To say that Mike Childress is all up in both grief and the evolution of his business would suggest that either of those are new and novel for him. After many years of friendship, what I’ve learned about Mike – and what he shares so beautifully in this conversation – is that though he is well-versed in both (having lost his father when Mike was 13 and started his business over a decade ago), he’s always actively learning about both, and that integral to his learning is his Christian faith.  

***

About Mike Childress |Christian, husband, father, professional in marketing and security

Mike Childress, a grateful husband and father of four, places faith and family at the core of his life. Founder of Agile Marketing Collective, he's celebrating a decade of steering the agency with a deep commitment to delivering client-focused solutions. Mike's professional journey began at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he delved into computer-aided design, coding, and web design. After serving ten years in the Army, Mike transitioned to corporate America, learning from industry experts at a Fortune 500 company.

In early 2023, Mike further expanded his professional repertoire by founding Shield Strategic Defense, an active shooter training and prevention consultancy. This venture underlines his ongoing commitment to protecting innocent lives and safeguarding communities. 

Though Mike remains deeply passionate about technology and elegant design, his hobbies reveal his life's true joys: quality time with his family, road biking, photography, and a never-ending playlist of music. He's made Roanoke, VA, his home and the backdrop against which he continues to explore personal growth, business innovation, and community involvement.

Mike highlighted a non-profit program in which he and his family are deeply involved, Safe Families for Children. Safe Families for Children seeks to keep children safe and families together. Safe Families for Children is rooted in faith, fueled by radical hospitality, disruptive generosity, and intentional compassion, to build a network of caring and compassionate volunteers to support families facing social isolation. Our goals are to prevent child abuse and neglect, reduce the number of children entering the child welfare system, and support and stabilize families.

*** 

All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB, coaching with her, & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com

***

Key moments in our conversation include…

…how Mike describes himself as a human:

• A twist of a start with a 4th wall break where I introduce myself to introduce as a way to illuminate a difference between Mike and me and how we’ve navigated together in our long and deep friendship, particularly that Mike’s Christian faith is key to his navigation of the world while I identify as a secular Jew whose spiritual practices are informed by Buddhism and physics
• He is also a husband, parent, and business owner

…what Mike is all up in:

• A refined focus on the presence he wants to bring to his kids and broader family in the wake of the death of a teenager from a youth group he lead
• Deepening his understanding of the Bible which includes both finding his own meaning and seeking to understand the foundational meaning of the text, both of which help relieve him of the need to be perfect
• A fresh round of exploring the grief of his dad’s death when Mike was 13; with grief, his faith provides the underlying hope that allows him to face mortality
• How the longer road of grief is a nuanced and the sense of additional loss that goes with the fading of Mike’s memories of his dad
• The intersection of his beliefs and his business, of money/power/influence and being a Christian, and how one has to be prioritized, in his case, being a Christian and his family roles supersede his role as a professional. As such, he is vigilant to not let work impede on his family life and to be in alignment with his beliefs all the time.

…his tools include:

• Conversations with people who are good listeners, including his wife Faith and his close friends
• The Bible

…the non-profit he chose to highlight was:

Safe Families for Childrenseeks to keep children safe and families together. Safe Families for Children is rooted in faith, fueled by radical hospitality, disruptive generosity, and intentional compassion, to build a network of caring and compassionate volunteers to support families facing social isolation. Our goals are to prevent child abuse and neglect, reduce the number of children entering the child welfare system, and support and stabilize families.

https://safe-families.org/