Encouraging, equipping, and empowering Scotland's corporate sector
Thrive 2019 conference highlights
thrive ;
verb, thrived or throve, thriven, thriving.
to prosper; be fortunate or successful.
to grow or develop vigorously; flourish
Our Mission
The roots of Thrive Scotland go back to the creation of The Business Connection charity in 2014 through the partnership of four Christian businessmen working in Aberdeen who wanted to strengthen relationships and foster a sense of community during very challenging industry downturns
We encourage people of faith, or none, to gather and connect and provide a safe place where people can be encouraged, equipped and empowered to endure the stresses of professional business life. Our events are run by business people, for business people. We offer a welcoming, safe place in the space between the office, family and church. Find practical advice to inspire, stimulating debate to refresh and a trained ear to listen
Going forward Thrive’s focus areas are:
1. To establish workplace city-wide communities where people from different sectors come together for breakfast, lunch or evening seminars on relevant topics
2. Build deep relationships with Christians in the workplace to encourage and support the creation & development of Christian Workplace Groups across Scottish companies
3. Develop strong connections with Pastors and church leaders across the city to:
- leverage partner organisations e.g., London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC) to provide teaching resources for churches and groups
- encourage workplace ambassadors within the church family to champion the ministry
As we "seek the welfare of our cities" we would love you to join us and be part of the movement.
Please follow us on our social media profiles to keep up with
what is happening in the world of Thrive Scotland
Our history
Since 2014 we have encouraged people of faith, or none, to gather and connect from the busyness and stress of their daily work. The trustees established a regular rhythm of fortnightly breakfasts and monthly talks over many years and have seen this network grow to over 550 people on the mailing list and, pre-Covid, a smaller, more dedicated, group of around 30-40 coming regularly to events.
In 2019 in Aberdeen, we ran the inaugural Thrive Conference to encourage and equip Christians in the marketplace, followed in 2020 by an online conference when we engaged with more than 2500 individuals.
Events
Along with our parters LICC and The Navigators we ran 'ReWork', a one-day event aiming to inspire young adults in their first decade of work to connect their discipleship to what they do, and to see how they can thrive in their jobs as God intended – making a difference with him through what they do, not just around it.
In combination with inspiring content from the front, ReWork connects young adults with experienced Christian mentors from matching sectors. Time with mentors to process and apply the learning from the front gives ReWork a dynamic edge.
Our first ReWork was on Saturday 19 November 2022 Grassmarket Community Project, Edinburgh. We plan to run more ReWork events across Scotland in 2023.
Please click below to keep up to date re our events.
News
Check out our latest thoughts on balancing the pressures of work, family and church life...
Discover The Business Connection
“ We are Christians working at the heart of our business communities, with the community in our heart ” - Martyn Link
Business has changed
We all know that business is built on relationships and relationships at work come with expectations. Our relationships with our customers, our colleagues and our contacts all bring expectations of what we will do, by when and how we will do it.
A firm handshake and an exchange of business cards has been exchanged for a new Twitter follower and LinkedIn invitation. We don’t read reports, we scan an infographic.
Instead of hanging out at the Rotary club we publish our own blog post. Career progression is determined more by our online networking skills than our childhood school.
We have digitised our business exchanges. This has dramatically increased what we can do in a day, we can literally communicate with thousands of people electronically that we could never reach face to face. Mobile communications and a global industry mean we now work faster for longer.
And it doesn’t stop in the office, we check our tablet before we check out for the night. Instead of the paper it is the early morning emails that greet us long before we have arrived at our desk. On the train, in the coffee shop, restaurant and airport we are catching up and checking in.
Don’t get me wrong, much of this is good and has improved our standard of living. But if this is price for life in the fast lane, what is the cost?
The cost comes in the fragmentation of our personal lives. With everyone wanting a piece of us, what is left for those who set no expectations for delivery? Family life is squeezed and social time disappears. Marriages suffer, kids withdraw, hobbies get neglected, health deteriorates.
The cost comes in our isolation. We become islands of activity, a vortex of velocity spinning endlessly. Work life balance slides into fire fighting perpetual emergencies or dispensing quality time to our kids like a Las Vegas slot machine.
The cost comes in our superficiality. Much easier to click Like or Accept, than arrange a Saturday evening BBQ. We have 500 acquaintances on Linked in, 1000 Twitter followers, but only 2 real friends ‐ that we see once a year. We skate across the surface of life, only pausing to sharpen our blade every summer holiday.
The Business Connection is a charity for such a time as this. It meets you where you are at, seeks to understand what you are dealing with, and lifts you back on your feet. Run by people in the business community we know how easy it is to become caught up and cut off. We are Christians working at the heart of our business communities, with the community in our heart. Coming along to our range of events in Aberdeen to find out more.
In the business community, a life connection…The Business Connection.
The Business Connection, Scottish Charity no. SC045163 is the parent charity of Thrive Scotland
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