Empowered Worldview for Business

Root-to-Fruit's mission is based on a conviction that God’s truth has the power to transform individuals, organizations, communities and even nations. Organizations are transformed when its leaders and staff confront umbilical beliefs, and instead embody and proclaim God’s biblical truths. Helping organizations to do this is the beating heart of our mission.

What do we even mean by worldview?  Dallas Willard offers a definition: “Worldview … consists of the most general and basic assumptions about what is real and what is good—including our assumptions about who we are and what we should do.” The basic assumptions people adopt usually come from their surrounding culture.  Staff bring their worldview to the workplace. Oftentimes, leaders come from many cultures and subcultures (e.g., Western, African, Asian), bringing vastly different and conflicting worldviews. Making decisions and perceiving their environments based on different worldviews causes leaders and staff to often misinterpret the other's behaviors and motives to the detriment of the organization. The same dynamic exists between the organization and suppliers, customers, partners, government officials and others with whom the organization needs to interact.

Understanding a biblical worldview creates space for people to assess their own worldview in contrast to God's truth.  A biblical worldview begins with two foundational assumptions:

1. Jesus is King over all, and

2. His Word is truth. 

When an organization disciples a culture built on a foundation of these twin truths, its leaders and staff begin to work in harmony, with a common language to flourish.

A biblically empowered worldview reconciles broken relationships with God, self, others and the environment. Out of a renewed sense of identity in God’s image, the leaders and staff improve their spiritual and physical livelihoods through individual responsibility, trust, respect and hard work. Leaders and staff together begin to define the desired transformation, own it and are accountable for the outcome. 

Root-to-Fruit workshops ignite mindset transformation at a personal and professional level to start the journey of building mutually beneficial human and social capital within an organization that directly results in improved performance. It is designed to facilitate a process of self-discovery of one’s worldview as compared to others and to a biblical worldview (God’s ultimate truth) through active learning, interactive discussions, storytelling, life-application and sharing of experiences. This transforming truth displaces the cultural lies that ensnares participants in dysfunctional behaviors and motives. It brings healing and reconciliation into relationships and spurs innovation, accountability, teamwork, integrity, servanthood and stewardship.

A foundational two and one half day workshop is based on the assessed and unique circumstances and goals of the organization that Root-to-Fruit is helping. Participants explore important life questions relevant to the workplace, including:

• What’s our origin and purpose?

• Who owns and controls it all?

• What went wrong?

• What’s the solution?

• Where do we belong in the story? 

Participants recognize God as the owner of all things and discover the consequences of alternative beliefs.  They recognize that everyone has a worldview. Worldviews are powerful because they shape our beliefs, values and behaviors at work. Participants discover that cultures and institutions that are built on truth result in wholeness and life for all and cultures and institutions built on lies result in poverty and eventual destruction.

Participants address the lies in nine cross cultural mindset beliefs. For example, one such lie is zero sum. The zero sum belief means that when one person/entity gains, another person/entity must take a loss, as the pie is only so big. In the workplace, this translates to destructive behaviors such as undermining, jealousy, hoarding resources and knowledge, win/lose negotiations, corruption, oppression, stealing, etc. Participants discover the biblical truth is that God created the world as an open system:

• Resources are limited only by human imagination, and proper stewarding of God’s resources.

• Flourishing organizations innovate quality products and services through the creativity of the whole staff.

• Leaders serve their subordinates by giving opportunities to flourish.

• Teamwork and transparency increase the overall pie so there is a bigger slice for everyone.

• Win-win negotiations also increases the size over the overall pie.

• Alongside creativity, teamwork, transparency, and win-win negotiations, don’t forget about prayer.

The group defines a plan of action to uproot detrimental lies, and instead seed truths that produce measurable outcomes for themselves, families, communities and the organization to flourish.

Empowered Worldview for Youth

Root-to-Fruit has discovered the power of working with youth, teaching, and mentoring them in Biblical Life Skills and training them to train others in the same.  In 2021, at the invitation of several volunteer leaders of a Kenyan slum-based football academy, Root-to-Fruit worked with about 30 youth (17-19 years of age), teaching them a series of life skills, including the power of our words, friendship formation, self-esteem, resisting peer pressure, forgiveness, ruling over our desires, the truth about lies, decision making, consequences of sin, etc.  We have seen these youth, many of whom were dabbling with drugs/alcohol or addicted to the same, come out of their addiction and stay out.

Many of the youth are emerging as leaders.  They are coaching younger youth and children in football while mentoring them in Biblical Life Skill lessons, called God with Us.  Each God with Us lesson is highly participatory, engaging the creativity, and unique God-given gifts of the youth.  About half of the 30 have become trainers of trainers and have trained other athletes, coaches, pastors, and church leaders in various parts of Kenya to effectively teach God with Us. This has led to a real multiplication of life skills training in schools, youth groups, community centers and churches.  As of mid-2023, there are over 100 groups, totaling over 6,000 youth and children from five areas of Kenya who are active in God with Us.

Free access to over 40 lessons enables youth trainers and groups to explore God’s truth and purpose for their lives, anywhere, at any time.