Davis addresses ES Christian Businessmen

By Bill Sterling

“Speaking to the Eastern Shore Christian Businessmen’s Association, Tommy Davis asked the group, “What are you doing to further God’s kingdom?”

He soon added, “Because simply showing up here isn’t enough. Talking about faith isn’t enough. If it doesn’t change how we live when we walk out those doors, then it doesn’t matter.”

Davis and his wife and their four children plus a foreign exchange student attend Union Baptist Church on Chincoteague. Among other ventures, he and his father farm and tend over 1500 acres in northern Accomack County. Davis recently was recognized with the Coastal Grand Basin Clean Water Farm Award for his management practices that preserve the land.

In the winter Davis coaches basketball at Holly Grove Christian School and is active in other youth organizations on the Shore. “I see coaching as part of my stewardship—not just of the land or my family, but of the next generation. And like farming, it requires patience, persistence, and faith that the work I do today will bear fruit in the years to come.”

As to what Davis is doing to further God’s kingdom, he told the ESCBA members, “Me, I’m trying to further God’s kingdom in small, faithful ways that hopefully show up every day. By trying to love people when it’s inconvenient. By choosing humility over being right. By listening before speaking, that’s one of my major struggles. By serving where I am. I’m learning that God’s kingdom isn’t only built through grand gestures, but through quiet obedience—showing grace, pursuing justice, offering forgiveness, and pointing people toward hope through the way we live.

Some days this looks like encouraging someone who’s discouraged. Other days it’s resisting bitterness, praying for someone I’d rather avoid, or doing my work with integrity when no one’s watching. There are many days that I fall short—but I try to keep my heart open to where God is already at work and join Him there.”

Davis is also a member of a Christian men’s organization called Men’s Alliance. They meet every week and work out together for 30 minutes, then spend 30 minutes talking about their faith. Davis says, “ We encourage one another. We step into each other’s struggles instead of avoiding them. That’s what accountability looks like. Our core verse is Proverbs 27:17: ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.’ Sharpening isn’t comfortable. It creates friction. It demands effort. But dull men don’t change the world.”

Davis, who was on a state championship football team at Broadwater and later played at James Madison University, was the ESCBA’s first speaker at its new meeting location, the Eastern Shore Yacht & Country Club. The association formerly met at the now closed Island House.

January was also the first meeting for the new ESCBA president, Rhudy Naylor. For more information about the ESCBA, contact Naylor at rlnaylor2@gmail.com.