Ben Johnston: God put each one of us here with a purpose. Mine is to make a difference in people's lives. Pittsburgh Tank and Tower is a 102 year old family business. We're manufacturing rector of storage tanks. We've got product in 67 foreign countries.
When we look at the importance of faith, it started with a few of us. We had a Bible study, which we have Wednesday Bible studies now. We had a class not too long ago, there's 18 or 19 in.
Lynell Russell: We recognize that we are nothing without Christ and we're everything with him.
Ben Johnston: I think our Christian duty is to leverage that in any form or fashion, and I truly believe God put me here to manage a business, to take care of employees who, I find myself, kind of their disciple. My goal is to take care of them.
Dylan Phelps: Ben, our owner, hired me on and said we had a problem. And the problem is we are not a well company. We are an ill company and we'd love for you to come up, at the time I was in Chattanooga, so come up from Chattanooga and help us to get well.
Ben Johnston: But the things that we're seeing now are so rewarding and it's like planting a garden. You're going to plant in the first year. You might not get it right. Second year, you know what fertilizer to put where and pretty soon it's blooming and blossoming and that's the part we're at now.
Marilyn Brenton: I mean, it's just been unbelievable what we've been able to accomplish and we attribute that to our faith and our constant prayers to Jesus Christ. During the orientation process, we mention that it's a family owned company and a very faithful president, and we mention the wellness attributes that we have the options for the Bible study. We take 'em on a tour, we show them the prayer walls so they are well aware of what kind of company we are.
Dylan Phelps: And so when I got here, it was kind of laid out. We have the wellness component and we have the benefits component and we're going to marry the two to make sure that our employees understand that we are caring for them holistically.
Pancho Payne: Pittsburgh Tank and Tower is a place where I've been employed for 33 years. Faith is always at the center of it. We start all of our Monday morning meetings off with a prayer and you just feel welcomed and you feel wanted here.
Lynell Russell: I think the culture is definitely different. There are lots of times that like an unbeliever and I know they're an unbeliever, they'll come in here, they'll come in here and say, will you pray with me? And that's the person that said, I don't believe in God. But they know we do and they know they will be prayed for.
Dylan Phelps: We started with being who we are. We started with outwardly showing that we love the Lord and we know that this ultimately is the Lord's company. And so one of the first things that we did early on was create prayer trees where anybody, whether it was anonymous or you wanted to put your name on it, could put a prayer request on our trees. And from there we would have multiple people who are faithful to the Lord and knows that he answers prayers, come by and pray for the tree as a whole or pray for some of the specific requests. And from that point forward, I believe it became very evident that we were going in a place where God was leading us.
Ben Johnston: The prayer tree was another one of those stepping stones to get people to embrace. It's natural and it is amazing how people automatically are on board.
Dylan Phelps: One of our favorite things to do is to work with some of the area servant groups and some of our area servant groups allow people to come through different addictions and different habits that they need to be healed from. And so we look to those servant groups for opportunities for employees to come on with us. And so those are some of the best stories I've seen and witnessed here at Pittsburgh Tank and Tower Group.
We have people who are coming from a place where they were completely shackled by sin. They couldn't get out of it on their own. They sought out a faith-based recovery system. And then from there we are kind of an extension of that. And so we know that they have come a long way and their story has begun with the Lord, and we take them in as a part of our family and they become very important parts of our family.
Pancho Payne: You got to be a servant instead of a master. So whenever you become a servant to the people and to the people you work for, you want to see them succeed. I did what God laid on my heart. Now what they do with it, that's up to them to go do it, but I had to do what was right. You can't never go wrong by doing right no matter what it is.
Melissa Miller: I have these morning devotionals that I like to go over and read on a daily basis, and then I have a couple of the other people in the shipping department that go over those with me.
Joe Thomas: It is just a totally different atmosphere and it's one of the biggest reasons I've chosen to stay here and work here. They're very good to me. It allows me to be a good follower to my son and like I said, I'm very, very grateful
Keegan O'Daniel: At the end of the day. I think it plays a role in regards to where God's favor lies, and I think his favor will lie with those people who elevate his name and aren't scared to include him in their daily walk.
Lynell Russell: It's God that makes a difference. Every good thing that we have comes from the Father.
Dylan Phelps: The reward occurs every single day. Yeah, we get a check every single week, but us living out our faith on a regular and daily basis and that being encouraged, that's the ultimate reward.
Yeah. We're looking for profits. Yeah, we're looking for that black on the bottom line. All those things are important, but more importantly, we have to understand that this life is short and we are here to bring him glory. So why not go ahead and build that into your workplace? Because ultimately that's why we exist.
Ben Johnston: Is it worth doing the right thing? Absolutely. Without a doubt. There's no question. But yes, it's absolutely worth it. There's no question.
