TRANSCRIPT

NATHAN JONES

Today, we head to Basel, Switzerland, to meet Sophie Hersberger, who founded and serves as principal for Con·Sense, a non-profit fundraising firm. In addition, Sophie serves on two foundation boards focused on increasing stewardship among Swiss non-profit organizations.

I'm your host, Nathan Jones, and I want to thank you for joining me on this episode of the Inspiring Stewards podcast.

Sophie, thanks for your time. Give us a little bit of your background, where you're from, life growing up, that sort of thing.

SOPHIE HERSBERGER

I was born and grew up in Basel, Switzerland, in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. And I'm the eldest of four kids. Well, my family was large always, a lot of cousins and aunts and uncles and kids. And we were quite, or still are, I think, a loud and passionate bunch. Sometimes a little bit chaotic when we're all together, but what most people would consider a fairly nice childhood. And as the oldest one, I've always been pretty organized, outspoken, like classical firstborn.

And then grew up in Basel, stayed here all through university, studied business and economics here in Basel. And then afterwards, completed my PhD in non-profit management, and founded Con·Sense Philanthropy Consulting after my PhD. Together with three others, we're focusing on consulting services for non-profits, really.

NATHAN

Well, tell me, how did you come to know the Lord and what impact did that have on your life?

SOPHIE

My parents are Christians. So, I grew up with going to church and Sunday school. I grew up in a quite conservative church. And then, as a teenager, I broke free a little bit of that, tried out different churches and styles of worship, and doing life with God.

And then, I had to find my own faith I think a little bit as a teenager. I've always seen my parents and grandparents being very faithful and steady servants of the Lord, and really committed in doing God's work at church, and with their friends and the relationships that they were investing in.

And my parents love the Bible, and passed that on to us kids, or try their best in passing that on to us in really appreciating the Word of God. But, as a teenager, definitely had to find my own faith and I did, thankfully. Got baptized as a teenager, and realized that it's on me to take care of that relationship and to serve Jesus.

And then, my faith has definitely evolved as I've grown older. As many Christian teenagers do, I think I've very strongly felt like God had to have a plan for my life, and that vision. And I had to find out what He wants for me, who He wants me to marry, and what kind of job I need to do, and where I need to end up. And I feel like I had to have that large goal that somehow I need to reach.

And as I've grown older, I realized that God has just put me exactly where I need to be, and I need to serve Him now and see that as an opportunity to be present, to invest in people, and to carry Him to those places as He's inside of me, and not wait for that magical moment where I feel like this is my destiny or calling, or whatever this is, but I'm in it right now. And I just need to faithfully and steadily walk with Him, and not wait for that moment where “Now I need to serve Him!” I do so every day, at exactly where I am right now.

A lot of people that I went to youth group with and so on went into full-time ministry, or did like a Bible school somewhere. So, I've always felt like maybe this is what I should do. And studying business and economics has not been something that a lot of people in my church and so on pursued.

But I very strongly feel that God has put me there for a reason, and what I do now is something that serves Him, even if it's not a full-time ministry job, or a theology-related job, or something. But it took me a while to figure that out for me. That it's okay where I am right now, and how I can serve Him here.

NATHAN

Well, let's talk about that. You talked a little bit about Con·Sense. You serve on some boards. Give us kind of an overview of what the Lord has you doing these days.

SOPHIE

Yeah, as I’ve said, I started Con·Sense five years ago, and I'm a partner and senior consultant here now. As a paid job/daily life, I work part-time as I have two kids. But in my paid job, I work with non-profits, develop strategies, work on governance and impact measurement, and classic non-profit topics.

About five years ago, I've also started as a board member of the Foundation Ehrenkodex, Code of Honour in Switzerland. We are a small foundation that certifies Christian non-profit organizations. So, we look at their governance. We look at their impact measurement as well. We look at how they do their job effectively, and efficiently, and in accordance with God's word on what He says about stewardship and ministry. And three years ago, I've become president of the board, and this is, I think, my largest volunteer job that I have.

And I also serve on the board of the Fondation Generosité. We are a foundation, an umbrella foundation. We have donor advice funds that we take care of. So, our goal is to really foster generosity across country borders. So, these are my two main volunteer gigs next to my paid job at the moment.

NATHAN

Well, this being the Inspiring Stewards podcast, Sophie, how does the biblical principle of stewardship play out in your life and work?

SOPHIE

I think for me, in a nutshell, it really is nothing that I own as myself. It's not my time, not my money, not my kids, not my business, my share of the business. Surely everything that I feel like I own is really God's or has God entrusted me with.

For me, it's always been a lot of how I spent my time really. Because that is, I think, as someone who's been a student for quite some time, and now has worked in a startup, money is not in abundance. But time has always been something that is very valuable to me, and that I felt like I could invest into others or God's work.

And so, for a long time, I've tried to give 10% of my time to like God's work ministry. Earlier, it was ministry work, and then it was board seats, things like that, volunteer jobs.

Now with two kids, 10% of my time is hard to cut out, I have to say. Luckily, my finances are a bit better than a couple of years ago, so I can tithe better. But for me, it's really being responsible with my time, with my resources, and being mindful on how I spend it.

And also, time and talent, I guess, as well. Trying to work on what God has given me in strength and talent, I try to use for Him.

NATHAN

Sometimes raising kids, they don't have that stewardship perspective on our role as parents, but you mentioned that. You mentioned that you're stewarding kids. Just share a little bit about how that plays out. You think about raising two kids through a stewardship mindset. How does that play out for you?

SOPHIE

It takes away some of the responsibility, I guess. Because for me, I love them with all my heart. I try to do everything I can for them, but in the end, they belong to God. And He has the last say on how they develop and where they end up and so on. And so, it takes off some of the pressure, I think, for me as a mom.

Because I feel like it's, well, if He's their father, then if God's their father, then He will provide and take care of them. It's not solely up to me and my husband to do that. And also, He has created them as individual beings with their own, I mean, they're small, but still they have their own character and strengths and so on.

And I'm entrusted with them, which is also a great responsibility, but it's their own little beings, and I just try to foster what God has put into them and see. And also, it is my wish for them, and I pray and I hope I can live that as well, that they, at some point, develop their own relationship to God and grow up as believers as well.

So, I think that is a big responsibility in trying to get them to that as well. But as I said, in the other hand, it takes off some of the responsibility, because I think it's God's greatest wish as well that they would know Him. So, He's at work there. It's not solely up to me.

NATHAN

So, you have perspective on lots of organizations through the consulting work and through the boards that you serve on. How are you seeing God at work uniquely in our world today? And it could be local to your area, or maybe even more broadly, regionally or globally.

SOPHIE

Well, through my work, I am lucky enough to, as you said, see many, many people from a variety of organizations doing some kind of work that they think makes the world a better place, and some of them are believers, some of them are not. But I definitely see that a lot of God's work is done through those people who really serve other people with a lot of enthusiasm, and passion, and resources. So, I see God there.

But if I'm honest, I thought about that question for the longest, I think, because my sister lives in Tel Aviv, and she's in the middle of a war right now. And I mean, the whole world is in, I don't know, a turmoil right now. I wish I'd seen more of God by now in the larger events in the world, I think, if I'm being completely honest.

I know He's working. I know He has a plan for the world and is in charge of all of that. But there are moments where I read the news, and I'm very overwhelmed with what's going on. And I wish, I've always, as a kid, when my mom said, “Oh, I hope the Lord comes soon!” I always had to laugh a little bit, because that felt like a very old thing for me to say. But now I realize, yeah, I'm praying that too. I'm hoping He comes soon.

I wish we would see more, I'd be able to see more of Him. I know He's doing it, but sometimes I feel like I lack that perspective a little bit. I see Him in the little things a lot. And I see lots of people doing great things, but it's hard. These are tough times that we live in, I think.

NATHAN

Yeah, sometimes the bigger things, maybe His work is looking different than we expected. It's taking more faith.

SOPHIE

100%! And I'm not an expert on geopolitics or anything. So, I have no idea what's going on or what He's thinking about what's going on. And I know He's in charge, and I trust Him completely in that.

But it's, I wonder if, I mean, eventually we'll look back and we'll be like, “Oh, yeah, God has been at work all this time!” And I'm sure I trust that this is going to happen, but I wish I would see a little more of Him right now.

But I see Him a lot at work in my personal life with my family and my friends and kids and of course, my business as well. 

NATHAN

That's a fair assessment of what's going on in the world. And regardless, “Come, Lord Jesus!” Right?

SOPHIE

Yes! [laughing] Absolutely.

NATHAN

Well, as we as we wrap up, Sophie, this has been really good to hear your story and hear how you're seeing God working through that, and the impact that you're having in so many organizations. Any final thoughts you would have for us as we wrap up?

SOPHIE

I don't have anything smart to say here. I think for me, when I thought about the questions that we've just covered, and when you asked me to be part of this podcast, I was like, as I said before, I don't think I'm a very interesting person to listen to. I don't have that much to say.

But then I realize there are probably lots of people like me out there who just try to do things steadily and faithfully that they're entrusted with. And I feel like it doesn't always have to be very exciting or glamorous or super interesting from the outside. But God can use you and do a lot of that with, if you're willing to give your time and talents to Him. And I'm praying that He does that with me, and I hope with many others as well.

NATHAN

That’s great! Thanks so much, Sophie.

SOPHIE

Thank you, Nathan.