel like a family.

Value to others: Kent's message changes the world one person, one company and one community at a time. He's developed a host of resources that points to peer interaction as the key to sustainable ministry. The marketplace is full of temptations for wealth, spiritual pride, and sex. Yet when businessmen put the Kingdom first, God actually meets all those needs in abundance.

When Kent has conversations he listens for four things.

#1 Kingdom - vs. the importance of just your own church or business

#2 Relationships - vs. institutions, systems, and procedures

#3 Community - vs. loners that have not experienced brokenness

#4 Transformation - vs. hiddenness (transparency among peers)

Business Potential (upside): Kent is still involved in a manufacturing business as a consultant and part owner. He helped turn around the business that was near bankruptcy to profitability over the course of several years. Businesses, by their nature, can impact thousands of lives by the people they touch; employees, customers, suppliers, etc. Businesses are intended by God to have a ministry and specific calling. Their leaders are ministers.

Complexities, failures (downside): Kent's distribution business lost 15% of its customers every year for 15 years. One year they lost 30% in a Wal-Mart account that represented $10M in annual sales. In 18 months God showed them how to replace the lost accounts and make the business stronger. Kent learned to trust God and prosper in the fire of the marketplace.

Vision for the Kingdom: What God is doing in Arab nations like Iran and in China right now is amazing. Nearly everything is happening through commerce; doors are open for marketplace ministry, but closed to traditional missionaries. The emphasis is more on the Kingdom of God and bringing Christ through the marketplace than through our traditional concept of Church.

Impact from Releasing Kings: Kent resonated with the message in Releasing Kings and Desire to Destiny. In fact, he wrote reviews for both of them.

How Can Kent Help You: Kent would love to serve you through Christ@Work’s web site, their small groups that meet weekly and monthly, conferences, DVDs, and audios.  Kent’s CDs have hundreds of stories of how you can serve others in your workplace for Christ.  Become a member for as little as $25 a month and all the group materials are free.  You or your pastor may get Kent’s weekly email (csr@fcci.org) or download his resources on this personal site.  He even does a monthly letter to hundreds of widows.

You can read a great example of an article Kent wrote for his news letter, God Has Moved!