The Church is made up of Christians from a myriad of different professions, and yet their ordinary tales of God at work rarely get told. In this series, we bring you stories of faith from the frontline
My name is Pete King, and I run King’s Construction, a building firm based in south-east London. I’ve been doing this for about 20 years. I’m a husband, father of five and a member of our local church.
I stumbled into construction almost by accident. Growing up with a dad who led a church, I thought I’d follow in his footsteps, but until then, I wanted to work with my hands. I started as a builder, learning a trade, and eventually built up a team, which led to me founding my own business. Along the way, I discovered that running a company became one of the most effective forms of discipleship I’d ever experienced. My team watches how I handle money, difficult clients, frustrations, and real-life challenges, learning from example as much as from instruction.
We employ ten full-time staff rather than just using contractors. That’s more expensive, but it means that we’re committed to each other. We run several projects across south London at any one time and our work ranges from extensions and loft conversions to kitchens and bathrooms.
Every Monday morning, the team meets in the office for a two-year discipleship programme. Not everyone is a Christian, but participation is part of the job. On-site, we also hold daily coffee breaks where we discuss questions from the Monday sessions, alongside ongoing life discipleship.
We’ve run Alpha courses and seen people come to faith. Seeing the kingdom of God advanced through everyday work is profoundly rewarding.
We intentionally employ people who might not otherwise have opportunities. We re-train people who, in turn, re-train others.
As the business has grown, my role has shifted from hands-on building to leadership, overseeing projects, supporting managers and ensuring the wellbeing of our team. It hasn’t always been easy. Letting go of direct control was a challenge, even requiring a fractured elbow to finally step back, but the team has thrived.
Challenges come in managing people, clients and logistics, but the rewards are immense. Staff go the extra mile because they feel valued, and non-Christian contractors choose to work with us long-term. We strive to honour everyone, helping them fulfil their potential while building a committed, supportive team.
Looking ahead, we aim to triple the size of the business to sustain jobs and discipleship opportunities. Please pray that over the next five years, the right people come to us, ready to work, grow and be discipled, so we can continue multiplying both work and impact.
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