What determines one’s upward mobility? Was it truly just hard work and determination? Since I grew up surrounded by people who went to work, earned money, fixed up their homes, threw the football around and vacationed occasionally in Florida, I internalized the notion that if you work hard enough, you could rise the social ladder and live well. 
So why was the scene so different in the DR? My naïve brain circulated the question: why couldn’t people just work? As 17 Dominicans and I zoomed through the narrow streets of my friend’s barrio (low-socioeconomic neighborhood) in a gutted 10 passenger van, my eyes were wide open, taking in the sights and smells. As we bumped down the road, I was particularly struck by how many young moms were sitting outside dilapidated homes holding children and peeling veggies. A friend who had researched family statistics in the DR told me that many women are single mothers and must find means to provide for their family. So how were they providing for their families? If they didn’t have jobs and they didn’t have a spouse’s income, how could they live sustainable, dignified lives? While I was excited to be on campus sharing the gospel with University students, my mind kept wandering to these single mothers. Who was helping these moms?
One day while sharing my thoughts with a friend working for another mission organization, she shared about some soap she recently purchased. The soap was produced by a small group of women who ran a tiny local soap factory. As I investigated said soap company, my interest continued to grow. An inventive and compassionate Chilean American founded the little enterprise with the vision of bringing hope to women living in difficult conditions in a specific low resource neighborhood that he visited frequently. As the founder shared more about his motivation for the company, my eyes were opened more and more to the complexities of poverty. I could no longer hold tight to the notion that anyone could find work and pull themselves out of impoverished situations. It just isn’t that simple. Living in this neighborhood, the woman faced extreme barriers to employment and upward mobility. Childcare, transportation, job opportunities, adequate work clothes and many other factors played into their lack of employment. But this small business was eliminating many of these deterring factors making it possible for these women to work.
More, the soap factory was transforming the community around it. Women were going to college, children had appropriate footwear, families paid school fees, homeowners repaired their homes, and most of all, there was renewed hope. Undeniably, I wanted to be a part of it. What an amazing way to partner with God to bring restoration to a community! God began to stir in my heart the desire to be a part of community transformation by creating employment for the underemployed. My ongoing prayer is: God, how can I use the passions and talents that you have given me to partner with the Holy Spirit in driving change in hearts and communities?

GEN Desk is excited to share the Global Commerce Network's release of its new book titled The Entrepreneurial God, written by Donald McGilchrist. 

The book can be purchased on Amazon. 

McGilchrist shows, through a study of the Scriptures, God as the grand innovator who, motivated by love, initiated the first "start-up" – our world. 

Despite this reality, the philosophical wedge driven between what our culture deems "sacred" and "secular" makes it difficult for business leaders to think about entrepreneurship and innovation through a theological lens. As a result, we miss out on the grandeur of how our enterprises fit within God's overarching purposes for the world. Our perspectives leave us with a narrow view of what it means to be entrepreneurs. 

The Entrepreneurial God helps us expand our vision and learn from the model of the grand innovator. We see that our enterprises can and should contribute to the shalom, or well-being, of our communities, our economies, and our workers.
 
Donald McGilchirst, a founder of GCN, was born in London, England. He holds an MA from the University of Oxford. He worked for ten years in business in the UK before serving as an international vice president of The Navigators in the US. In this capacity, he focused on cross-cultural studies, communications, and international strategy.

In addition to The Entrepreneurial God, he has authored several studies on the cultural and biblical significance of commerce and enterprise, with a focus on our daily work in the world, including The Meaning of Work (2015) and other books in GCN's six-book series titled Scriptural Roots of Commerce.

Extremely thought-provoking Bible Study (part of the Scriptural Roots of Commerce Series) regarding the meaning of work to help users understand and discover God-created purpose of work.  The meaning of work is a critical foundation for any missional enterprise.    

"We spend most of our lives working.  Do our jobs mean anything to God?  The Meaning of Work offers a hopeful answer to that question.  Early in the story, we discover a God who works with passion and love, and who has designed us to work.  We explore the truth that all work done in faith is sacred and purposeful.  The study then helps us discover how our professional lives can be integrated with God’s work to restore a broken world.  It closes with an investigation of physical and spiritual rest in the context of our stressful times."

– Global Commerce Network

How do we identify gap narrowing social impact solutions in our missional enterprises?  Mitch Kapor presents some of his thoughts on social impact.

Much has been happening for Second Story Coffee Roasters, including small-scale renovation of the shop location, the pre-open of our business, the launch of our website allowing customers to join a coffee subscription club, and the planning for our grand opening event on June 4th.  This has required all of us, all days of the week.  (Though I usually spend at least one day fully in my PJs, drinking coffee and reading, to make up for it!)  We had heard that starting a business requires the investment of your heart, your time, and your finances, and it is totally true.  We are excited for what we have begun, but it is up to God now whether or not it will flourish.  We still have not been able to find investors, please pray that God would provide them.

Because we are deep in the details and processes of starting a new venture, which one of my favorite people once described as "trying to take a drink from a fire hydrant," it is easy to forget the WHY of what we are doing.  We have taken a time or two together as Second Story staff (Rob, Tara, and Masayoshi) to discuss, debate, and pray about what God has in store for us as a shop and business within the community of the Oya neighborhood of Shizuoka, Japan.  

​The vision statement of Second Story Coffee Roasters is the following: 

God is already moving within this vision, giving us relationship with the workers of the cafe next door to us, a few of whom seem drawn to us and with whom we have been able to discuss:  What is the meaning of life?  Why were humans made?  Why do we exist?  We are grateful.

But we are also exhausted, us and our fellow Second Story workers.  Really, we experience the truth of 2 Corinthians 12:9, where Paul recalls God's words to him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  We are a weak and motley crew, four of us not native to the language and customs, none of us experienced in business, six children between us, some of us living with illnesses of varying kind, but ALL of us being brought to a place where we remember by WHOSE strength any of this is possible.  Several times a week, I have the thought, "What we are doing is CRAZY.  Why would God choose us for this job?  For the job of living in Japan even?"  But the answer to that is never far behind, when I am reminded softy of the heroism of our Creator, who challenges his people to daily pick up their cross and follow Him, to be willing to be a weak tool in His strong hand, for ends and goals known mainly to Him alone. Following Jesus into the unknown of faith is the job of every Christian, and we are greatly encouraged by thoughts of His people around the globe, doing hard things for Him. 

Please pray with us for the success of this business, so that it might open doors to the Kingdom for the people around us.  We long to see the impact of Jesus's love on this Oya neighborhood, where we have lived and labored since our move to Japan nine years ago.

Previous posts from Jamie and SSCR.

​What are you dreaming about these days?  Does it seem like an impossible task?  Is it a big dream that you could give your life to?  Then maybe that dream is from God!  Two years ago, Navigator Ralph Gatti began to dream about having a L´Abri type of center in Central Europe that could be a think-tank for the Global Enterprise Network (GEN), the Navigators expression of business as mission, where interested entrepreneurs from around the world could come and dream about how to carry out the great commission in the marketplace where they live.  It seemed an impossible dream.  It would require all the Navigators in a city coming together to support such a center, hosting visitors from around the world. It would mean putting together a robust curriculum of the current thought in the business as mission movement while still holding true to the Navigators vision, mission and core.  And of course, it would take financial support to get the center up and running. Could such a dream become a reality?
 
Thankfully, God is into the impossible. The Agathe Center for Entrepreneurship, just an idea in the hearts of our Navigator family in Central and Eastern Europe over the last eighteen months, is now “open for business” in Bratislava, Slovakia.  The Agathe Center is a ministry of the Navigators dedicated to serving committed laborers from around the world who want to advance the kingdom of God through missional enterprise.  The founders of the Agathe Center believe that businesses should not only make a profit, but also change society for good. That is why it is called the Agathe Center for Entrepreneurship - in Greek, "Agathe" means "Good".   The mission is to provide holistic support to existing and aspiring entrepreneurs as they know Christ and make Him known.

​Bratislava, Slovakia was chosen as it has been a focal point for missional enterprise over the past twenty-five years.  There are experienced practitioners to draw upon, as well as good business examples in the city to study in order to understand what a missional enterprise should look like.  God, in His goodness, has also brought together a great international team and provided a space well-equipped to meet the needs of the center.  Those who serve at the Agathe Center are convinced that an enterprise should hold in creative tension the priorities of a triple bottom line: financial sustainability, social impact, and spiritual transformation.  The center services include mentoring and coaching, trainings and seminars, as well as intensive immersion experiences that involve spending extended time with the Agathe team.  You can read more about each of these services at the Agathe Center website.  The goal is to make personalized, individualized training and consulting available at no charge to entrepreneurs intent on advancing the Kingdom of God through business and social enterprise platforms. 
 
If you or someone you know would like to know more about utilizing the Agathe Center’s services, you can engage with Agathe through the website to start the process. The Agathe Center is now ready to receive “clients” and begin the in-depth work of helping young and aspiring missional entrepreneurs build businesses that advance the Kingdom.  Whether the enterprise has already been launched, or is still just a dream, the Agathe Center can help move it forward to the next level.  “Come and See” what God has done and how He will use the Agathe Center to advance His Kingdom around the world.  God has accomplished what Ralph dared to ask or even dream of, and He has done the work infinitely far beyond Ralph´s highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes.

What dream is God laying on your heart today?

 ​My husband Bryan is a risk-taker.  It's something he is well-known for, from his love of climbing mountains to his willingness to try any new food set before him.  Raw horse, anyone?  Squid still squirming?  You name it, he's ready to try...  He even held a job after college repelling from the roofs of tall buildings to wash windows.  Risk – something necessary to business, particularly new startups – is second nature for him.

It is well known that I married my opposite.  I love safety.  I love things being nailed down and decided.  I don't have a risky bone in my body and usually only attempt new things after much research.  Needless to say, the new interesting food items on the menu when we moved to Japan weren't calling my name.  Our move to Japan itself was a huge leap of faith for me.  Though I was completely convinced it was God's desire, my natural inclinations and instincts fought me the whole way, even for years after our move.

​And then God led us to start a business.

Though we find ourselves on different ends of the personality spectrum, Bryan and I experienced similar feelings and thought processes about opening up shop in Japan.  The question of WHAT we would do was always answered for us: we both had storied histories with coffee culture and had dreamed about how our loves of coffee and people might intersect.  Bryan had made easy friends and connections in the coffee industry of our city and greater Japan, so God was already opening doors.  But a business? In Japan, of all places?  The paperwork, all in a second language – an arduous language.  The stress stories from other entrepreneurs, with the added stress of a different culture.  We can't own property, get a loan, or sign up for a credit card here – how would we pay for it?  And if we are somehow able to begin, how could the two of us possibly sustain it?  What if the business fails?  What if we can't find other workers and collapse under the pressure?  What if it turns out that we are horrible at business? 

Without answers to these questions, Bryan and I began taking turns playing the roles of doubter and encourager for one another.  We both knew the truth that God never promises success, but always promises His presence.  We also knew that obedience is the safest place to be, even if it looks risky or downright crazy from the world's perspective.   And God had affirmed us time and again, through the mystery of His peace, through the encouraging word of a colleague, and through the excitement of our Japanese friends and neighbors.  Some of those friends breathed sighs of relief, saying, "So you're really going to stay, then?"  We were ready to give it a go; in fact, a fire had been lit and we NEEDED to do it, even if it would be crash-and-burn.  We trusted that God would lead us, and He would either open doors to success in this venture, or He would close them and teach us in the process.

​So far, like so many stories of those following Jesus, it has been one risky leap of faith after another.

Previous posts from Jamie and SSCR.