Faithlife Blog

  • Church Technology
    • For Communications Staff
    • Church Graphics
    • Church Management
    • Church Operations
    • Online Community
    • Online Giving
    • Presentation Software
    • Sermon Cloud
    • Website Builder
  • Culture and Context
  • Digital Discipleship
    • Bible Study
    • Christian Education
    • Christian Entertainment
    • Featured Books
    • Featured Courses
    • Leadership
    • Practical Theology
  • Ministry Resources
  • Deals
  • Inside Faithlife

June 11, 2015 By Ray Deck III   |   Leave a Comment

Introducing BellinghamWins.com

Faithlife moved to Bellingham in 2002 with 45 employees. Now, more than 420 employees occupy Faithlife’s five buildings on the downtown campus. As the space Faithlife occupies has grown, so have the ways it invests in the community.

That’s why Faithlife is proud to introduce BellinghamWins.com—a site that celebrates the city that we call home.

“We’re excited about what’s happening downtown. It’s really become a vibrant spot,” said CEO Bob Pritchett.

Bellingham is perfectly situated on a sheltered bay below a regal mountain at the gateway to spectacular islands.

_MG_6808-Edit

Bellingham is surrounded by natural beauty, productive farms, and two world-class cities in two different countries.

_MG_6388

Bellingham hosts a significant university, a well-educated workforce, and global businesses.

Bellingham has two vibrant downtowns and a waterfront redevelopment opportunity like nothing else in the world.

_MG_7866

(Photos by Nick Kelly & Patrick Fore at BellinghamWins.com)

You are welcome to use all of the content and photographs that appear at BellinghamWins.com under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

Subscribe to Bellingham Wins to learn what it’s like to live in our town, and to hear about the ways Faithlife is investing in our community.

Filed Under: Ministry Resources Tagged With: bellingham, pacific northwest

December 30, 2014 By Pam Bauthues   |   Leave a Comment

Women in Business: Anne-Marie Faiola

Anne-Marie-women-in-leadershipLast week, Faithlife began a new speaker series, women in business. In this series, local business leaders will provide new perspectives and insights into the business world and offer advice based on the lessons they’ve learned.

Anne-Marie Faiola, CEO and founder of Bramble Berry in Bellingham, Washington, kicked off the series with an enthusiastic look at her roller-coaster journey as an entrepreneur. Her story is one of persistence: after beginning her career as a corrections officer, she quit her job to turn her hobby—soapmaking—into a means of supporting herself. She did just that, and 17 years later, she has several successful companies to her name. She has also been recognized as Washington State’s Businesswoman of the Year in 2009 and Washington State’s Businessperson of the Year in 2010.

Her business, Bramble Berry, has become a thriving, multi-million-dollar enterprise, supporting nearly 100 employees and growing. Her passion is infectious, and it’s clear that she loves what she does.

Success didn’t happen overnight, and Anne-Marie’s hardships and achievements taught her valuable lessons along the way.

Here are Anne-Marie’s top five keys to success:

1. Success is not a straight line.

Anne-Marie’s story has its fair share of ups and downs, from going into major debt to grossing millions of dollars each year, but one of the most important things she learned was to be adaptable and flexible as her business progressed. When something wasn’t working, sometimes all it took to solve the problem was admitting failure and moving past it or pivoting her direction.

2. It’s OK to dream big.

When Bramble Berry was in its early stages—and even today as it grows—Anne-Marie said it was crucial to be “delusionally optimistic.” Remaining happy and positive is key to overcoming challenges that arise, and being optimistic is an intentional choice. She noted that this is especially helpful when building a team—it’s important to lay a solid foundation and encourage new members in order for everyone to work toward the same goal.

3. Surround yourself well.

As Anne-Marie said, you’re the sum total of the five people you spend the most time with. Anne-Marie recommended choosing people who uplift you and help you out during rough patches rather than those who are unsupportive or negative. She also suggested building a network and finding a single mentor you can call on when you need them most.

4. Learn to say no.

When sharing a story about creating a large volume of product for a local grocery-store chain, Anne-Marie said with a hint of sarcasm, “I told them yes, because you always say yes to opportunity!” However, she went on to explain that saying yes to an opportunity means saying no to something else, and vice versa. It’s critical to set boundaries for yourself so you can focus on the tasks that keep you on track toward your ultimate goals.

5. Have a plan.

Anne-Marie has always found that creating and sticking to a plan is foundational for success, even cautioning, “Not planning is planning to fail.” Her decisions are backed by data, which helps her see when the plan needs to be altered. Setting realistic, attainable goals helps her see where she’s going and how she’s going to get there, and living out those goals in her daily actions helps her progress one step at a time.

In the coming weeks, we look forward to sharing more lessons from local leaders—stay tuned!

Does Faithlife sound like your kind of workplace? Come join us! Check out our current career openings and apply today.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: bellingham, company culture, leadership, pacific northwest

December 17, 2014 By Ryan Nelson   |   5 Comments

Faithlife’s Biggest Christmas Party Yet

christmasparty

Last Saturday, Faithlife took a trip up to the Semiahmoo resort, near Canada, for our annual Christmas party. The dress code was “as nice as you like,” and the evening was a festive mix of classy and casual.

max
Max Morin says this holiday sweater is actually threaded with real tinsel.

Over the last four years, Faithlife has doubled in size. With that kind of growth our list of possible venues near Bellingham grows smaller each year. Last year, we had a little over 300 employees, and we gathered in one central room with our guests. This year, the Faithlife Christmas party sprawled across four separate sections of the Semiahmoo Resort with a different selection of food and entertainment in each area.

At 5:30 p.m. the doors opened to the Protea String Quartet, and the stream of people never stopped.

protea string quartet
The Protea String Quartet played beautiful background music for three hours.

A half hour later, our friends from Oh Snap! Photo Booth and The Upfront Theater set up shop, so people could get pictures with friends or have some laughs between bites to eat.

photobooth christmas
Oh Snap! Photobooth helps keep things laid back and goofy.

Beckie Rosillio from the video team scoured the resort for Kodak moments like these:

Boisens
Sean Boisen and his wife Donna enjoy a moment together.
beedes
Tayler and Kyle Beede smile at Jeff Allen’s jokes.
Roosendaal's
Kyle Roosendaal and his wife, Denica, find themselves laughing out loud.

Beckie has been taking photos at our employee Christmas party every year since she got here, and by the end of the night there was a line of people waiting for her to take their annual Christmas photo.

Logos_ChristmasParty_2014_RCAR_ (152)
Anne Campbell, Fran Radke, Jen Lounsberry, and Kay Solvik have some fun with their photos.

In the main ballroom, stand up comedian Jeff Allen took the stage and had people literally throwing back their heads in laughter:

laughing
Nathaniel Scataglini and his wife, Sharon, hold nothing back as they laugh at Jeff Allen.
Comedian3
Jeff Allen performed one of his stand up routines in the main ballroom.

Throughout the night, everyone was free to roam between rooms, so there was never a dull moment.

sherri kyle
Sherri Huleatt breaks out the Beethoven to woo her husband, Kyle. Okay, maybe they’re just posing.

The Upfront Theater crew took a break and then returned for a final show. This time, the improvised comedy somehow led to a soap opera wedding (don’t ask me to explain how it got there):

Upfront Theater2
The Upfront Theater is a local improv-comedy club, founded by comedian Ryan Stiles.

After the entertainment wrapped up for the evening, it was time for Bob’s annual speech about how much he loves working with us, why we do what we do, and of course, Faithlife’s famous raffle.

bob2
Bob shares why after over 20 years, he still loves working with these people.

As always, when it comes to thanking his employees, Bob went big. Thousands of dollars in gift cards were given away, brand-new tablets were handed out, and there was even a Playstation 4 and an Xbox One thrown in the mix.

prizes
These are just a few of the big prizes given away at the Christmas party.

When the raffle was over, only one thing remained: Christmas carols. Max Morin and Josh Warren from design led the company in a couple of carols, and the evening came to a close.

carols
Max Morin and Josh Warren are both talented designers and fantastic musicians.

Want to be at the next Faithlife Christmas party? Check out our available careers!

* * *

To see the rest of our Christmas party photos, like us on Facebook!

Filed Under: Inside Faithlife Tagged With: bellingham, christmas, company culture, faithlife, pacific northwest

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Subscribe!

Sign up below to get the Faithlife blog delivered right to your inbox.



Get a free faithlife.com account today.

Register

Copyright © 2021 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software