business for ministry vs. business as ministry

Last week I (Kyle) traveled to Lusaka and then 2 hours north of Lusaka to the town of Kabwe. Its a town similar to Chipata, but a bit larger. There is a great missionary community there that works well together and supports one another. The purpose of my trip was to see what Grace Ministries International (GMI) was doing with business. One of their volunteers was gracious enough to take me around Kabwe to see what GMI is up to.(you can view his family's blog at http://zambiateacher.wordpress.com/) GMI is primarily a church-planting/pastoral training ministry, but with other things like community schools and a ministry to the deaf. A strategic direction of GMI is to set up businesses to support their ministries instead of relying on donors.

Currently, they have an internet cafe and a bookstore and will soon have a restaurant. They also have plans to open a garbage pick-up business, which is much needed here and get into real estate. The current businesses are starting to see profits and although minimal, help support the ministries. They would like donors to give to start these new businesses instead of giving directly to the ministries, but its not always an easy sell. Below is the internet cafe.

I also visited one of Partners Worldwide's affiliates called Villages of Hope, which is focused on taking in orphans. It has taken a lot of outside funding to get going, but the long-term plan is that on-site businesses will sustain the program. The business that is currently up and running is a farm market. They are also raising chickens, which they sell at the farm market. Future plans include a restaurant and a textile 'factory' as well as expanding the chicken operation. With the orphan ministry, an on-site school and the businesses they have also been able to offer many jobs to the surrounding community. Below is the farm market that is along the main road.

These models are similar in that they are starting businesses to support the actual ministry going on. This is a future trend in missions so that ministries do not have to rely solely on outside donors and can be self-sustainable, which has become a key word in development work. Too often donors have to drop out because of lack of money or changing interests, so if the local ministries can sustain themselves there is no need to turn to outside donors, which can come and go.

Partners Worldwide is all about combining business and ministry, but we take a different angle in that a business IS the ministry. This concept is gaining momentum in mission agencies and among Christian businesspeople. Too often businesspeople are held at arm's length in the church because of their involvement with money, but when it comes to an addition to the building they are asked to contribute. It is sometimes difficult for people working in the secular world to understand the importance of their role and ministry in the Kingdom of God. And as the church we do not always encourage them to discover a deeper calling in their professional roles. However, in the body of Christ not one is better than the other and we all have something to contribute (Romans 12:3-8). The Church has the responsibility to encourage its businesspeople, pray and lay hands on them and send them out in the power of the Holy Spirit to minister in the marketplace. In many ways, businesspeople and other professionals have more access to people than 'professional' ministers do.

A possibility for this philosophy to develop in the future in Zambia is: a ministry like Grace Ministries International trains pastors and encourages them to start businesses, if they haven't already, to support themselves. Basic business skills become a part of their 'theological' training, and encourage the pastors that their business is a PART of their ministry NOT just there to support their ministry. An organization that we have recently partnered with in Lusaka is called Teach to Fish and they are all about business training and mentoring, with current emphasis on youth. They would like to integrate this idea of business as ministry into their existing training. I attended one of their youth business meetings and was able to share about this idea with them. Below is a picture of them with the director of Teach to Fish at the far right speaking.

The way Partners Worldwide is taking this idea on is encouraging North American businesspeople to use their gifts, skills and experience in places like Zambia. We encourage them that not only is their business/job in the US a ministry, but they can use what they have learned to train and mentor businesspeople in developing countries. When those connections are made its neat to see both sides affected and changed. Governments, non-profits and mission agencies are starting to see that business is a vital component for addressing poverty because it creates wealth and jobs. We need to start investing in places like Africa and training business leaders in these same places in order to build the future. Partners Worldwide and its director were recently mentioned in an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal called 'Earning Commission on the Great Commission'.
Here's the link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704597704574487452689234632.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

My last stop in Lusaka was a board training/meeting with the Reformed Church of Zambia. We are connected with their Diaconia Department, which trains and supports farmers and offers primary health training to the families. Its a very successful program run by Zambians, but also relies on outside funds including Partners Worldwide. As consultants we encouraged them to look for funding from their local churches because there is wealth enough in Zambia to support the programming. However, there are also a lot of dynamics with this board including the Executive Committee of the Synod that is over them, which can cause conflicts and misunderstandings.
After sitting in these meetings I really struggle with our current church structures both here and the US. It seems that we have made the church a man-made organization. The Church is meant to be a living entity created by Christ Jesus and led by the Holy Spirit. Instead we have built our own structures and hierarchies in it. Jesus Christ is supposed to be the Head, but we have made the pastor or Synod the head of our churches. It is especially discouraging here where the pastor is seen as the chief of the church and too often they abuse their power and authority and look to be served rather than serve. Please pray with me for the Church Worldwide that we are all a part of; that we can return to and fulfill the original vision God had for His Bride, the Church: to be the Light to the world and that we may be united so that all men may know that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.

Well I hope you enjoyed pictures and comments from my recent travels. Feel free to come back with any questions or comments. We love hearing from you!