Christian companies: who they are and how to work for one

The cashier who hands you a chicken sandwich on Saturday won't be behind the counter on Sunday, because the chain's founder closed his first restaurant on Sundays and the company kept the practice. Other employers show their faith through a purpose statement that names God, a verse reference printed on a cup, or a chaplain on the plant floor. Before you apply, find out which ones mean it and what changes once you're hired.

Christian companies are employers that state Christian faith in their mission, ownership, or practices. Well-known examples include Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, Interstate Batteries, In-N-Out Burger, Tyson Foods, and Thrivent. Faith-based health systems, Christian colleges, and Christian nonprofits hire across every field, and federal law lets qualifying religious organizations prefer candidates who share their faith.

Key takeaways

Type of Christian employer	What to expect as an applicant
Christian-owned business (Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, Interstate Batteries)	Faith shows in the purpose statement and in practices like Sunday closing, and hiring follows the same religious discrimination rules as any other company
Faith-based health system (AdventHealth, CommonSpirit Health)	Nursing, therapy, IT, finance, and support jobs, hired at hospital scale
Christian college or school (Liberty University, Abilene Christian University)	Title VII names religious schools and colleges in its exemption, so the school can ask you to share its faith
Faith-based nonprofit (The Salvation Army, Catholic Relief Services, Buckner International)	Social services, relief, and fundraising work; check whether the posting says the employer hires under Title VII's religious exemption
Before any application	Read the mission statement, the careers page, and any statement of faith or lifestyle covenant the posting links to

Last updated October 2026

What makes a company Christian?

No government list or certification decides which businesses count as Christian, so the label comes from what a company says and does in public. Three kinds of evidence carry the most weight.

A purpose or values statement that names God or the Bible. Chick-fil-A's corporate purpose reads, "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." The company chose those words and publishes them, which makes a written statement the strongest signal you can check.
Ownership by a Christian family, a church body, or Christian members. A family that owns a private company can write its faith into company policy, and most of the household names below are privately held.
Practices that cost the business something, such as closing on Sundays, paying for chaplains, or printing Bible references on packaging.

Owner faith alone doesn't tell you much as a job seeker.

Plenty of Christians own businesses that never mention faith, and those employers hire and operate like any other. Look for faith the company states in writing and acts on.

Can a Christian company hire only Christians?

The answer depends on whether the employer counts as a religious organization under federal law. Title VII, the federal law against job discrimination, lets "a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society," including a religious "school, college, university," hire people "of a particular religion," according to the EEOC's Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination (issued January 2021). The exemption applies only to organizations whose "purpose and character are primarily religious." Courts weigh factors such as whether the employer operates for profit, whether it makes a secular product, whether its founding documents state a religious purpose, and whether a church owns or helps run it.

Courts have applied the exemption to churches, religious schools, hospitals, and charities. For-profit companies are an open question. The EEOC notes that the statute doesn't mention for-profit or nonprofit status and that Title VII case law hasn't settled whether a for-profit corporation can qualify, though it adds that courts may be more receptive after the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision.

The exemption covers religion only. A religious employer still can't discriminate based on race, color, sex, or national origin, and it remains bound by the federal laws on age, disability, and genetic information.

At a Christian-owned restaurant chain or retailer, expect to be hired under the same rules as at any other company. Title VII bars those employers from turning you down because of your religion, and they must reasonably accommodate your religious practice unless doing so would cause a burden that is "substantial in the overall context of an employer's business," the standard the Supreme Court set in Groff v. DeJoy (2023), as the EEOC explains. At a Christian college or charity that qualifies for the exemption, the employer may lawfully ask you to share its faith.

Which well-known Christian companies state their faith publicly?

The six Christian companies below describe their faith on their own websites or in reputable press coverage. Each one hires for ordinary jobs in retail, food service, manufacturing, or finance.

Chick-fil-A

S. Truett Cathy decided to close on Sundays in 1946, when he opened his first restaurant in Hapeville, Georgia, so that he and his employees could "set aside one day to rest, enjoy time with their families and loved ones or worship if they choose," according to Chick-fil-A. The company still follows the practice, and its corporate purpose names God in its first sentence. If you've worked food service schedules that never left you a free weekend morning, the guaranteed Sunday off is a concrete difference.

Hobby Lobby

Hobby Lobby's statement of purpose commits to "Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles," and every store is closed on Sunday, according to the company's Our Story page. David and Barbara Green started it in 1970 with a $600 loan to make miniature picture frames at home. Today it has more than 1,000 stores, about 50,000 employees in 48 states, and a headquarters in Oklahoma City that includes manufacturing, distribution, and offices, so it hires well beyond the sales floor.

Interstate Batteries

Interstate Batteries states its purpose as "To glorify God and enrich lives as we deliver the most trustworthy source of power to the world," on its culture page. John Searcy founded the company in 1952, and Norm Miller added "to glorify God" to the mission statement after he began leading it in 1978. The company says it does business on biblical principles "such as honesty, humility, service and care."

In-N-Out Burger

In-N-Out prints Bible references on its packaging: John 3:16 on soda cups, Proverbs 3:5 on milkshake cups, Revelation 3:20 on burger wrappers, Nahum 1:7 on Double-Double wrappers, and Proverbs 24:16 on fry trays, the Deseret News reported in 2023. Owner Lynsi Snyder has said her uncle Rich Snyder put the first verses on cups and wrappers in the early 1990s, and she added more in later years. Only the chapter-and-verse reference appears, so customers look the verse up themselves.

Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods runs its own chaplain program, which began in 2000. By 2020 it had about 100 chaplains providing "compassionate pastoral care to our team members and their families in 22 states, regardless of religious affiliation or beliefs," the company wrote on its blog. Its core values have included "Striving to honor God and be respectful of each other, our customers, and other stakeholders," as quoted by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation in 2021. Tyson is the only publicly traded company on this list.

Thrivent

Thrivent calls itself "a member-owned financial organization" that "serves all Christians and offers investment products for all people," according to its About us page. The name is short for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and the company has been named to the Fortune 500 for 31 consecutive years (as of June 2025), which puts it among the largest Christian companies in the country by that measure. It also posts openings on our board, as the next section shows.

Which faith-based employers post the most jobs on ChristianJobsList.com?

Outside of church staff roles, the nine employers below are among the faith-based employers that posted the most listings in the past year, according to ChristianJobsList.com listing data (as of October 2026). AdventHealth alone accounted for 8,344 listings, out of 20,564 posted on our board that year.

Employer	Listings in the past year	Type of employer
AdventHealth	8,344	Health system affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Salvation Army	631	Evangelical Christian church and charity
Liberty University	254	Evangelical university in Lynchburg, Virginia
CommonSpirit Health	254	Catholic health system
Loyola Marymount University	196	Catholic (Jesuit) university in Los Angeles
Catholic Relief Services	190	International humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community
Abilene Christian University	176	Christian university affiliated with Churches of Christ
Thrivent	160	Christian membership-owned financial organization
Buckner International	141	Christian charity with Baptist roots

Health systems, universities, and charities make up eight of the nine, and every one of them hires for work you'd find at a secular employer: nursing, teaching, accounting, case management, IT, and facilities. You can see who is hiring now on our Christian employers page.

What types of Christian employers can you work for?

Christian companies and organizations fall into five broad groups, and the hiring rules, pay, and culture differ between them. Knowing which group an employer belongs to tells you more about the job than the word "Christian" in its description.

Christian-owned for-profit companies

Christian-owned businesses include the restaurant, retail, manufacturing, and battery companies above, plus many smaller family firms. They generally hire under ordinary religious discrimination rules, so they can't make shared faith a condition of most jobs. Faith shows up in store hours and charitable giving. Expect a workplace where coworkers hold a range of beliefs.

Faith-based health systems

Healthcare is the largest job category on our board. AdventHealth is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and CommonSpirit Health states its mission as "we make the healing presence of God known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all," on its mission page. Our data counted 7,657 healthcare listings in the past year, and the 6,470 that published complete salary ranges came to a median near $71k (typical range $46k-$90k). Openings for nurses, therapists, technicians, and hospital support staff are grouped under Christian healthcare jobs.

Christian colleges and schools

Christian colleges and K-12 Christian schools hire far more than teachers. Liberty University describes itself as "an accredited evangelical liberal arts institution with 15 colleges and schools," including a law school, a medical school, and a school of divinity, and Abilene Christian University in Texas is affiliated with Churches of Christ. Both employ faculty alongside admissions counselors, financial aid officers, coaches, IT staff, residence hall staff, and facilities crews.

Higher education posts most of these jobs. About 58% of our education listings in the past year (1,243) were at colleges, universities, and seminaries. Abilene Christian, Campbellsville, and Palm Beach Atlantic universities were among the schools posting the most.

Pay in education is harder to see in advance than in healthcare. Only 426 of our 2,143 education listings in the past year published a complete salary range. Those 426 came to a median near $58k (typical range $44k-$83k).

For K-12 classroom teaching, our Christian school teacher salary data (as of October 2026) shows a median of $50,008 from 148 listings that published complete salary ranges.

Plan to ask about pay early in the process.

Schools also have the clearest legal footing to hire for faith, since Title VII names religious schools, colleges, and universities in its exemption. If you hold a teaching license or have worked in campus administration, a Christian school can be the most direct route into faith-based work. Current openings are listed under Christian education jobs.

Faith-based nonprofits

Faith-based nonprofits run social services, disaster relief, foster care, and international aid. The Salvation Army describes itself as "an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church" whose mission includes meeting "human needs in His name without discrimination." Catholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States, and Buckner International is a Christian charity founded by Baptists in Texas. Jobs include caseworkers, program coordinators, grant writers, fundraisers, and finance staff.

Christian-run tech companies

Christian-run tech companies build church management software, Bible apps, giving platforms, and faith-based media. Developers, designers, and product managers looking for this kind of work will find it on our sister site, Christian Tech Jobs.

How can you tell whether a company shares your faith before you apply?

A company's own documents tell you more than its reputation does. Before you apply to an employer on your list, check these sources in order.

Read the About page for a purpose, mission, or values statement, and note whether it names God or speaks only of "values" in general.
Find out who owns the company: a family, a church body, its members, or public shareholders.
Read the job posting and careers page for a statement of faith, a lifestyle covenant, or language saying the employer hires under Title VII's religious exemption.
Look for practices that back up the words, such as Sunday hours, a chaplain program, or a giving policy.
Ask in the interview how faith shapes decisions at the company, and listen for specific examples.

Watch for gaps between steps one and four. A company that names God in its purpose statement and has no practice that follows from it is telling you about its founders more than about the job.

What changes when you work for a Christian employer?

Working for a religious organization changes a few terms of your job, and working for a Christian-owned business changes fewer.

At a religious organization, you may be asked to affirm the employer's beliefs in writing, or sign a lifestyle covenant, before you're hired. Read it before you apply. Covenants differ by employer, and some cover conduct outside work hours or church membership.

Some roles also come with fewer legal protections. Under the ministerial exception, the First Amendment shields a religious organization's choices about employees who perform "vital religious duties" from many discrimination claims, and the EEOC notes this applies whether or not the decision was made for religious reasons. The Supreme Court applied it to a Catholic school teacher in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru (2020), reasoning that "educating and forming students in the faith" lies at the core of a religious school's mission. If a teaching job includes religion classes, chapel, or leading prayer, ask how the school classifies the role.

At a Christian-owned for-profit company, your protections look like those at any secular employer. Title VII is violated when an employer or supervisor pressures you to "abandon, alter, or adopt a religious practice" as a condition of a job benefit, according to the EEOC, and the protection runs both ways: a Christian employee can't be pressured out of faith, and a non-Christian coworker can't be pressured into it.

Frequently asked questions

What is a faith-based company?

A faith-based company is a business or organization that states religious beliefs in its mission, ownership, or practices. Examples include Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby, which close on Sundays, and Interstate Batteries, whose purpose begins "To glorify God." Faith-based hospitals and colleges count too, and they often have religious hiring rights.

What businesses are Christian-owned?

Well-known Christian-owned businesses include Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, In-N-Out Burger, and Interstate Batteries, all privately held and public about their faith. Thrivent belongs to its Christian members. Tyson Foods is publicly traded, but its stated values have included striving to honor God, and it had about 100 chaplains on staff as of 2020.

What qualifies as a faith-based organization?

Under Title VII, the EEOC says a religious organization is one whose "purpose and character are primarily religious." Courts weigh whether it operates for profit, makes a secular product, states a religious purpose in its founding documents, is owned or run by a church, and includes prayer or worship in its activities. No single factor decides it.

What are the best Christian companies to work for?

The right employer depends on your field. Nurses and hospital staff will find the most openings at faith-based health systems like AdventHealth, educators at Christian colleges and schools, and accountants or caseworkers at charities like The Salvation Army. Compare each employer's purpose statement and published pay before you apply.

Pick the employer type that fits your training

Your training already narrows the list. A nurse should start with faith-based health systems, a teacher or admissions counselor with Christian colleges and schools, and a bookkeeper or caseworker with faith-based charities. Open three employers' purpose statements in your field side by side, then apply first to the one whose stated faith and hiring rules you'd be glad to sign your name under.

Discover Christian job opportunities across every industry at ChristianJobsList.com. You can find work in education, healthcare, counseling, finance, marketing, and more at Christian schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and companies that share your faith and values.