Christian Networking Can Still Be Transactional

I'm going to say something that may ruffle a few feathers. Putting Christian in front of the word networking doesn't automatically make the networking Christian.

We can open a meeting with prayer, have Scripture on the website, talk about Kingdom business, and still spend the next hour evaluating every person in the room based on what she can do for us.

Could she become a client? Does she know people with money? Is she well connected? Can she send me referrals? Is she worth following up with?

We may never say those questions out loud, but if we're not careful, they become the filter through which we see everyone in every room. That's not particularly different from networking anywhere else.

Maybe We’ve Made Networking Too Much About Referrals

I'm a huge believer in referrals. I've built a significant amount of business through relationships, and I teach other business owners how to do the same. I think we've made a mistake when we treat referrals as the purpose of relationships instead of one possible result that comes from them. There's a difference.

When referrals become the primary goal, we start assigning value to people according to what they can produce for us. The person who sends business gets our attention. The person who doesn't eventually falls off our radar.

We call it networking. If we're being truthful, sometimes it's just a more socially acceptable version of using people. That should bother us as Christians.

Jesus Was Terrible at “Strategic Networking” (by Modern Day Standards)

If Jesus had hired a modern networking coach, some of His relationship choices probably would have been questioned. He spent time with fishermen. He stopped for blind beggars. He welcomed children when His own disciples thought they were wasting His time. He ate with people who could actually damage His reputation. He spoke publicly with a Samaritan woman whose social standing offered Him absolutely nothing.

Jesus consistently gave attention to people who couldn't improve His position. Now, I'm not suggesting Jesus was networking. He wasn't, and turning every biblical interaction into a business strategy cheapens Scripture.

I'm saying something more important. If we claim to follow Jesus, the way He valued people should affect the way we value people.

James 2 gives a pretty uncomfortable warning about showing favoritism based on someone's status. James describes two people entering a gathering, one wealthy and one poor, and challenges believers for giving preferential treatment to the person who appears important.

Different century. Same temptation.

We still scan rooms. We just use different criteria.

“Is She My Ideal Client?” Might Be the Wrong First Question

Ideal-client work is useful in marketing. You need to know who your business serves, but I don't want to apply my ideal-client profile to every human being I meet. The woman standing in front of me doesn't need to qualify for my sales funnel before she qualifies for my attention.

Read that again.

She doesn't need enough money to hire me. She doesn't need a big network. She doesn't need an impressive title. She doesn't need to be able to introduce me to anyone.

She's a person before she's a prospect. For a Christian business owner, that should mean something.

No, This Doesn't Mean We Stop Doing Business

This is where someone will inevitably take this too far and decide I'm saying Christians shouldn't strategically network, ask for referrals, make sales, or pursue profitable relationships. That's not what I'm saying at all. We're business owners. We should do business.

Talk about what you do. Make the ask. Follow up with the potential client. Ask for the introduction. Pursue the collaboration. Make money. I want Christian women building wildly successful businesses. At the same time, I don't believe we have to turn every relationship into a transaction to do it. Both things can be true at the same time.

There should be people in our business communities whom we've helped even though they will never hire us. There should be introductions we've made without wondering whether they'll be reciprocated. There should be women we've encouraged even though there's nothing in it for us. If every act of generosity comes with an invisible invoice, it isn't generosity at all.

What If Christian Networking Actually Looked Different?

This is one of the questions behind The Leaders’ Table. I don't want to simply create another networking group and add Christianity to the branding. I want our faith to actually change the way we behave around the Table.

I want women to make money because of relationships they build there. I want referrals happening. I want collaborations happening. I want women hiring one another and opening doors for one another. I want those things growing from relationships.

I want the woman who walks in knowing nobody to be treated with the same interest as the woman everyone already knows. I want competitors sitting beside one another. I want experienced business owners sharing a Table with women who are still figuring things out, because maybe the most valuable person you meet isn't the person who can do something for you. Maybe she's the person you're there to do something for.

Leading Well

Before your next networking meeting, pay attention to how quickly you evaluate people.

Who gets your attention?

Who doesn't?

Who do you follow up with?

Who do you overlook?

There's nothing wrong with being strategic in business. But there is something wrong when strategy causes us to forget the value of the person standing in front of us. Christian networking shouldn't just have different language. It should produce different behavior. If it doesn't, maybe putting “Christian” in the name doesn't mean very much.

Pull Up a Chair

If you're a Christian woman in business in North Houston who's tired of transactional networking, come experience The Leaders’ Table.

We're building a community where real business happens, but people matter more than transactions. We talk business, build relationships, make introductions, encourage one another, and challenge each other to lead differently because of Who we follow.

More Than Networking. A Place to Be Sharpened.

Come as our guest and pull up a chair.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is networking biblical?

The Bible doesn't teach a networking strategy. It does teach extensively about relationships, hospitality, generosity, service, integrity, wise counsel, and how we treat other people. Those principles should influence the way Christians build professional relationships.

Is it wrong for Christians to network for referrals?

No. Referrals, introductions, collaborations, and sales are legitimate parts of business. The issue is whether we begin treating people primarily according to what they can produce for us.

Should Christian business networking be different?

I believe it should. If our faith influences how we lead our businesses, it should also influence how we treat people in business rooms. Christian networking should be characterized by integrity, generosity, genuine relationships, service, and a willingness to value people beyond their business usefulness.

Related Scripture

James 2:1–9 — A direct warning against showing favoritism based on status or wealth.

Philippians 2:3–4 — Looking not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others.

Luke 14:12–14 — Jesus challenges the instinct to only invite people who can repay us.

Mark 12:30–31 — Loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Romans 12:10 — Honoring one another above ourselves.

Galatians 5:13 — Serving one another humbly in love.

Proverbs 11:25 — The principle of generosity and refreshing others.