A janitor for Jesus: A story of radical generosity
In 2019, Pete Gazlay attended what he thought was a typical CEO Business Group meeting. Instead, that meeting was the catalyst for a life of radical generosity.
A fellow entrepreneur challenged the group to be generous with their money and their LIFE (Labor, Influence, Finances, Expertise). Until that day, Pete felt he and his wife, Linda, were pretty generous. They grew up in Christian families who tithed and shared a desire to be financially generous. But this idea of generosity as a holistic lifestyle intrigued Pete and Linda, and it sent the couple on a journey toward radical generosity.
In March 2020, Pete and Linda attended a Journey of Generosity (JOG), a retreat with peers to discuss God and money. “It sounds dramatic, but what we learned that weekend changed our lives,” Pete says. “Hands down, it was a top-five spiritual experience for us.”
Relinquishing control to the Owner
At the time, the Gazlay’s owned Total Facility Care, a commercial cleaning company. They began looking at the company not as something they owned and made decisions about, but as God’s business they were honored to manage. They had always had “God first” in the business, but if it really were God’s, their hearts had to change.
The weekend after the JOG, Pete and Linda kneeled in their living room and relinquished the business to God. For the first time, they became its stewards instead of the owners. The timing was interesting because the next week after their JOG experience, the world shut down due to COVID-19.
“It was a scary time to be in the commercial cleaning industry. Entire offices were closed. We started having more overhead expenses than money coming in. We assumed this was the end of the road for Total Facility Care,” Pete says. He remembers thinking, “God, if this is what you want to do with your business … that’s not how we would do it, but we trust you.”
Witnessing business miracles in uncertain times
God proved he was in control, and he blessed the Gazlays’ business during a very uncertain time. The company was well positioned as an expert in cleaning and sanitizing. And God gave Pete clear direction that he was to use that expertise to position the company as experts in the COVID-19 world. He was to go on offense rather than merely react to all that was going on.
In 2020, the company’s bottom line remained flat. This meant Total Facility Care actually grew, even though 40 percent of its clients were closed. They performed hundreds of COVID decontaminations. “The year 2020 was an amazing journey of faith for us, as our only option was to fully rely on God,” Pete remembers.
Then, in July 2021, the landscape changed again. Even after making changes to its compensation structure to help its workforce through tough times, the company struggled to hire new employees at the current rate. For his small business to remain competitive and offer higher compensation, Pete would have to raise prices.
Pete felt God saying to trust him and move forward. God had been speaking to him about how to care for his team better, and part of that was increased compensation. Pete asked clients for price increases ranging from 24 to 40 percent in an industry where a three to five percent increase is a risky move. “I just said, ‘God, I’ve looked at the numbers, and this is what I have to ask to stay in business. If this is the end of everything, here we go,” Pete says.
Over the next few months, Pete witnessed responses from clients that were nothing short of miraculous. One client started a negotiation asking for a price decrease and left agreeing to a 28 percent increase. “We only lost two clients during this time, signed most clients to three-year agreements, and raised compensation by 30 percent,” Pete says. “God’s favor was incredible.”
Trusting our purpose in God’s timing
In 2016, Pete and Linda were in serious negotiations to sell Total Facility Care. Separately, they felt God impressing upon them that it wasn’t the right time. “We both heard him say that our people are our ministry, and this is what we are still supposed to be doing. We pulled out of the deal,” Pete says. “For the next few years, we focused on loving and investing in our team members through leadership programs and unique career paths. We engaged employees in the Dream Manager Program, which empowers them to dream about and create plans to achieve life and career goals.”
After the dust settled in December 2021, Pete and Linda heard God say something new. “He said that we’d run our race and that we were finished if we wanted to be,” Pete says.
Committing to a radically generous LIFE
Pete contacted the team at NCF’s Rocky Mountains office, and they created a plan to donate part of the business to NCF before the sale in an effort to reduce taxes and send more to the charities he and Linda care about.
“NCF created several scenarios. One was just for fun, but got us to praying about how much God wanted us to keep. Linda and I decided we’d give fifty percent of the company. That number was radical to us, but we knew God was in control,” Pete says. “It felt like a stretch, but we knew it was what God was prompting us to do. We were comforted by Hebrews 13:5-6.”
“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6)
Five months later, the business sold at the price they hoped for – another God-sized miracle in their eyes. “Through the JOG and working with NCF, we learned that God wants more than our money. He wants our LIFE,” Pete says. “He’s been showing us how we can love our neighbors – his people – with our time. That feels pretty special.”
Now, Pete and Linda will give away more money in the next three to five years through their Giving Fund than they have throughout their entire lives. And now that they aren’t managing their business, they have more time to give to others. Pete plans to share what he learned with others through a peer-advisory group called Acumen. And Pete and Linda look forward to hosting JOGs to inspire even more generosity and continue the gift that was given to them.