Riley's company is one of a growing number of Christian businesses in Southwest Florida-businesses that believe that calling on a higher power helps them succeed.

Christian businesses try to rely on Biblical principles to deal with customers and employees. Honesty, integrity and accountability are the driving forces, their chief execs say. In short, they practice the Golden Rule, treating others as they want to be treated. The goal is not only to turn a profit, but be Christ-like in their actions.

But given the growing religious diversity within our society, as well as individuals who don't believe in Jesus Christ or God, faith-based companies provoke some questions, or at least curiosity. Are non-Christians, either employees or clients, treated differently? Do they feel uncomfortable in a Christian atmosphere? Do customers place blind faith in Christian businesses just because they advertise themselves as such-even though their owners and ethics may not live up to that standard?

Various local Christian companies say they have heard these queries before. They answer that their secular workers and customers are treated with the same loving respect as Christians. Besides, civil-rights laws protect individuals against discrimination based on religious beliefs, a tenet strongly supported by groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union.

As for the bad seeds, they concede. they're out there, as is possible with secular businesses as well. Consumers and merchants always need to exercise caution before signing the dotted line.

Christian businesses often are held to higher moral and ethical standards because of their faith, which can be a challenge. says Bill Ritchie, a business-strategy professor at Florida Gulf Coast University in Estero. "People forget that these are humans running a business," he says. "No one is a perfect person. Christian businesses have the same struggles as secular businesses."

Power of Prayer

Teri Hansen believes in the power of faith-and loyal employees. In 2001, the owner of Priority Marketing in Fort Myers was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time, her most senior worker had only been with the company for about a year and a half, and her staff was relatively young. Before undergoing a series of surgeries, Hansen, a born-again Christian, took each worker into her office so they could pray together, and then let them know how much she loved and appreciated them.

Throughout the three months Hansen was away from the office, her staff gathered as a group to pray for her recovery. Not everyone was a churchgoer, but Hansen says her staff experienced the power of prayer. It's something Hansen had been telling them all along. "I talk openly about my faith," says Hansen. "There are occasions when we pray openly. When people have a personal need, we pray for one another."

Hansen believes she provides her workers a noncompetitive, nurturing environment, where every person, from the owner to the receptionist, is an important part of the team. The result is loyalty, productivity and low turnover.

Employees Colleen Reynoldssays she appreciates working in an environment where she doesn't have to suppress their faith to fit in. "I've worked in different places where religion is often a subject you can't talk about because of political correctness," says Reynolds, public relations and marketing manager. "Here, we're of different denominations, but it doesn't matter. People don't think you're weird or pushing religion down their throats."

Overdoing It?

But cultivating a Christian atmosphere in the workplaceconcerns groups such as the Freedom from Religion Foundation, a Madison, Wis.-based organization that represents some 5,000 atheists and agnostics nationwide, including Naples. They are mainly involved with separation-of-church-and-state issues, but the group has an opinion about Christian businesses. "There are all sorts of ramifications," says Annie Laurie Gaynor, a foundation member and editor of its publication, Freethought Today.

Aside from Gaynor's nonbelieving constituents, Jews, Muslims and other non-Christians may feel offended or left out by a company's Christian-based practices, she says. She says the policy is bad for business. "Religion creates walls between people," she says.

"We've never had anyone utter a word of rejection," counters Rileyof the Artisan's Guild. Workers learn during the interview process that faith is a part of that culture. Riley explains that workers have the option to join in the daily prayers, or decline. But in 10 years, "everyone's been a taker," he says. Riley insists that religion is never pushed on anyone, and conversions are not his goal.

FGCU's Ritchie believes secular businesses can learn from companies rooted in faith. He says showing respect for workers and treating them fairly makes employees loyal and improves morale. "Keeping customers happy by keeping your word, and being accountable when mistakes are made increases your chances of customer loyalty as well," he says.

Not all Christian businesses make daily, organized prayer a part of the culture, but they do embrace their faith in other ways.

Lisa DiSarro started her Physicians Healthcare Network in Naples a little more than a year ago. She believes it was divine intervention that led her to begin the business, which provides an online directory of doctors in Lee and Collier counties, regardless of their faith.

For DiSarro, prayer is personal, but she doesn't miss an opportunity to spread the Gospel.

"I get calls from people looking for a doctor," she says. "People tell me their life stories, and their health histories. And I can say to them, 'Have you ever thought about Jesus?'"

DiSarro says she met and hired many of the contract employees who make up her staff through secular channels, not knowing their religious background. As it turns out, many of the workers share her evangelical convictions.

For DiSarro, running a Christian business also means turning the other cheek. She recently lost thousands of dollars, paying for work that was not completed by a contractor in Canada. Many other businesses would sue for breach of contract, but not DiSarro. She claims the Bible commands Christians not to sue each other, and believes God is greater than any court system.

That may be DiSarro's interpretation, but lawsuits do happen among Christians.

Typically, if two Christian businesses have a "disagreement"-the term used in the Bible-attempts are made to mediate the issue before a church pastor, says Fort Myers attorney Richard Pringle, who operates his practice in accordance with his own Christian beliefes. The minister does not act in a legal capacity because most do not possess the credentials.

"There is a process," Pringle says. "The parties try to work things out with each other." If the matter is not resolved in the church, then a suit can proceed, he says.

Setting Standards

There is no formal code of ethics for Christian businesses, says Jeannie Sweeney, executive director of the Southwest Florida Christian Chamber of Commerce in Fort Myers. But she believes that Christians hold each other accountable to conduct their companies in a way that serves and glorifies God.

The chamber started seven years ago after founder Glen Black decided he'd had enough of working with people who didn't hold themselves to a high level of ethics. So he gathered several others who shared his viewpoint, and the group began meeting once a month. Today, the chamber boasts 600 members and serves Lee, Collier, Hendry and Glades counties; and Sweeney says someone calls to join the organization every day. "We have a different mission than other chambers," says Sweeney. "We put Christ first in word and deed. Everything we have belongs to God."

Members represent all denominations and sign a statement of faith that they believe the Bible is the "inerrant Word of God," and "eternal life is through Jesus Christ alone." Like their secular counterparts, the Christian chamber conducts monthly meetings-open to nonmembers-that offer networking and fellowship opportunities. But members also know they can rely on each other for spiritual needs.

"We do a lot of one-on-one with members. We do a lot of prayer. People here care about [members'] business and care about them spiritually," Sweeney says.

How does the chamber make sure members are really devout in their faith?

"I tell people I'm not the Christian police," says Sweeney. "If members sign the statement of faith and aren't walking the walk, they need to have a conversation with God, not with me."

Honesty is a quality not always associated with auto mechanics. But Mark Pruskauer would like to change that image. As owner of Your #1 Auto Service Center in Fort Myers, he knows many customers have had their doubts about people in his line of work. Over the past decade, Pruskauer has built his family-run business on Christian values, trying to nurture and counsel customers in addition to taking care of their cars. Many clients have been coming in for years, and have developed a relationship with Pruskauer, his wife and children, who are constant fixtures at the shop.

"You see people at their worst when they're getting their car fixed," Pruskauer says. "They're easy to read. Usually customers come in and you can just see the burden [on their face]. When customers open up, it gives you a great opportunity to witness to them." Pruskauer believes he's helped dozens of customers dedicate their lives to Jesus over the years.

Attorney Pringle, a born-again Christian, asks one questions when ethical situations come up in his practice: What would Jesus do? Pringle knows the gap between right and wrong is enormous in the legal system. It's a struggle he faces on an almost daily basis. "I have many opportunities where I can compromise my moral standards and still be within the boundaries of the law," says Pringle. When those situations come up, the veteran lawyer asks himself whether he'll abide by the legal standard or Jesus' standard. It's the latter that always wins.

"It's hard to stick to your standards," says Pringle. "In today's world, the ends tend to justify the means. That's not necessarily how to reach a conclusion in moral standards. I don't get preachy. I just say you need to find another lawyer."

At the end of the day, a business' success is determined by profits. And by secular standards, Priority Marketing is doing well. It represents some of the area's largest companies. and just moved into a larger office space to accommodate the growing business. But for Christian companies, turning profits is secondary to serving God.

"I'm not at all motivated by money," says Priority Marketing's Hansen. "I think the Lord has blessed my business so I can turn around and help others."

Phil Borchmann contributed to this article