About
How we work
ONE-ON-ONE
Our focus is on building life-on-life relationships: professional businessmen living in community with one another, united by a love for Christ and a desire to make him known in the Chattanooga area for the glory of God.
SMALL GROUPS
Our CBMC Chattanooga Small Groups provide a safe environment for men to gather in genuine fellowship, time in the Word, and in prayer together.
It all comes down to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment; in other words, to know Him and to make Him known and to love Him and love others.
A brief description of our groups:
- Focused on relationships (devoted to one another)
- Focused on application of the Word taught
- Prayer
- Safe environment
- Goal to grow and multiply (through development of like-minded leaders)
Discipleship in the context of relationships.
Mt. 28, Mt. 22, Lk 14: 26-33, Acts 2:42, Phil. 2:19-24, 1 Thes, etc.
EVENTS
As a part of our mission to make Christ known in Chattanooga and the surrounding areas, we host a variety of public events throughout the year to introduce CBMC to a larger audience and to create opportunities for connecting with people in our community.
UPCOMING EVENTS
RESOURCES
We've developed an online, interactive platform for engaging the Bible with others: The Advancement System. The Advancement System is host to an ever-growing array of resources, each designed to facilitate the relational discipleship experience that occurs between two businessmen walking alongside each other in Christian maturity and growth. We continue to provide hard copy materials featuring Operation Timothy.
GET ACCESS
ENCOURAGEMENT
We don't want anyone falling through the cracks in his spiritual life. We provide opportunities for connecting to other businessmen for the purposes of accountability and support in their walks with Christ.
CBMC has the tools you need to develop other men in your circle of influence to be ambassadors for Christ in their homes, their businesses, and their communities.
Leadership
Mike and Dee Lapihuska
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Mike Lapihuska has served on the Area Leadership Team for CBMC Chattanooga since 2003 and began fulltime as Area Director serving businessmen in their desire to grow in their love and obedience to Christ in their homes and in the marketplace since 2011.
During his 32-year career with Kenco Logistics including VP responsibilities Mike seemed to always be on steep learning curve in a number of areas including industrial engineering, training, and Lean Six Sigma Continual Improvement Processes. Through life-on-life meetings with Christian businessmen life purpose became more clear and practical. Because of this he has a passion to support other business professionals living out a fully integrated life, where their ministry and work intersect.
Mike and his wife Dee enjoy hiking and spending time with their 2 adult children and 3 grandchildren.
Wayne and Jewel Smith
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At 18, Wayne Smith joined the Navy where he matured and met people from all over the world. Most importantly, toward the end of his 3-year Navy tour, he met Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He also met and married Jewel, the love of his life. Throughout the next 30 plus years, he enjoyed a career in the South Carolina Air National Guard, where he and Jewel raised a family and continued to grow spiritually through rich life-on-life relationships.
Wayne met the men of CBMC Chattanooga in early 2007 where he soon became involved in one-to-one discipleship, several small groups, and inviting men to the outreach luncheons. He became a part of a community of like-minded men who genuinely love God and one another that are focused on knowing Him and making Him known. Wayne has been on staff with CBMC Chattanooga since January of 2008 where he continues to meet men where they are and to equip them to become the men God has called them to be.
Wayne and Jewel have 2 wonderful adult children, daughter-in-law, and grandson.
Doug and Melanie White
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Doug White has been fulfilling his passion of introducing men to Jesus Christ and helping them mature spiritually as a fulltime staff member with CBMC since September of 2022.
He has owned retail bicycle shops with expertise on most forms of competition bikes and a focus on off road. He left retail to compete and perform on his mountain bike culminating with 5 years on his bike as a Performing Artist for Cirque Du Soleil. Doug was Owner/Operator of Whitehouse Interiors in Chattanooga for 14 years with his crews completing some of the most intricate projects of tile, stone, and other materials in town. Most recently he was a Division Manager with Kenco Material Handling Services.
Doug's ministry and passion since 2007 has been making Disciple Makers for Jesus Christ. His efforts have been around town and through extensive volunteering at Walker State Prison.
Doug has two grown sons that live in the Chattanooga area, as well as he and his wife Melanie.
History of CBMC
1930 - PRESENT
The Christian Business Men’s Committee (CBMC) began in Chicago in 1930 in the Chicago loop area. Public response to the first gathering on January 6, 1931, was overwhelming, as more than 800 packed into the 800-seat facility.
Another indication that God was blessing this ministry from its inception was that similar groups were soon popping up all over the nation. The first CBMC international conference took place in 1938.
The ministry moved its offices from Chicago to Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the 1970’s. Our work spread not only across the United States but also into Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Indiana, across South Africa and Latin America.
The decade of the 70’s also saw the first release of Operation Timothy.
In the 1990’s CBMC officially changed its name to Christian Business Men’s Connection, embracing two core beliefs: share the gospel with those who don’t know the Good News and then go and make disciples. Be intentional about carrying out The Great Commission. (Matthew 28:19-20)
Today, there are strongholds of CBMC men in 48 of the 50 states and in 98 nations around the globe.