A violent civil war breaks into your city. You are fortunate enough to connect with relatives in America, and you flee to their city to begin a new life. However, your troubles are far from over.
Generous social services, a stream of low skill jobs, and growing family networks have made my neighborhood a place of refuge for such refugees. Still, they face significant hardship. Mothers are most vulnerable to the trials of refugee life. Many are the sole providers for their families. Their husbands either divorced them or were killed in the civil war back home. Most jobs here are suited for men, and those suited for women often require English language proficiency—a significant hurdle for refugee mothers, who struggle to attend classes because they are already stretched thin by a houseful of children and a shoestring budget. Cultural tensions plague the homes of these women as well. It has been a significant challenge for their families to retain cultural identity and religious devotion under the clouds of economic hardship, social stigma, and extremist and gang recruiting. Our family moved into this predominantly immigrant neighborhood in 2011. We were overwhelmed with our first children, and our hearts went out to the single mothers who were facing the hardships of parenting alone in a foreign country. To my dismay, this community was not nearly as interested in receiving our help as we were in giving it. My attempts at coffee shop conversations were met with blunt rejection. People would leave the room the minute I walked in the door. After three years of gradual progress, I discovered the entrepreneurial spirit of my new neighbors. This became my key to Kingdom-oriented community development and my inroad to Gospel-centered relationships. I began consulting ethnic restaurant owners about Western foodservice standards. The people that once avoided me began to warmly welcome me for hours of conversation about their business practices and family lives. They even honored me with a seat in their Chamber of Commerce. Having built up this momentum, I began taking action on my vision of providing stable, dignified employment for single mothers of the community. My business partner and I, a mother of this group, are beginning a food distribution company that will soon employ nearly a dozen single refugee mothers. Our prayer is to see these single mothers find strength and purpose in this dignified work and in the Gospel so that their homes and communities may be uplifted in the light of Christ. – GEN Desk Contributing Writer, Nations Within Staff, and ERW Alumni
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“We were called here to serve.” Many overseas missionaries and domestic missionaries have used this phrase to explain where and why they are serving in a specific region or vocation. As powerful as this phrase is, it can also be a hidden challenge for missional entrepreneurs to confront. Missional entrepreneurs face the hard test of serving as both business owners and missionaries. So what service comes first, their call to witness or their call to operate as business leaders? The question of these priorities is a tough, but necessary, topic to address. A fine balance exists in the BAM world as missional entrepreneurs. A business may fail because it is not given proper time and attention. On the other hand, personal relationships may suffer at the expense pursuing a prosperous business. So what is the answer? Missional entrepreneurs are blessed with the unique opportunity to influence fellow co-workers and employees. With the guidance of Christ, the workplace is the missions field. Intentionally focusing on business operations, and seeking to serve employees as an involved leader, allows the real Mission to manifest itself into the daily lives of the lost. A story in Mark L. Russell’s “The Missional Entrepreneur," is told about two small businesses that were both located in the same cultural context, supported by Christian missions, and run by faithful believers. One business excelled, the other failed. What was the difference between the two businesses? One owner became overwhelmed by the need to spread the gospel and run a full-time business, the other intertwined the gospel with daily business operations and devoted his missional efforts to reaching the lost and hurting who came to work at the company. Discovering the balance between serving in the missions field and running a business is not an easy path to traverse. Have faith in where your heart is being led, and rest in the peace that the One who sent you has gifted you specifically with the desire to meet the needs of His children through the capacity of business. (Romans 8:28) As you are called to serve as a missional entrepreneur, so His will and glory will be done. “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 - GEN Desk Intern
-GEN Desk Intern
As I walked down the hill out of the abject poverty of the Roma (Gypsy) district in a southern Bulgaria town, my stomach began to turn. The smell, the filth, and the despair were all overwhelming. While trying to keep my stomach content where it belonged, I prayed. Noticeably, I sensed Jesus saying, “I am up there.” My perspective changed. The powerful filth and smell suddenly dissipated. Jesus was present and his promises alive, even in the lowliest of places, to redeem and restore people who are precious in his sight. And He’s inviting laborers to bring His kingdom to these undesirable places. This experience was at the tail end of a seminar on social enterprise sponsored by The Navigators’ Global Enterprise Network in Central and Eastern Europe. Over 50 Europeans sought input from Christian experts in social enterprise from around the US and Europe. Everyone was united on how to bring the hope of the Gospel and answers to address the desperate poverty. Two themes emerged:
In post-Christian secularized Europe, the Bible has been discarded as old-hat. There is rampant mistrust toward the church. Pastors and missionaries have no respect in society. And generally the Gospel is seen as wishful thinking. Everyday life is the greatest opportunity to share about Christ. But in order for this to happen, the messenger needs to be normal to the listener. A key means for the messenger to gain this heart access is through enterprise. When followers of Jesus own and run enterprises, they are afforded opportunities to be Jesus in everyday life to everyday people and bring real answers to things like poverty through work. An added bonus: We’ve discovered that when you connect a secularized person with the needs of the poor or marginalized, that person starts asking questions about the meaning of life, purpose, and faith. Throwing open the doors for the answers found in the truths of the Gospel. Enterprises aiming to help people in need become a vehicle for the Gospel to be demonstrated. Currently, the Global Enterprise Network in Europe is starting and supporting enterprises that serve handicapped children, provide jobs for the homeless and addicts, and promote education for Roma children. We long for greater impact as the movement grows. After all, Jesus is there among the desperately needy. - GEN Consultant GEN Desk Commentary –
What kind of enterprise do you feel would best help address poverty? This somewhat cynical yet somewhat honest question still haunts me. I’m not the only religious professional who’s been asked that question. I recently heard about two vocational Christian workers who were sharing the Gospel with a university student. The university student was ready to receive Christ. Right before he prayed he asked, “If I pray this prayer will you get paid?” In essence he was asking if they worked on commission. Even the Apostle Paul was accused of lining his pockets by preaching the Gospel. He wrote much of First and Second Corinthians to defend the purity of his motives. In Acts 20:33-34 Paul said, “I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me.” In First Thessalonians 2:9 he said, “We worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.” Paul, the missional entrepreneur, could honestly say, “No one’s paying me to change you. I’ve got a day job.” However, Paul was not opposed to receiving what we call donor income. In Philippians 4:18 Paul said that he was well supplied by the financial gifts from the church in Philippi. In some cases he actually sought donor income. Paul asked for financial backing from the believers in Rome (Romans 15:23, 24). Paul, the apostle, needed donor income to pioneer new ministries and was not ashamed to ask for help. I would submit that Paul used a hybrid funding model. At times he earned his living through his enterprise. At other times he sought gift income. Bigger than the funding model is Paul’s motivation. He never sought money for himself but for the sake of the Gospel. - GEN Desk Contributing Writer GEN Desk Commentary – we want your ideas!
What's the right balance of business income, ministry donations, time to run a business, and ministering to people? What conflicts arise when thinking of these comparisons? Would you like to peel back the skin of one of the best examples of a missional enterprise in the world? Well, maybe it is not currently on your bucket-list, yet. But if you are considering missional enterprise as a possible pathway to serve internationally, I would highly suggest this developmental vision trip!
The trip is planned for the beginning of August 2015 and will take an inside look at the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). How do you successfully run a business in light of a new culture, potential corruption, and unstable economy? What does it look like to bring holistic change and social justice? Is it possible to share your faith and begin a gospel movement through a business? How do you begin to engage an unreached people group? Participants will examine key elements of a successful missional enterprise by living it out throughout the week long trip. Participants will also engage with the founders about their vision and calling, start-up process, developmental phases, metrics, challenges, and life. The ideal participant would be future missional entrepreneurs, current missional entrepreneurs, business coaches, investors, or missions minded people, churches and leaders. The outcomes for each participant will vary drastically. But no matter whether exploring a missional enterprise helps develop yourself for future opportunities or someone you will eventually come alongside, we want to invest in you. Serving missionally among the unreached is not for everyone. Missional enterprise is also not for everyone. The Missional Enterprise Expedition is designed to host anyone who wants to seriously consider their best fit and next steps. For more information about the trip, visit the trip page or contact us at gen@navigators.org. - GEN Desk Director Myth 1: Missional entrepreneurs spend so much of their time working that they don’t have time to minister. This lack of time makes them ineffective in ministry.
Myth 2: Full time missionaries spend all of their time in ministry. This makes them more effective. Logic tells us that both of these myths should be true. In reality both myths are fraught with problems. Full time does not mean full time. A survey from years ago showed that full time missionaries on average minister only 22% of the time. Many only 10% of the time. The bulk of their time was spent on the normal tasks of living. This was especially true for those with low income. The less money they had the more time they had to spend on surviving in the host culture. For example standing in line to get a propane bottle filled rather than hiring someone to stand in line for them. Time invested, by itself, does not determine effectiveness. There is no positive correlation between time and results. We do not live in a closed system controlled by cause and effect. God intervenes to accomplish spiritual results independent of how much time we invest. I remember leading a person to Christ 15 minutes after I met him. I also remember studying the Bible for three years with a person who never came to faith. Ministry defined. If ministry is restricted to religious activities at a designated place at a specific time then both myths are reinforced. True ministry, however, is heart-to-heart. The Gospel flows from one life to another as believers demonstrate Christ-like character and speak compassionate words of truth. This type of ministry happens at any place at any time. Enterprise as context. Transforming ministry takes place in the messy circumstances of life. The milieu of the marketplace provides countless opportunities to naturally live out the Gospel in deeds and words. Full time missionaries often need to create their own contexts for ministry. These controlled environments are often viewed as contrived and irrelevant. Competence counts. Professional knowledge and skill creates credibility and respect. Excellence builds trust. Demonstrated expertise earns the right to be heard. If the person is trustworthy, the message is more likely to be taken seriously. I’m not saying there is no place for the vocational missionary. I am saying that we cannot assume that just because they are full time they are more effective than missional entrepreneur’s. In many cases missional entrepreneurs are more effective. Have I dispelled the two myths to your satisfaction? What do you think? - GEN Desk Contributing Writer Many business professionals and church leaders today are hearing of the term “Business as Mission” (BAM). While there are many variances to a perfect definition, I like the expression of J.D. Greear of the Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, NC, “Christians in the marketplace today are able to gain access more easily to strategic, unreached places. Globalization, great advancements in technology and urbanization have given the business community nearly universal access.” Greear reminds us that God has placed in his church the skills necessary to penetrate the most unreached parts of our world – and those skills are business skills. Business people should focus on a two-fold vision, “whatever you are good at, a) do it well for the Glory of God; b) do it somewhere strategic for the mission of God.” Mats Tunehag, one of the leaders of the BAM movement suggests that Business as Mission (BAM) is simply “legitimate economic activity (business) by a workplace professional which serves as a vehicle for sharing the love of Christ…” He and the Lausanne committees on BAM insist that BAM activities must be profitable and sustainable, create jobs and local wealth; and produce spiritual capital (disciples of Jesus). While such a definition would encourage one to think that BAM could, should and does take place in every workplace in the world where God’s people in business are faithfully living like Jesus and looking for ways to bring people to know him. And while to a certain extent that is true, BAM over the past 20 years has tended to think in terms of “developing impoverished” countries, and unreached areas where Jesus is relatively unknown. Three propositions may help to justify and explain the Business as Mission movement as understood by GEN and those seeking to reach the world for Christ through business.
A recent memo from a friend who is a kingdom business entrepreneur in an Asian country: “Upon entering a local office where local authorities facilitate some aspects of our company, I saw my national friend who manages the office. Amidst the hubbub we greeted one another and caught up on personal news. Suddenly my friend asked, “Do you have a divine connection? I’m sensing a positive energy emanating from you and I don’t know what it is.” Stunned, I replied, “Well as a matter of fact, I do have a divine connection to Jesus!” I then went on to explain who Jesus is and His presence in my life. He listened intently. Something is happening in my friend’s heart and mind…something we believe that God is doing.” So Business as Mission is not “business as normal” neither is it “missions as normal”. It is living out the commands of Jesus in the workplace - to love our neighbor and make disciples so individuals and communities are transformed – spiritually, economically and socially – for the greater glory of God and the establishment of his church. Larry Sharp IBEC – Director of Strategic Partnerships Real ministry in a sacred field? It’s where you already are. Gabe put himself through seminary by working construction. But when he realized his degree wouldn’t land him a visa to make disciples overseas, another idea sparked. What if his experience in construction wasn’t just a placeholder until he could do “real” ministry? What if it was the real ministry? Not content to stay sidelined from Jesus’ disciple-making mandate, Gabe took his construction skills where traditional missionaries can’t go. Today Gabe pours cement with local men he’s hired in Asia. They hear what comes out of his mouth when the hammer hits his thumb instead of the nail. They talk about faith while they measure 2x4s, and they share life while they eat a bowl of rice at lunch. By combining real work with real ministry, Gabe is watching his employees become disciples and then make disciples of Jesus in that least-reached country. What would happen in the fulfillment of the Great Commission if, like Gabe, all believers saw their workplace as their primary and sacred field of ministry? Let us say up front: This is not about everybody moving to unreached areas, though we hope more will consider doing so, especially considering two-thirds of the world is closed to the way we used to do missions. This is about every Jesus-follower participating in His disciple-making mandate. Consider Joseph, Esther, Nehemiah, David, Solomon, Daniel, and many others who impacted their world not by leaving their professions to do “full-time ministry,” but by serving God full time using the skills and positions He had entrusted to them. Rather than asking you to “give it all up for Jesus,” we’re inviting you to “use it all up for Jesus” — to use your 9-to-5 profession (or, your 925 Window) to make disciples. The world desperately needs godly engineers and baristas and web designers and entrepreneurs and accountants and athletes to flood the marketplaces of the world — including the one where you live right now — with their unique skills and passions, so that disciples of Jesus can be made wherever life happens. That was the early church’s approach, and it’s what can take the gospel into the unreached areas of our world today. * Italicized name changed to protect identity. GEN Desk Commentary – What does it look like to make disciples in your "925 window?" Read more from Crossworld:
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