Like other successful Christian entrepreneurs, two new Chick-fil-A franchisees are standing on the Word of God

Christians are often told to make God’s Word the foundation for their lives, but David and Holley Snow are putting that into action as they construct their Chick-fil-A franchise in Marshall, Texas. Buried in the building’s foundation is a Bible opened to Joshua 1:9, which says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

They explained, “While we do serve delicious food, people are what’s most important to us. Our purpose here is simple — to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”

They had their four-year-old son place the Bible in the foundation during a ceremony, because they had to be at the hospital with their young daughter, Wynter. 

Wynter was born last October but remains in the hospital. She has Down syndrome, a congenital heart defect, and an esophageal defect. She had her first surgery at three days old and is expected to require more.

“We firmly believe God thought of & uniquely designed our Wyn, just as He wanted her here on Earth — in His image,” Holley said on Facebook. “We’ve worried. We’ve cried until we couldn’t see. We’ve wore our knees out praying. We’ve cried out in the middle of the night when sleep wouldn’t come. We’ve anxiously longed to just hold our girl, & we’ve seen the faithfulness & grace of our Heavenly Father deeper than ever before,” she continued. “Our God is in the happy & sunshine, but he’s also in the lowest, darkest, stormiest moments when you’re holding your breath for 9 months while specialists try to count heart chambers & inspect tiny cardiac rhythms. His light shines brightest in the darkness.”

She added, “Wynter is an answer to countless prayers, a daughter of the King & an absolute miracle — unlike anything we’ve ever witnessed on this Earth.”

The Snows are building their business and their family on God’s Word, something that is rare today. Many business owners throughout history have sought to glorify God with their business. Christian retailer J.C Penney once said, 

“The assumption was that business is secular, and service is religious. I have never been able to accept that line of arbitrary demarcation. . . . Is not service part and parcel of business? It seems to me so; business is therefore as much religious as it is secular. If we follow the admonition to love God, and our neighbors as ourselves, it will lead us to understand that, first of all, success is a matter of the spirit.”

Then there was Asa Candler, who founded The Coca-Cola Company. Candler advised his son, “I do so greatly desire your success…Don’t be religious in word only, but in your life. Let your life constantly exhibit Christ. We live for Him.”

Candler had lived that advice by example. Besides running his business in line with biblical principles and volunteering his time as vice president of the American Bible Society, he used Coca-Cola profits to start a college in Havana for Cuban students and provided the money to establish a hospital in Atlanta. He later provided a million dollars to his brother Warren to start a Methodist college in Atlanta, better known today as Emory University.

Colossians 3:17, ESV, says, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

That means we need more business owners to stand on — and operate by — the Word of God. What does that mean? Of course, it means running your business according to biblical principles — the Bible is actually chock full of great advice for financial management, operational integrity, and how to treat your employees and customers.

But it’s more than that. It means taking God to work with you. Stanley Tam, the founder of U.S. Plastics Corporation, made God the owner of his company — literally. “I started the business in 1936, and I soon went broke,” he recalled. “I was so discouraged. Then the Lord spoke to me: ‘Turn it over to me; I’ll make it succeed.’”

Stunned, Tam managed to pray: “If this is what You want, I will obey.” He recategorized himself as a salaried employee and signed over all the corporate stock to the Stanita Foundation, a non-profit he and his wife created solely to fund Christian charities and missions around the world. Massive success soon followed and never stopped. To date, the company through the foundation has given close to $200 million to God’s kingdom and hundreds of thousands of souls have come to Christ through the ministries it supported and the churches it helped to plant.

After he retired, Tam started a small woodworking business to keep him busy, but he still kept God front and center. A sign in front of his shop read: “Are you seeking peace in your heart? The answer is in the Bible.” Underneath was the invitation. “Come inside for a free Bible.”

While some have downplayed or even mocked the Snows for placing a Bible in the foundation of their new restaurant, history tells us that their willingness to link their company and their lives to Christ is the best possible business strategy they could ever implement.

As Christian businessman R.G. LeTourneau, who invented and sold massive earthmoving equipment, tithed 90 percent of his profits, and founded LeTourneau University, once stated, “You will never know what you can accomplish until you say a great big yes to the Lord.”