Crawfords find ministry in their Final Touch painting business.
When they were students at Worthington Christian, Eric Crawford (WC 94) and his wife, Kim (Bell) Crawford (WC 93), envisioned spending their lives in pastoral ministry.
That hasn’t changed. Only the “church” they are leading – replete with paint buckets and drop cloths – looks much different than what they expected. The two founded Final Touch Painting, a company that they use to mentor workers while completing home improvement projects.
“You have certain dreams in high school and college, but God takes those plans in different directions,” Eric said. “As the old proverb says, ‘A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps’ (Proverbs 16:9). God … launched us into a whole other direction.”
The Crawfords live in Delaware and have raised seven children. Four of their children—Alana Zinke, Kayla Bartholew, Ellyn Pedersen, and Ethan Crawford—live outside the home, while Evan (19), Kirby (16), and Kynzie (14) still live at home.
After completing studies at Cedarville University and Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana, Eric served as a pastor at a Grace Brethren Church for five years.
“What I found was that I didn’t like working in an office. I loved being outside,” Eric said. “I like working with people a lot more than what a pastoral administrative teaching role provided.”
The two began Final Touch as a side business, and according to Eric, “it just took off.”
Since 2011, the company has painted nearly 10,000 houses. More recently, the couple has established several other businesses, including Cart and Crema, a coffee catering business, and Breeze Brothers, an HVAC company.
Kim said what they are doing inside their companies is almost as important as the services they provide. The couple hopes they are serving as mentors. As an ordained minister, Eric has done premarital counseling and even officiated a couple of employees’ weddings.
“God chose to make our business our ministry,” Kim said. “A lot of our workers come to us straight out of high school, wanting to learn a trade. We’ve walked alongside them. Yes, it has provided for our family, but it has also given us an opportunity to invest in their lives.”
The Crawfords point to Dave King, who moved up from painter to foreman to operations manager to general manager at Final Touch. When he first started, King didn’t have a stellar résumé. He had only a high school diploma. He struggled with alcoholism. During a five-year stretch, he estimated he had been sober for only five days—three of which came while he was in the county jail.
King came to Final Touch as a changed man. Now in his late 20s, he had been sober for three years and had just gotten married.
“He was one of the oldest guys, so he became an instant leader,” Eric said. “He had a sense of seriousness about life and was very organized. Because of his past, he was also really street-smart. Sometimes you run across young men who try to pull the wool over your eyes. He knew when guys were using marijuana, drugs, or alcohol because he had heard those same excuses.”
The way King mentors other workers reminds the Crawfords of their experiences at Worthington Christian. Eric lists former athletic director Daryl Bell, who is his father-in-law, as one of his biggest mentors growing up. He also credits Jeff Peck and the late Al Iten for helping him deepen his faith.
“I’d say Kim’s and my years at Worthington Christian were really formative,” Eric said. “Worthington Christian teachers pour their lives into their students. We had candid, meaningful conversations with our teachers.”
“The standout teacher for me would be Peggy Bell (no relation),” Kim added. “She required excellence from us. I still keep in contact with her to this day.”
Kim and Eric hope they are giving of themselves to the more than 50 employees who work for their three businesses in a similar way.
The two never thought the “church” they would be leading would have drop cloths and paint buckets instead of pews.
“We want to invest in people eternally,” Eric said. “Honestly, when you start to run a business, your employees look up to you—especially if you do it honorably. You have opportunities to speak into their lives.”
The couple discovered serving their congregation means showing up with a paintbrush, day after day, for the people right in front of them. Their ministry didn’t change direction. It just changed tools.