Posts Tagged ‘Business as Missions’

Courage as a Disciple

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Nowhere did Jesus demand His followers to show great courage. Nowhere did He say, “Never compromise on your values.” He didn’t need to! His example was enough.

In John chapter 2 Our Lord stood against all the Jewish leaders of His day because they had made a place of worship into a trading house. He chased them out with whips and overturned their tables. He castigated them for their wicked practices.

The church needs disciples that will courageously give direction. We need disciples who know and will tell the truth. We do not need to be told our duties, we need the Christ like courage to do what we already know we should do.

Discipleship is a battle, and the fight requires courage.  Having courage doesn’t mean that you will never fear or tremble. Having courage means that you will do what is right, regardless of the consequences.

Martin Luther, the 16th century reformer, was a true disciple of courage. He defied the church of his day. In 1521 he appeared before the German Diet  in the city of Worms; though promised safe escort, he knew he risked his life by going. The same promise had been given to John Hus a century before, and they had burned him at the stake. Church leaders had promised Luther forgiveness if he would repent of his “errors” and return to “true faith”. Luther knew this promise had little value since they considered promises to heretics as nonbinding. He also knew the history of the two previous centuries, when thousands of Christians underwent torture, sometimes death, during the infamous Spanish Inquisition.

Luther arrived safely, but the court allowed him no opportunity to defend his beliefs. Instead he was presented with a list of his “errors”.  Knowing that the court would decide whether he lived or died,  Luther said the following:

Unless I am convicted of error by the testimony of Scripture (since I put no trust in the   unsupported authority of Pope or of councils, since it is plain that they have often erred and often contradicted themselves), by manifest reasoning I stand convicted by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, I cannot and will no recant anything, for to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us. On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.

Through the centuries our disciples have made their stands. They have stood for truth integrity, and righteousness, no matter what their field of labor. God has promised that He will honor those who honor Him.

(1 Samuel 2:30)

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Investing and Creating Wealth as Ministry

Monday, October 20th, 2008

All that we have and all that we are has come from God. He has blessed us with money and possessions, and he has given each of us specific talents and abilities. We have been called to be good stewards – to use our money, our time and our abilities as best we can to benefit God’s kingdom.

Giving tithes and offerings demonstrates our obedience to God, and the recognition that all we have has come from him. Why is it then, if we are happy to faithfully give our time and money,  that so many Christians seem to have an issue when it comes to discussing wealth creation.

There are at least two distinct lines of thought ;  one promoted by many of the big name TV evangelists who promote the “prosperity” and “name it and claim it” teachings,  and the other viewpoint of many of the conservative Christians  who push the opinion that seeking wealth is ungodly.

Unfortunately both of these viewpoints seem to run contrary to the Word, and to Jesus’ teachings about stewardship.

The “prosperity” teachers promote the idea that whatever you give to God, he will return to you many times over. Although this is close to the teaching of stewardship, which says that you should seek to multiply whatever God gives you, so that you can give him more back in return. It has been distorted, in as much as the actual motivation behind giving promoted by the prosperity teachers is self based (if I give more, God will give me more) instead of focusing on Christ. There is a huge difference between giving to get more, and working to increase your means so that you can give more to further the works of the kingdom.

Some now try to imply that if you are not prosperous, then your walk with the Lord must be lacking in some area, and others at the other end of the spectrum are always making condemning statements about the evils of being rich.

We need to really look at what the Word says, and the examples that Jesus gave.

I firmly believe that the enemy wants to deter us from aiming to invest and make our wealth grow, as he does not want us to be successful. He doesn’t want us making lots of money that we can use for the Lord’s work. He doesn’t want us to be able to fund mission outreaches or to feed the poor or to fund Christian satellite TV channels.

Some Christians seem to have the misconception that being wealthy is evil and being poor is holy. There is nothing holy about being poor. God doesn’t want his children to be in poverty. A rich person has far more power at their disposal to be able to help where financial assistance is needed than a poor person.

At the same time though we need to make sure that our motivation for creating wealth is to “get so we can give” as opposed to the prosperity teachers notion that we should “give so we can get”. As long as we do not idolize money, and retain the truth that all we have has come from God anyway, then there is no need to feel any guilt about how much money we make.

There are many examples in the Bible that show God’s desire to bless his faithful followers with wealth:

(Gen 39:2) “And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.”

(Deut 29:9) “Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do”.

(2 Ch 26:5) “And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper”.

and 1 Kings 3:13 “And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days”.

God loves to bless his children, especially if we in return are happy to bless others. Therefore there is absolutely nothing wrong with setting goals to be good stewards and create wealth to give back to our Creator. In fact, as stewards of the resources God has given us, it is actually our responsibility to aim at increasing what we have.

We should be seeking to be successful for God. To genuinely set goals for investing both our money and time into the kingdom of God. The best way to increase your monetary wealth is not to go asking the boss for a pay rise, but rather to start a regular investment program. More important still, is to learn how to invest wisely and not be wasteful with our resources.

Before you can start investing you need to make some money available. One of the most effective methods it to use the 10/10/80 Plan. 10% of your income to God, 10% for investing and live off the remaining 80% of your income. This may take a little time to adjust to, but when you consider the long terms results that you will achieve once you start investing, you will find that it is extremely worthwhile.

You will have all heard the expression that “The second million is always easier than the first”. This is absolutely true. Compound interest has the greatest power to create wealth, and the more that is invested the quicker your wealth will grow.

In mathematical terms 72 divided by Compound Interest Rate of Return = Years for Money to Double in Value.

Therefore if you have an investment growing at 10% compound interest, it will double in value in 7.2 years (quadruple in 14.4 years and be worth eight times as much in 21.6 years). If it is growing at 12% it will double in 6 years.

John D Rockefeller who was once one of America’s richest men said that “Compound Interest is the Eighth Wonder of the World”.

Einstein once said, “The most powerful concept or principle in the world that I am aware of is that of compound interest”.

When deciding on the best areas to invest in, it is worth taking into consideration the fact that over 90% of the world’s millionaires have made their money through property.

God will give you the wisdom to decide on the best strategies for your situation if you put in the time and effort to learn as much as you can and seek his direction. It is wise to also seek professional advice, as rules and regulations and tax effectiveness will vary between nations.

I believe God wants to start shifting the wealth of this world into the hands of Christians, who can plant it back into his kingdom.

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Business with an “End Game”

Saturday, May 31st, 2008

The Scriptures say, “Without revelation (or vision) people cast off restraint.” (Proverbs 29:18.) Vision may be defined as “a perceived worthy result.” It is something far off or future in nature that draws us on toward it, an “end game.”

For Christians, our end game is, or should be, to hear Jesus say, “Well done good and faithful servant!” Truly there can be no higher or better result of our lives than to hear those words. When our eye is clear, and our “end game” clearly in mind, it, in and of itself “restrains” us. It helps us focus on what Stephen Covey calls “First Things” as in “Keep First Things First.” First things are those that feed those things most important to us and help us accomplish our vision. They are strategies and tactics that support us and help us remain focused amid the noise and distractions that the world, the flesh, and the devil throw in our path.

Our end game is eternal, not to be realized in this life, but in eternal life with our Lord Jesus. He will be our judge and our effectiveness will be judged by His standards alone. Without “restraint” or focus distraction will cause diffusion of our efforts and diminution of our fruitfulness. Loss of focus will ultimately result in our eternal loss. So, what’s your vision? Is your business a means to an end, and is that end eternal? What “restrains” you?

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God’s Evangelism Program

Thursday, April 17th, 2008

The Workplace as a Mission Field
When we think about evangelism in the workplace we must look at Jesus as our ultimate role model.  There are several things we learn about Jesus’ methods of speaking into the lives of those He came in contact with.  Jesus used the workplace as the setting to reach many people.  Consider this: where do the majority of people spend the majority of their time interacting with the majority of the lost world?  The only place that fits that description is the workplace.

Consider that of Jesus’ 132 public appearances in the New Testament, 122 were in the workplace.  Of the 52 parables Jesus told, 45 had a workplace context.  Furthermore, Jesus spent His adult life working as a carpenter before He went into a preaching ministry.  This is one of the more interesting observations about the life of Jesus.  He did not begin His “public preaching” ministry until he spent His adult life serving mankind as a simple carpenter in His earthly father’s small business.  If Jesus spent those ten to fifteen years in a workplace job, and only three years in public ministry, what does that say about the importance of work?  God uses work to accomplish many things in the lives of His followers.

One thing we notice about the method of Jesus in speaking to those in the workplace was that He dealt with each person in a unique and personal way.  There were no formulas.  Today the church often seeks to develop the latest and greatest evangelism program to present the gospel and gain a conversion.  Jesus went beyond these methods.

Gospel of Salvation versus Gospel of the Kingdom
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’” (Matthew 6:9-10).

Although there are situations where “tactics” might work well, Jesus modeled an approach that dealt with the whole person, not just salvation.  The church has often preached the “Gospel of Salvation” instead of the “Gospel of the Kingdom.”  What is the difference?  Well, in the New Testament you find Jesus speaking to people about the Gospel of the Kingdom many more times than the Gospel of Salvation.  The Gospel of the Kingdom is mentioned 66 times in the New Testament.  Jesus saw that people not only needed salvation, but they also needed to experience God in every aspect of their lives.  This is the Gospel of the Kingdom.  If God’s plan was only about salvation, we would all go to heaven immediately after receiving salvation.

In Jesus’ ministry, it was often a healing that brought someone to faith.  Or an encounter with a demon.  Or a struggle with an ungodly lifestyle.  All of these issues dealt with life and the kingdom of darkness.  Dealing with these issues often led to a commitment to Jesus.  That’s why He brought the Kingdom of God to these people.

When a person understands who he or she is in Christ and is motivated to love Christ and serve Him, evangelism is a natural byproduct of the relationship.  Jesus modeled this when He answered the disciples’ question regarding the greatest commandment.  “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).

The bottom line priority for every believer is to love God and to love others.  Evangelism is the fruit of a love relationship with God and love towards others.  So often we try to motivate people to evangelize out of guilt, shame, or duty.  This usually yields little fruit that does not last.  I am not saying that tools are not appropriate to use when sharing the gospel.  I am only saying that everything proceeds from the heart.  In order for a believer to bear fruit (of which evangelism is but one part), he or she must have a transformed life that will yield fruit from obedience motivated by love for the Father.

The question for you and me is, “How can God use men and women in the workplace-like ourselves-to impact our workplace, communities, cities, and even nations?”  Let me assure you, God wants to demonstrate His love and power in your workplace.  Then you will experience God’s evangelism program.

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Your Work is Sacred

Tuesday, April 1st, 2008

Whatever job you do, it is a holy calling, a sacred calling, a responsibility given to you by God to serve Him there. Too often we think of our work, if we are not working specifically for the church, as being secular, second-class, having nothing to do with true spirituality, and little to do with being a faithful Christian. You can think of all the incorrect expressions we use to mark this division between the sacred and the secular: we speak of people who are in “full-time ministry” as if only they are “full-time Christians.”

We have a heritage in many churches which devalues ordinary work and sees it having little importance in the Kingdom of God. Why is that? Partly because there has been a retreat by Christians from the general culture: “The world is so worldly,” we say, “so what really matters to God is what we do in the church.” We can tend to fill up our lives with lots of meetings so we will feel more spiritual, as if it is those meetings that are spiritual. This is a very serious misunderstanding of what Scripture teaches.

Perhaps another reason for our low opinion of work is that we think that only evangelism, only preaching the Gospel, only teaching the Word is of real importance in the Kingdom of God — everything else is secondary. And I am sure you have heard sermons and Bible studies in which you have basically been made to feel that if you were really dedicated to God, you would immediately apply to be missionary or go to seminary and start training for the ministry. But that simply is not Biblical. God does call people to be in the office of public ministry — He’s called me to do that. But He has equally called people to be in other work and to honor Him, whatever their occupation.

What is it that gives our work value to God? Is it simply that when we work, we earn money so that we can give a tithe to support the ministry of the Word? Is that alone what gives our work value? No. It is true that we are called to support the ministry of the Word; Scripture says so quite clearly. but that is not what ultimately gives our work value.

Is it that in our workplaces we have the opportunity to be evangelists, to share the Gospel with the people we work alongside? Is that what gives our work value? No. While we do pray that God will give opportunities to share His truth because people need to hear it, that is not what primarily gives our work value.

Is it simply that we have to work to earn money to support ourselves so that we can get on with the “real work” of being active in our churches — that what we do in our workplaces is not very important, but what we really do that’s important is when we are at our church, when we teach Sunday School, or when we lead a Bible study? Is that what gives our work value? That is not true either.

What is it, then, that gives our work value? It is simply that God Himself declares it to be important, that God desires our service in the whole of our lives, and that we are to present everything to Him in order to serve Him. Paul says this so strongly in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all you heart, as working for the Lord, not for men….” “Whatever you do,” Paul tells us that it is the Lord Christ you are serving. God has declared our work to have value. It doesn’t need some other means outside itself. God’s Word gives it value.

Secondly, our work has value because we are to offer it to the Lord. Your work and my work is to be holy. That means we are to set it apart so that we may honor God in what we do. It is not the job itself that is holy, it is offering it to God as service. I may preach the Gospel in a way that is totally unholy, and you may be a person engaged in business in a way that is completely holy. It is a question of whether you dedicate your work to God and whether you serve God righteously in what you do that makes your work holy.

The implications of work being a service to the Lord are many. Two prominent implications relate to both integrity and interpersonal relationships.

Regarding integrity, Scripture calls us to such a high standard in the workplace because we are working for the Lord. When I go to my place of work, my first thought should not be, “What does my boss think of me?” — though I should certainly desire to please my boss. My first thought should be that I am called to work, serving God with integrity. It is important that we please those for whom we work, but we are going to have a much more important accounting to give one day. Christ Himself will ask us how we worked. Were you faithful? Did you work hard? Are you someone who just worked to please other people or did you work with genuine righteousness? That is the challenge to all of us in our work, and in every area of our lives.

Serving in the workplace as unto the Lord also has implications upon our interpersonal relationships. As we serve the Lord, how we treat people should be reflective of the God we serve. Paul tells us that if we have people over us, we are to treat them with respect and honor even if they don’t deserve it. That is very difficult. Many people work for those who are very demanding, who create all kinds of unreasonable burdens, who never say “thank you,” who do not show appreciation, who take people for granted. Scripture tells us that even if we are in such situations, we are to continue to work hard, to work respectfully, and to give honor. Of course there are times when the Christian has to draw lines. If I am asked to do something which is against the Word of God, I have to obey God first. But I must still show respect. Sometimes it may be necessary to say, “Stop treating me like a doormat,” but we must continue to work hard and respectfully. We have to pray for wisdom to know when it is right to do that. But generally speaking, we are called to be faithful, submissive, and respectful even in difficult situations.

We are also to treat those under us in a way that pleases God. He will judge us for the way we treat people. Jesus says in Matthew 20:25-28, “… whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served , but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Christ is to be our example. If you are in a place of authority and have people who work for you, you are to be their servant. Christ is the Lord of the Universe, but He became a servant. He served those who were under His authority. He served you and me, even by dying for us. He serves us every day by caring for us and all of our struggles and our needs, and being our Friend, Counselor, and Comforter. And we are called to be like Him. We are called to be servants of Christ, as well as being servants of others. What you should be asking every day in your place of work is “How may I serve those above me, under me, around me? How may I look to their needs? How may I become their friend, support, helper?”

We need to get God’s mind about matters in the workplace. Often times on Sunday people feel like everything they have done during the rest of the week really does not matter. The Bible says we are to worship God in everything, and what we do on Sunday morning when we come to praise Him with our lips is simply bringing the whole of our week to declare His praises together as His people. There should be no distinction between our work week and our Sunday service — all of it is the worship of God, and all of it is to be holy. We need to honor that conviction in the way we commend people. We should praise God for people in business who are righteous in what they do and who serve God in their places of work, or praise God for teachers who teach well, or praise God for lawyers who care for widows and orphans.

That is the challenge of God’s Word to us. As we consider that our work is to be done as unto the Lord, let us be shining lights of integrity, dedication, humility, service, and love.

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Leveraging Your Vocation for the Sake of the Gospel

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

1. We can make much of God in our secular job through the fellowship that we enjoy with him throughout the day in all our work.

In this way we fellowship with God, listening to him through his Word and thanking him and praising him and calling on him for all we need. It is an honor to God if you stay in your secular job ‘with God’ in this way. This is not a wasted life. God delights in being trusted and enjoyed. It shows his value.

2. We make much of Christ in our secular work by the joyful, trusting, God-exalting design of our creativity and industry.

The essence of our work as humans must be that it is done in conscious reliance on God’s power, and in conscious quest of God’s pattern of excellence, and in deliberate aim to reflect God’s glory.

3. We make much of Christ in our secular work when it confirms and enhances the portrait of Christ’s glory that people hear in the spoken Gospel.

This is by having such high standards of excellence and such integrity and such manifest goodwill that we put no obstacles in the way of the Gospel but rather call attention to the all-satisfying beauty of Christ. When we adorn the Gospel with our work, we are not wasting our lives.

4. We make much of Christ in our secular work by earning money to keep us from depending on others, while focusing on the helpfulness of our work rather than financial rewards.

Christ has lifted the curse of work. He has replaced anxious toil with trust in God’s promise to supply our needs (Philippians 4:19) and has thus awakened in us a different passion in our work. We turn with joy to the call of Jesus: Seek the kingdom of God first and his righteousness, and the food that perishes will be added to you. So don’t labor for the food that perishes. Labor to love people and honor God. Think of new ways that your work can bless people. Stop thinking mainly of profitability, and think mainly of how helpful your product or service can become.

Jesus calls us to be aliens and exiles in the world. Not by taking us out of the world, but by changing, at the root, how we view the world and how we do our work in it. If we simply work to earn a living-if we labor for the bread that perishes-we will waste our lives. But if we labor with the sweet assurance that God will supply all our needs-that Christ died to purchase every undeserved blessing-then all our labor will be a labor of love and a boasting only in the cross.

We make much of Christ in our secular work by earning money with the desire to use our money to make others glad in God.

Our secular work can become a great God-exalting blessing to the world if we aim to take the earnings we don’t need for ourselves (and we need far less than we think) and meet the needs of others in the name of Jesus.

6. We make much of Christ in our secular work by treating the web of relationships it creates as a gift of God to be loved by sharing the Gospel and by practical deeds of help.

God   has woven you into the fabric of others’ lives so that you will tell them the Gospel. Without this, all our adorning behavior may lack the one thing that could make it live-giving. The Christian’s calling includes making his or her mouth a fountain of life. ‘The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life’ (Proverbs 10:11). The link with eternal life is faith in Jesus Christ. No nice feelings about you as a good employee will save anyone. People must know the Gospel, which is the power of God unto eternal life (Romans 1:16).

If you work like the world, you will waste your life, no matter how rich you get. But if your work creates a web of redemptive relationships and becomes an adornment for the Gospel of the glory of Christ, your satisfaction will last forever and God will be exalted in your joy.

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Business Ministires Using your Training and Skills in the Global Marketplace

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008

Business Ministries

Use your training and skills in the global marketplace!

Business professionals represent a growing number of committed Christians who realize they can use their expertise to do bi-vocational mission in countries where it is difficult or impossible to obtain a missionary visa or where this opens the door to share the gospel with a specific group of people. Some use their business skills to help strengthen local churches and communities.

Billions of people, more than three quarters of them in Asia, still haven’t heard of Jesus but we encounter restricted access to some of these countries and many people in these lands see Christianity as a western religion and one to be actively resisted. These situations call for creative approaches to mission.

Professional skills have been tools for mission ever since the apostle Paul used his business of tent-making to support his evangelistic ministry and to win access to the marketplaces of the cities he visited. You can take the gospel to the world by working in a local company or running a business. Like Paul and thousands of others who have lived the gospel as expatriate workers through the centuries, MMI sees this as a logical way of doing mission. Of course, in order to serve effectively you will also need to have suitable ministry skills.

A Christian who works for a computer company in Asia said, “Doing business as mission gives me acceptance in the community where I choose to live. Rather than causing suspicion, when I tell people that I am here to work they understand and accept me as a normal part of their community. They are grateful because our computer company is providing jobs for people in their city.”

“The company where I work has fifteen people working with it, and only two of them know Jesus. Every day I go to work, I have the chance to display my faith by the way I live, and to share the gospel with them when appropriate. It has been rewarding to see my co-workers ask questions about following Jesus.”

What skills are needed?

Mission opportunities abound for people with typical marketable skills in areas such as engineering, agriculture, music, community development, business, hospitality management, medicine, education, agriculture, computer science, teaching English. In fact, almost any professional skill can be used in world mission.

How will I be supported?

Most people who are using business as a base for ministry are financially supported by friends and churches in their home countries, while others receive their entire income from the company for which they work, with no financial support from home. Others, such as early retirees, may be able to serve as self-funded volunteers. There is a lot of scope for creativity. All you need is a willingness to live cross-culturally and a heart to share the Gospel with others.

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Economic Development Considerations

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

MICRO-ENTERPRISE Training by Wayne Hamit

1. The ultimate goals in reduction of economic poverty:

a. capitalize on multifaceted survival strategies of low-income persons (the target group) (this is linked to social situation of target population)

b. increase in net worth of participating individuals (as an index of effectiveness of input usage and program impact)

c. increase in locally-owned/managed capital for local re-investment and diversification of economically viable investments (key to poverty reduction is accrual of wealth, i.e., growing capital, to reinvest in local economic development)

2. Microenterprise programs

a. increase availability of capital for local investment (access to capital is a primary input, but not the only one in successful programs: training in small business development and providing financial services for previously “left out” persons is an equally important primary input)

i. “rate of return” on investments is the driver;

ii. they attract additional capital (mobilizing local capital is an important outcome)

iii. Provide local investment opportunities to non-entrepreneurs (only 10-20% of individuals in any given target population will be entrepreneurs) i.e. people can invest in a capital fund and get dividends – and may not be small business owners themselves

b. increase local management skills for successful financial management, by providing a framework for local people to enact significant and improved/enriched roles in socio-economic development;

c. increase demand/attention for non-financial inputs to ensure business success (access to capital must be linked to “how to plan” for successful businesses

d. attract economic growth to an area nothing stimulates economic development better than an atmosphere where small and micro-businesses are developing.

LET ME ILLUSTRATE with an example from work with rural women in a low-income area about 100 km from a capital city:

Background: Collapse of agrarian economy due to government changes in supporting animal feed prices. No other options for wage labor, and no other “apparent” skills…

LESSON #1: DO YOUR SOCIAL HOMEWORK. Assume that there are REASONS than can be discovered that have brought about economic poverty.

Assume that the history of the target people must be learned and understood in order to mobilize their efforts/strengths to overcome lack of economic opportunity. Assume that local people can provide the best information about their situation and can give valuable guidance for solution pathways.

More background: Other organizations had tried to provide interest-free loans and grants. This served to increase the indebtedness of the poor, who had already been indebted to relatives to make up income shortfalls.

LESSON #2: People will provide information and insight into what has not worked to assist them, which is valuable to avoid reinventing the (often unsuccessful) wheel…

First action: We discussed with women their desires: what they wanted and then we provided them with interview tools, evaluative techniques, and analysis frameworks to assess what they were willing to undertake; and then we discussed the structure of how capital would be managed and how the proposed business ideas could succeed.

Next action: We had them do a market assessment, prefeasibility studies, and after discarding lots of business ideas, they did feasibility studies on the surviving ideas. Lots of training here.

And lots of involvement of government and non-government agencies as helpers to the process. We wanted lots of people and organizations to become stakeholders in the success of this venture.

Next action: Implemented the organization to manage the capital; and the business structure to turn the invested capital into a process to produce a product. The women (did I mention that they were mostly widows and illiterate) had discovered that farmers in their region travelled 100km or more to buy seedlings for planting. They decided to provide seedlings as their business. They had some parallel skills that they could develop because they had been small-holding farmers, etc.

The short story (of a long 3 year venture) is that the women have established a successful seeding business. They also bought and farmed additional land to sell vegetables locally, and they attracted the attention of local candidates for election who provided them with cinder blocks to build a one-room “office” for their business beside their greenhouses. The initial capital has been repaid (with interest) into a fund for business development, for new business establishment (for other women not involved in the first business) and they are asked by the local governor to attend district meetings to present development priorities, etc.

The keys were;

Equitability: they got something they (not bureaucrats or outside experts or donors) wanted

Sustainability: Their continuing efforts produced continuing benefits to them and to their community Managerial skills: they managed a resource (capital fund) in a wise way that resulted in more capital being available for more people to participate in economic and social improvements.

Of course, they also benefited personally: they have income, dividends from the company they jointly own and are employed by, and they have increased social status from which to make their opinions known.

And before this, they were illiterate women who needed their husband’s permission to visit their neighbor.

The greatest threat to successful micro-enterprise programs comes from the micro-enterprise (donor) agency itself. Most micro-enterprise agencies hold key decision-making roles for themselves, rather than incorporating local people (especially those who have made a success with their loans) in the target population into the primary decision-making entity. A good model for capital management and microenterprise stimulation is the credit-union model rather than the banking approach.

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Business as Ministry training

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

The term Kingdom Business is a growing phenomena with an increased momentum as a Christian philosophy of dedicating both talent and assets for the continued expansion of God’s Kingdom.

The restoration of a balanced view on prosperity and finance is taking place within the hearts of believers worldwide.

It is our intention to assist individuals through encouragement and training. To stimulate the deployment of their ministry expression within the Marketplace to reflect the value based culture of the Kingdom of God.

Remember, as Christians in Business, we already exert our “flavor” in the business mix – is it ‘salty’/Christ-like or is it something else?

Christians are called to be “salt & light”. Christians in Business are called to have a Christ-like influence in the Marketplace. To be Business Leaders!

Have you ever considered how you can, in a natural way, supernaturally become better influencers of Christ in the Marketplace? Or, how do you ‘do business’ and be an Ambassador of Christ? Can we really mix our Faith and Business at the same time?

So, what’s really in it for you?

You will find eternal purpose and meaning in and for your Business. Mountain Movers connects  Business Leaders and be invites them to participate in God’s Kingdom.

You will grow in wisdom through networking with other Mountain Movers. You will be encouraged to flourish, grow and transform into Kingdom savvy Business Leaders. You will learn how you can be an excellent witness to clients, customers, suppliers, employees and other business men and women. You will learn honest, ethical and best practice business operating principles, and how to invest, according to your God given gifts (be it resources, time or skills), into reaching out and impacting our community, city and nation for the Kingdom of God.

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