Life as a Christian Woman

I am sitting in a Chick-fil-A restaurant, watching my little girl have a blast in the play area and enjoying listening to some beautiful Christian music.

Chick-fil-A is a family-owned business, and has been since it’s inception in 1946 when Truett Cathy opened the Dwarf Grill in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville. He opened the first Chick-fil-A in 1967, and the rest is history. But chicken is only a small part of this successful Christian values based business.

A large part of the Chick-fil-A story centers around it’s owner and his Christian foundation for doing business. Start with the fact that the restaurants are never open on Sunday, proudly proclaiming that they are giving their employees the opportunity to worship. Many Chick-fil-A’s are located in malls, and most malls charge, or “fine” stores for closing during mall hours. But that matters little to the folks at Chick-fil-A. I guess you could say this is a good example of putting values and beliefs in front of profits and riches.

Chick-fil-A puts a high priority to the love and education of children. Their motto is “Growing Kids Inside and Out.” The kids meal bags are chocked full of learning opportunities that families can share. Reading games. Science questions. And currently, children over the age of three get a CD in one of four languages, with notes on how to pronounce and communicate in those languages (Italian, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish).

Chick-fil-A works with area churches and schools, providing special “nights” where part of the profits go to the organization. And many Vacation Bible Schools give children a certificate provided by the restaurant at the end of the week, with a coupon for a free meal or ice cream cone.

But Cathy and his wife, Jeannette, have gone farther. WinShape Foundation, Inc., is an umbrella charity that operates 12 foster homes in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Brazil. The WinShape College Program at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, offers scholarship money up to $32,000 to incoming freshmen. And Camp WinShape is a summer camp for boys and girls at Berry College that hosted more than 1,700 campers in 2007.

And that is just a brief list!

At the bottom of Truett Cathy’s web page (TruettCathy.com) is a Bible verse:

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver or gold.” Proverbs 22:1

I know there are many Christian-owned businesses out there. And no, I don’t own stock in the restaurant and none of my relatives work there!

But the fact that Chick-fil-A has held true to owner Truett Cathy’s Christian principles since the company’s inception makes it truly a light in the world.