As Christians, we need to be concerned with the needs of the people in the city. The Bible is greatly concerned with the economics of the poor and their well being. I believe one powerful way for Christians to represent the already/not yet establishment of God's plan for earth is to be entrepreneurial, starting companies rooted in our desire to see the gospel transform the city for the common good. (I preached a sermon dealing with some of this, entitled, The Christian Social Revolution based on much of Keller's/Clowney's influence.) In fact, Redeemer already is doing this:
Redeemer’s vision is to cause cultural renewal in all the institutions and professions that comprise New York City and impact the world around us. As part of this vision, we hope to not only empower intra-preneurs, who create change within existing companies and organizations, but also support entrepreneurs, whose new ventures challenge or augment the services of existing institutions and help advance both the private and public sectors.
The Entrepreneurship Initiative is designed to equip, connect, and mobilize entrepreneurs within Redeemer’s congregation to create new ventures that bring about gospel-centered transformation for the common good. The Entrepreneurship Initiative plans to form a community that will support entrepreneurship through workshops, conferences, mentoring relationships, and The Redeemer Incubator.
I'd encourage you to visit Redeemer's Center for Faith & Work. Or listen to a few of their presentation on how the gospel impacts the creation of business: (Their Entrepreneurship Forum lists a few add'l presentations on this.)
Cultural Renewal: The Role of the Intrapreneur and the Entrepreneur (click on title to listen)
Rev. Dr. Timothy Keller, Senior Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian ChurchGospel-Based Leadership: Total Integration of Faith and Work (click on title to listen)
Dennis Bakke, Co-founder of AES Corporation and Founder of Imagine SchoolsPrinciples for Action (click on title to listen)
Rev. Dr. Timothy Keller, Senior Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church
If this is a topic that interests you, I spoke with Justin Browne @ Redeemer, who said the next forum will be on March 10th, 2007. Redeemer is planning a Business Plan Competition within their church to select, fund and become incubators for companies & non-profits. It is similiar to Urbana's Business Plan Competition:
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is sponsoring a business plan competition for triple-bottom-line businesses: businesses that have financial, social, and spiritual impact. A total pool of $40,000 is available to winning business plans! Two-page Executive Summaries are due October 27, 2006.
There are many opportunities for Christians to impact society, for churches to find catalystic leaders who are missional in their field, but also seek to redeem their area of expertise. Don't just reach the accountant seek to change the accounting industry by the gospel.
Question – How is your church going to equip and send business leaders that seek to redeem your city's industries?
