Here’s a stat that should give every family business owner pause: nearly 90% of family businesses don’t make it past the third generation. The odds are stacked, and most people know it. So when a family not only survives that threshold but actually thrives through it, that’s worth paying attention to.
Casa Auto Group has done exactly that.
Founded in 1969 by Wally Lowenfield in El Paso, Texas, Casa is now being led by his grandsons, Justin, Luke, and Ronnie, and the business has grown into a multi-state operation with over 900 employees serving thousands of guests every single day. But the number that really matters to the Lowenfields isn’t revenue or headcount. It’s whether the people who work there feel like they’re part of something bigger than a car dealership.
On a recent episode of the 323 Podcast, Justin and Luke Lowenfield sat down and walked us through what it actually looks like to run a faith-based business across generations. What they shared was equal parts family story, leadership playbook, and a quiet, steady reminder that when you let faith lead the way, work becomes something worth building a life around.
The Man Who Started It All
Every great family business has an origin story, and Casa’s begins with a man who was five-foot-three and commanded every room he walked into. Wally Lowenfield wasn’t loud or flashy. He was consistent. That was his superpower.
Justin described his grandfather as someone who carried himself the same way every single day. There was a predictability to him that people could count on, and it showed up everywhere, from how he greeted people to how he ran his business. He kept a Bible on his desk, not as decoration, but as a working reference. He believed it was the “owner’s manual” for life, and he lived like he meant it.
That consistency gave Wally the foundation he needed to take real risks. He became an investor across multiple dealerships and industries, stretching from East Texas all the way to Hawaii. He understood that when you’re rooted in something solid, you can afford to bet big. And he did, with faith and with business, often at the same time.
What Unity Actually Looks Like in a Family Business
If there’s one word that defines how Justin, Luke, and Ronnie lead Casa today, it’s unity. The brothers brought it up again and again during our conversation, and you could tell it wasn’t just a talking point. It’s something they’ve had to fight for.
Growing up, the brothers were as competitive as you’d expect. Wrestling matches, Nerf gun wars, the whole thing. But somewhere along the way, that competitive energy got redirected into something more productive: learning how to disagree well. Justin put it simply when he said their father taught them that you can manage through fear or through love, and both can be effective. The Lowenfields chose love, and that choice has shaped everything about how they lead together.
That doesn’t mean they always see eye to eye. Luke was candid about the fact that there have been seasons where one brother had to step back, listen, and trust that another had the better perspective in the moment. That kind of humility is rare in any business, let alone a family one. But it’s exactly the kind of thing Scripture points us toward. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul paints a picture of love that is patient, kind, and not self-seeking. It’s the kind of love that holds a team together when the pressure is on, and it’s the kind of love that Justin and Luke have been practicing in the trenches of a family business for years.
Growing Without Losing What Matters
Casa has expanded significantly over the past seven to nine years. New dealerships, new cities, new markets. They’ve moved from El Paso into Las Cruces, Alamogordo, and even Prescott, Arizona. That kind of growth is exciting, but it comes with a real danger: dilution of your culture and your mission. When you grow fast, the culture that made you who you are can get left behind somewhere between the original location and the fifth one.
The Lowenfields saw this coming, and they dealt with it head-on. Their approach draws from a principle Justin’s father, Clay, called discipleship management. The idea is straightforward but demanding: you invest deeply in the leaders closest to you, and then you expect them to carry those values forward to the people closest to them. It’s not a one-time training or a poster on the wall. It’s an ongoing, relational process that requires real time and real trust.
Justin drew an analogy to the way Chick-fil-A has scaled its culture through simplicity. Two words, “my pleasure,” and it creates an experience people remember. The Lowenfields asked themselves the same question: what does that look like for Casa? The answer they landed on was servant leadership. Not as a philosophy, but as a daily practice. When you walk into work every morning looking for a way to serve someone else first, everything else starts to fall into place.
This is discipleship in action, the same pattern we see in 2 Timothy 2:2, where Paul instructs Timothy to pass along what he’s learned to reliable people who can teach others in turn. It’s how values travel across generations, not through memos or mission statements, but through people who’ve been personally invested in and who then do the same for the next person.
Faith at Work, Without the Pressure
One of the things that stood out most in this conversation was how naturally faith shows up at Casa, and how intentionally it’s kept open rather than mandatory.
Clay Lowenfield led a weekly Bible study every morning at 7 a.m. for years, based on Dr. Robert Lewis’s work on Winning at Work & Home. Nobody was required to attend. It was simply available, and people showed up because they wanted to. During COVID, Justin took that same spirit online, leading a daily Bible study on FaceTime and YouTube that eventually drew in customers and spread organically through social media.
Luke, who is a licensed attorney, made a point that’s worth sitting with. He said he’s never once seen a negative outcome from the faith-based activities at Casa. Not once. For business owners who worry about where the line is between leading with faith and making people uncomfortable, that’s a pretty powerful data point, especially coming from someone who understands the legal landscape.
The way Casa handles it is simple: they open meetings with prayer, they keep Scripture visible, and they make it clear that if faith isn’t part of someone’s walk, that’s okay. They just ask that people be mindful of those who do want to participate. It’s an environment built on respect, not obligation.
Playing for the Fourth Generation
The conversation closed with the question that ties everything together: what’s the dream for what comes next?
Justin and Luke were honest about the fact that this isn’t a simple answer. They have teenagers of their own, and Justin’s oldest son is heading into college. The business is thriving, and they want to leave something for the next generation that’s worth carrying forward. But they also recognize that doing that well means sacrificing some things in the present.
Justin referenced something his father used to say about a radio station he called WIFM, “What’s In It For Me?” Clay would tell them to stay off that frequency. And that advice runs deeper than business strategy. It’s a call to lead with open hands, to hold the business, the legacy, and even personal success as something that ultimately belongs to God, not to them.
That posture maps directly onto the kind of stewardship Scripture invites us into. Matthew 25:14-30 tells the story of a master who entrusts talents to his servants and then returns to see how they were used. The ones who were faithful, who invested what they were given rather than hoarding it, heard the words every leader longs to hear: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” That’s the standard the Lowenfields are building toward, not just for themselves, but for the generation after them.
Additional Resources
If the Lowenfield family’s approach to faith-based leadership resonates with you, here are a few resources worth exploring:
Twenty One Clear Podcast by Adam Hatcher – A podcast focused on chaos proofing your family business so you can build a great company with a strong family around it.
Gospel Patrons: People Whose Generosity Changed the World – by John Rinehart For anyone thinking about legacy and what it means to build something that outlasts you, this book is a compelling read on the people throughout history whose faithful stewardship changed the course of lives and nations.
Learn More About Casa Auto Group
Casa Auto Group is a family-owned dealership group with roots stretching back to 1969 in El Paso, Texas. Today, with locations in El Paso, Las Cruces, Alamogordo, and Prescott, Arizona, Casa serves thousands of guests each month with a commitment to making every person feel at home. Visit them online at casaautogroup.com.
Listen to the Full Episode
There’s so much more in this conversation than what we could cover here. Justin and Luke shared stories about growing up in the business, the mural project that brought 450 team members together, and what it really takes to keep a family unified through decades of change. If you haven’t listened yet, go check out the full episode of the 323 Podcast and hear it for yourself. You can find it at 323podcast.com.