On April 4th, Business for Christ will meet at Raigersfeld Barn, Mote Park, Maidstone. Join us for a light breakfast, encouragement from other Christians in business, sharing of testimonies and resources. And we’ll be praying into the business community across our region.
Date: April 4th 2012
Time: 7:00am – 8:30am
Venue: Raigersfeld Barn, Mote Park, Maidstone
Make a note of the date and do invite other Christians in Business to come along. For more information or directions, get in touch.
Our monthly meetings for ‘Marketplace Ministers’ – those God has called to the marketplace (by which I include the workplace, education, business, government, even the school gates) – bring together a group of people from different Church congregations in the region around Maidstone, united by a vision to grow together in effectiveness as we take the kingdom of God right into the heart of our towns and nation through our daily lives. The meetings are born out of a passion to see the Church glorify Christ through our unity and relevance to our community. As Jesus prayed for believers in John 17:
“…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me“. (John 17:21-23 NIV)
This week we held the second of our 2012 meetings, and we shared testimonies about how God has been at work in and through us over the past weeks. It’s encouraging to hear the testimony of the Saints! Several shared how as they see their day to day work as a vehicle through which to serve God, He is opening up significant relationships and favour.
We talked about praying for the lost and thought about Jesus’ first recorded miracle at the wedding in Cana. Why on earth would Jesus turn water into wine at a party where the guests had drunk more wine than had been expected, when he knew that what they really needed was a revelation from God? Picture the modern day equivalent – you are at a party where people have drunk plenty of wine, and the wine runs out. Would you pray for more wine? The idea is one that many would find shocking.
Yet Jesus did. He miraculously supplied a vast quantity of the very best wine. I believe that the reason he did this was to demonstrate how to pray for the lost. He met the most immediate need that they were aware of. And through this act he revealed His glory.
When we pray for the immediate needs that an unbeliever is aware of, we demonstrate the love of Christ. Or, as one of our group put it, we give them the “L’Oreal” effect: “Because you’re worth it”. When God answers with a miracle, Jesus is glorified. What a brilliant way to draw people’s attention to how good God is!
Over the coming months we will be taking a journey together through teaching that I hope will challenge and encourage us as we share together, and bear fruit as we put it into practice. At this week’s meeting I gave everybody a copy of a book, ‘That None Should Perish’ by Ed Silvoso. The book lays a foundation for much of what we will cover this year, starting with an understanding of the spiritual dimension at work around us in the heavenly places as we reach the lost (if you’d like a copy or to order more, you can do so here).
I encouraged members of the group to read the book by the next time we meet in four weeks (that’s just ten pages each day!). I also highly recommend watching this 30-minute teaching, below, on the heavenly places outlined in Ephesians as you start to read the book:
Watch this 30-minute lesson on the heavenly places (source: transformourworld.org)
Did you watch the teaching above? If not, why not watch it now or set aside half an hour in your diary now to go back and watch it.
The last scripture Ed Silvoso shares in the teaching above is a section of Ephesians 4:25-32:
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:25-32 NIV)
The passage in Ephesians above describes the antidote to the enemy’s attack on unity: forgiveness. If we are to see Christ glorified in our workplaces, neighbourhoods, towns, region and nation, then we must preserve and build unity in the whole Church.
So to sum up, five actions to take away until we meet next on Tuesday 20th March:
If you would like to comment on any of the above, please do so! Contact me directly or leave a public comment below.
Business for Christ meets in or around Maidstone, Kent, every month. Most months we are hosted by a member of the group, which means we get to experience something of each others’ lives as we share vision and pray with each other.
We invite the host to tell the group about their business or ministry, and to share their hopes and any specific areas of need. Then together we pray for them.
We encourage meeting hosts to invite members of their local church leadership to the meeting, so that we can catch their vision together and stand united.
Business for Christ hosted at Computer Skills Centre in February 2012, with Dave and Linda Williams and elders from their local congregation The Beacon Church
As a group of Christians in the Church and marketplace from different church congregations in the area, it’s powerful to stand together in faith and unity.
Every third month, the meeting is usually hosted by Business for Christ and we share resources and vision about the call to the marketplace. At every meeting, prayer forms an important part of our time together.
If you would like to hear more about future meetings, subscribe to receive email updates and we’ll keep in touch.
On Wednesday March 7th, 2012, Business for Christ will be hosted by the Jubilee Resource Hub and a group of marketplace ministries operated by Jubilee Church in Maidstone.
Join us at the start of the day over a light breakfast, and hear about Jubilee’s ministries into the local marketplace including some very exciting new initiatives for 2012:
Neil Pattison, elder at Jubilee, will host the morning and leaders of Jubilee’s marketplace ministries will share their vision. Together we will stand in faith and pray for Jubilee’s marketplace ministries.
Venue:
Jubilee Resource Hub
9 Ashford Road
Maidstone ME14 5BJ
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 am
Please let me know if you intend to come, so that we have an idea of numbers. To confirm your place or for more information contact us.
To stay informed about all we’re up to at Business for Christ and Marketplace Ministers, subscribe to receive email updates.
God is using Rick Heeren to lead city wide transformation movements including in Elk River, Minnesota where the church pastors and marketplace ministers are partnering to reach the whole city for the kingdom of God. He is currently ministering into the UK and Ireland, working with church and marketplace leaders. On Feb 16, Rick will be in Maidstone and we will be hosting a special evening with him where you will:
This is a special bonus meeting, an opportunity to meet and hear from Rick Heeren while he is in Maidstone. Places are limited and I encourage you not to miss it.
To book your place, contact me and let me know how many places you would like to reserve.
An offering will be taken to bless Rick and invest in his ministry.
Venue details: Raigersfeld Barn, Mote Park, Maidstone ME14 4 AE.
Date & time: Thursday Feb 16, 2012, 7:30pm
Contact: Daniel Ghinn
This week, 17 marketplace Christians met in Maidstone with a vision to walk out their call to ministry in their day to day lives, right where God has placed them. Here’s the background:
When I set up a business with my wife Jo in 1998, we knew that Jesus must be its CEO. In fact, he had to be King over the business. I don’t think I would have had the courage to try to run a business without knowing it was God’s business!
Since that day, we started to discover what it really meant to dedicate our business to Jesus, inviting him to use it for his purposes. It’s been an exciting journey so far and we are still on it. Among the lessons we have learned, God showed us that while we had a heart to be a blessing through financial giving, the primary way He would use us in business was more about our relationship with the marketplace than the financial impact we could make.
We learned that our primary area of Church ministry is in the marketplace, alongside others called as ‘marketplace ministers’ into areas like education, government, healthcare, and in our own neighbourhoods.
In fact, I believe that the only way we will see our towns, cities and nation discipled is through the Church operating effectively in the marketplace.
And others have joined us on this journey – eight years ago I set up Business for Christ to envision and equip Christians in business. We then ran a year of equipping for marketplace ministers; and created a six-week training course, ‘Training for Transformation’ to teach principles of marketplace transformation to the Church.
In 2006 I was introduced to Ed Silvoso and his team at Harvest Evangelism, and we have been walking with them since then. Ed and his team are behind a rich collection of resources on marketplace ministry including Transform our World, and have inspired our ministry and teaching as we operate under Ed Silvoso’s covering.
Today we see God stirring up His people in the marketplace in the UK where we live. People who want to be effective day to day for Him, to see God’s purpose at work in their daily lives, to play their part in discipling their nation. People like you, perhaps?
So now in this season we believe it’s time to bring people together again across the Church, to seek God, determined to be part of what He is doing in this generation.
A marketplace minister operates in the marketplace – such as in business, education, government or their neighbourhood – and recognises that God is using them there to minister to others: to serve and to be a blessing for the sake of the His kingdom.
Biblical examples of marketplace ministers include Daniel, Joseph, Esther; as well as Jesus and his closest disciples, and the Apostle Paul. Many of the heroes of our faith were in fact marketplace ministers!
Today we hear testimonies from all around the world of how God is using marketplace ministers to bring about the transformation of cities and towns. Like Elk River, Minnesota, where church and marketplace leaders work in partnership to touch the whole city.
We’ve just launched a new monthly meeting in Maidstone for Marketplace Ministers in the South East of England. We’ll meet with people who do not want to simply operate in the mundane but want to see God at work in us every day; to see the power of the Holy Spirit at work to touch lives around us and to see miracles at work; to catch God’s heart for our workplaces, neighbourhoods, schools, towns, nation and to be part of what God is doing here in the UK.
We’ll be praying together; teaching; applying what we learn and coming back together to share experiences and testimonies. We’ll be using resources including books, DVDs, personal testimonies, and we’ll be drawing on input from Harvest Evangelism at every opportunity as members of the team visit us in the UK over the course of the year.
My dream for these Marketplace Ministers meetings is that we develop our own testimonies here in the South East of England; that our faith grows as we share and walk this out in practice, believing God to work through us. That we’ll grow together, seeing God doing new things among us as we apply what He shows us. So that the testimonies to inspire this movement of God in the UK will come from within the UK itself, not only from around the world.
If you would like to know more about Marketplace Ministers meetings or to get involved, please do get in touch.
Recently I met with a group of twenty business leaders from around the globe to compare notes and experiences around principles for business in the kingdom of God. We met as a working group during a gathering with Harvest Evangelism in California, a diverse collection of cultures from Asia to Europe, Africa to North and South America.
Our discussions centered around what characterises a business that has Christ at its head. Often referred to as a ‘Kingdom Business‘, we settled on the idea that ‘Transformational Company‘ is perhaps a more effective term capturing the impact that such a business has on its surroundings. Ultimately, we agreed, our vision must be as big as to disciple nations.
We talked through typical characteristics of a Transformational Company from our experiences, and identified some common traits. We should be givers, rather than takers; we should lead with excellence; our employees should be valued and treated well, as should our customers and suppliers; we should take a lead in caring for the world; we should deliver with excellence.
All of these characteristics and more should be evident if we simply apply biblical principles to our business. In fact the bible is packed with resources and wisdom to equip any business leader. It’s no surprise that the business and leadership books of the world include biblical quotes ranging from the words of Jesus to the wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs.
So we asked ourselves, what makes a transformational company or kingdom business different from any other ethical business? The answer, we concluded, lies in three areas:
Doing business for the King means doing business that brings about transformation. I encourage you to believe God to do more through His power at work in you, in your business.
How have you experienced the power of God at work to do more than just good business?
In 2004, I invited some Christians in business based in Kent, UK, where I live, to meet together with a vision to encourage each other and grow in our calling. We met as ‘Business for Christ’, and this has become a channel for envisioning and equipping Christians in business and the workplace.
If you are a business leader – running your own business or in a place of leadership in business – then you are in one of the most exciting places where the Kingdom of God is advancing. Business for Christ exists to serve God’s people in business by envisioning and equipping them to fulfil their God-given destiny in the marketplace.
Wherever in the world you are, and whatever size your business, God can work through you to touch the lives of others in the marketplace and extend His kingdom to your sphere of influence. We’re here to help you do just that.
Today we meet monthly in or around Maidstone, Kent, hosted each month by one of the group. If you would like to know more about our meetings or to get involved, get in touch for more information.
The past week has seen fear on the streets of cities across the UK as riots and looting broke out in London and further afield.
In Maidstone, the Church worked in partnership with the police in a practical way when, at the request of the police, a team of over 40 people from the church were mobilised to provide a visible presence on the streets on Tuesday night. Equipped with police radios and wearing high-visibility jackets, the team covered the whole town centre area.
This is Church at work, practically and I believe biblically. When Jesus said “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9) I believe this was a call to the kind of peacemaking that requires us to get out of our comfort zone and bring the peace in the way only He can. Jesus’ reference to peacemakers as sons of God is surely also why Paul writes that “creation waits with eager anticipation for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19).
When the Church plays this kind of role in our towns and cities, we are not using the weapons of this world. We are not ‘vigilantes’ or some kind of counter-mob. Rather we pray and speak peace.
As we paired up and spread out around the town centre on Tuesday night, I did not walk with the physically biggest, toughest of the men out on the street, but with a friend who I trust as an intercessor. If a riot had broken out I’d be pleased I was with somebody who knows how to pray!
UK Prime Minster David Cameron today spoke of the need for a “social fightback” to confront what he called “the slow-motion moral collapse that has taken place in parts of our country these past few generations”. This is the day for the Church to pray for our nation’s leaders, police forces, cities and towns, and to practically demonstrate the love of Jesus, bringing the kingdom of God in place of fear and chaos.
If you have a day-to-day role in the marketplace, such as through business, employment, education or government, you are in a perfect place to sense first-hand the needs of your city and nation, and to pray with insight and authority in the areas God has called you into.
In order for the Church to operate effectively in our towns, cities and nation, as ministers of God in the marketplace taking the kingdom of God to where the kingdom of darkness is at work, we need to think again about the way we operate.
The word of God says that our minds must be renewed: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom 12:2). I am increasingly aware that there is a process we must go through to see our towns, cities, and nations transformed by the kingdom of God:
In the UK, where I live, I believe that we are moving towards step 2 in this process. Many of God’s people in the marketplace are being transformed in their thinking about their role as members of Christ’s body day to day in their sphere of influence. But most of us have not yet seen the way we do church transformed.
Having spent most of my life with a yearning to see the Church be everything it was intended to be, and years working to equip the Church in its existing congregational setting, I am convinced that the only way to see the Church operate effectively will be to completely rethink our established paradigms, to build on biblical principles and proven models of nation transformation. What I mean is that we need to return the Church to where it started, by moving it deep into enemy territory.
In fact, of course, the Church is already in enemy territory, through its members in the marketplace every day. My proposition is that we make this tangible as we minister day to day, rather than restricting ‘church’ to our programme of congregational meetings and systems.
The opportunity is huge – to operate with no distinction between pastoring the church and pastoring the town, city, region or nation.
Church that operates in this way will be a diverse group of people, as the apostle Paul describes the body with its many parts. It will feature a range of marketplace roles that its members may be called to. This may include people working in government, police, or prisons; healthcare and emergency services; students at schools or colleges; parents at the school gate; and people in all kinds of businesses.
I believe that we will need to put down the religious systems we know and let go of ‘the way we do things’. For example, we may need to rethink the way we use words such as ‘church’, ‘pastor’, or ‘worship’ as we rediscover the biblical understanding of these terms.
For new believers who are saved in the marketplace, they should not be taught that the only context to do ministry is for them to come out of the marketplace and into the four walls of a church building, rather they would be taught to operate effectively right where they are and would be equipped from the start as ministers in their marketplace environment.
The heart of this concept is reflected in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where he provides some practical guidance for the Church: “Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that. For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.” (1 Cor 7:21-24)
A congregation of such a church will never be referred to as ‘my church’ or ‘your church’ by its members but rather it will be just one of many congregations of Jesus’ whole Church operating in the town or city, and region. With many such congregations in a region, each would serve and bless the rest of the region, including other local church congregations.
In such a region of Church congregations, each would work in partnership with others in their region and nation, truly operating as one Church, without competition for members as if there were more than one body of Christ. Gift ministries would be shared between the Church congregations, equipping the whole Church to operate effectively to the glory of Christ.
This blog is a call for a return to the kind of Church that I believe Christ had in mind when he said, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18). In future posts, I’ll explore this in more detail.
