Transforming Work Together

Our Mission

If you’re a Christian professional who’s ever wondered how your faith connects to your Monday-through-Friday life, you’re not alone. At the Austin Center for Faith and Work, our mission is to help people like you bridge the gap between your faith and your work. 

Many of us have felt that tension: wanting to live authentically but not knowing how to bring our Gospel values into boardrooms, client meetings, or everyday workplace decisions. In the end, we end up compartmentalizing our lives, and everyone suffers. Companies lose leaders with real character, employees miss role models who show there’s another way to succeed, and our city misses the innovation that comes from people motivated by purpose, not just profit.

That’s why our mission is to gather, develop and empower people to engage work as God intended. With over two decades of experience in this area of ministry, we’re here to help you integrate your faith and work, so your work becomes a natural expression of your faith and a genuine blessing to everyone around you.

Table sign for Austin Center for Faith and Work Gathering

Meet Our Team

  • Steve Teng

    Executive Director
    You can often find Steve brainstorming and strategizing with Austin CFW members and local community leaders for redemptive work initiatives. His sense of vocation leads him to the intersection of faith, work, justice and mercy. He and his wife Anne have three children and count it a privilege to serve Austin.
  • Emily Padula

    Director of Finance & Strategy
    Emily has long had a love for the integration of faith and work and is passionate about the opportunity to serve at ACFW through financial and strategic stewardship. She spent over two decades in the healthcare industry, including many years as a hospital executive. She and her husband, plus their two spoiled dogs, love living in East Austin - and you can occasionally find her selling plants at artisan markets there. Her favorite over-coffee topics include noticing Christ in each of our vocations, C.S. Lewis, values integration in organizational culture, and P&L statements.
  • Clifton Stringer

    Director of Formation
    Clifton relishes conversations over coffee with friends new and old about things that matter – including any theological topic. When not writing, teaching, or collaborating with the ACFW community, you might find him going for walks with his wife, longboard skateboarding, training martial arts with his kids or watching their baseball games and other performances. A historical theologian with special interest in the Victorines and Franciscans of the 12th and 13th centuries, Clifton loves reflecting on Jesus Christ’s wisdom, and in the ways Jesus shines in the Spirit-given traditions of the churches, to serve Austin’s workers through theology and spiritual formation.

Advisors in Residence

  • Eric Grafstrom

    Entrepreneur/Executive Coach in Residence
  • Danny Morgan

    Pastor in Residence
  • Kate Grochowski

    Entrepreneur in Residence
  • Nicole Ifill

    Software Engineer in Residence
  • Katie Wussow

    Executive in Residence
  • Bill Walker

    Theologian in Residence

Board of Directors

  • Kimberly Deckel

    Associate Priest of Care and Mission, Church of The Cross
  • Patrick Farrell

    Co-Founder & Executive Director at Keystone Investing
  • Elizabeth Ledy

    Civil Engineer, TDI Engineering
  • TJ Morelli

    Founder, Pivot Leadership Group; Pastor, Austin Ridge Bible Church, Pastor in Residence
  • Howard Morrison

    Chair of the Board; Partner, Morrison Ranch
  • Reid Rutherford

    CEO Melzi Corporation; Partner, 1Flourish Capital
IMPACT

Empowering Faith in Everyday Work

At Austin Center for Faith and Work, we believe that work is a vital expression of faith and purpose. Join us in transforming the workplace into a space for spiritual growth and community impact.

37
Workplace Communities in Austin Texas
76
Fellowship Alums & Local Exemplars
28
Austin Churches Represented by Program Members
105
Austin Workplaces Represented by Program Members

Support Austin Center for Faith and Work

Your donations help fund the center's programs and growth across Greater Austin.