Encouraging Entrepreneurs In Your Church to Start a Business
Updated: Apr 11, 2021
At one point in my business, I had so little business come in for the month that I couldn’t pay my office landlord the rent money. One of my brothers in church learned about my stressful situation and said: “Alex, my wife and I want to bless you this month and cover your rent.”
Tears come to my eyes just writing this blog post. I’ll never forget this act of love and kindness. It was the most charitable thing anyone has done for me. Years later, I look back at that act of kindness, and I see where this friend of mine is at in his own business, and I think to myself “No wonder God is blessing him incredibly in his business and finances. This man keeps investing in God’s Stock Market!”.
We Godpreneurs have all had times where we’ve needed help, and we’ve had times when people in our church needed our help. This is God’s “Wall Street,” and we all have the opportunity to buy and sell stock into each other’s lives and businesses.
How exactly does this work? It’s quite simple.
God wants us to use some of our business profits to help encourage others in our church and to build stronger relationships with each other. In my example, this brother of mine is closer than ever to me. He’s closer not because I feel obligated to pay him back. No. I feel closer to him because of the love of Christ he displayed to me. That’s a feeling I’ll have for a lifetime.
When we tithe our money to a church, it draws us closer to our church. Similarly, when we can come alongside a brother or sister and invest in them, we are drawing closer to them.
The Bible says:
"Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality." (Romans 12:13 NIV)
My wife and I participated in a marriage Bible study that another couple hosted in their home. They must have spent over $1000 in hosting us for those 8 weeks. There were food, snacks, beverages, and gift cards at each group! They used $50 gift cards as prizes for participation. Crazy, huh? No. That was them investing in God’s people. And it’s no wonder he’s running one of Miami’s top law firms. His mindset is investing in his brothers and sisters in the church. He’s investing in God’s stock market and seeing a nice return on his investment.
But it’s not always about investing actual cash. You can also invest your time, services, or products. This counts too.
There are times I host growth groups for entrepreneurs of my church at my office. I typically charge $300/hr to meet with me. I’ve consulted people in my groups and at church for no fees at all. I’ve created brands for people in my church and only passed along the cost of my designer and invested my own time into bringing the brand to life. I’ve also taken brothers and sisters to lunch and paid for lunch so I can help them clarify their brand and business ideas.
These are examples of how you can sow into God’s stock market as a Godpreneur without having to put cash out.
The Bible says:
"Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you." (3 John 1:5 NIV)
When we look for opportunities to invest in others in our church, we are allowing God to show His love through us. We are building fellowship and community at church. We are strengthening the body of Christ.
We need to see that our profits, products, and services are all tools that God wants to use to further His purpose for us – to be the light of a Christ in a dark, greedy world. Our investments help bring people to Christ.
Godpreneur Money Rule #13: Godpreneurs see money as a tool to invest in others in our church to draw them closer to God.
#BusinessBibleStudy #ShareYourTestimony #BusinessPartnerships #NewEntrepreneurs
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