The Impact of Today’s Businessmen on Tomorrow’s Missionaries

By Rachel Davis

God has called everyone to do their own special work for Him. He calls people to be pastors, missionaries, school teachers, etc. God can also call one to the business world. What can businessmen do to be effective in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ? What role do they play in supporting missions? The book On Kingdom Business says that “Strategically employed people with these gifts can have a powerful, unique impact on evangelism, especially in cultures and countries closed to traditional missionaries” (Yamamori and Eldred 154). Although some people believe that to be in full-time Christian service, means that one should be a pastor or a missionary; however, businessmen can also be very effective in spreading the Gospel by accessing “…nations which are not open to traditional missionaries” (Wallis 1), having honest business practices, and supporting missionaries on the field.

Businessmen, first of all, can be effective in spreading the Gospel by helping to access restricted nations in which “…traditional missionary methods are obsolete, but business channels are wide open” (Yamamori and Eldred 156). Examples of such nations, according to Sally Gritts, Baptist Bible Fellowship International, are China, North Korea, Turkey, Sri Lanka, and India (Gritts). Bruce Gilliam, Senior Minister, Christian Freedom Ministries says “Christian Businessmen (Trained as Missionaries) will have the primary focus of reaching unreached people groups and looking for every situation possible to do so” (Gilliam 1). According to Patrick Lai, a businessman can be effective in spreading the Gospel by starting a business in a restricted access nation. To begin a business in a restricted nation one must first “study the people” (Lai 2). According to www.scruples.net, one should begin a business which is in demand by the people so that he may have a valid reason for being in that country (Wallis 1).

To begin a business a businessman should know what the needs of the people are and what they are looking for. For example, Rundle and Steffen say, “Help the local economy modernize” (Rundle and Steffen 61). According to Great Commission Companies, the businessman will not profit or be of any assistance to a nation if he brings in a business that the local businessmen already have up and running. The businessmen should bring a business that is going to advance the local community and get the people involved (Rundle and Steffen 61). Examples of businesses that would be effective, according to Business & Missions Forum, are businesses such as a computer training program in India, or a type of Manufacturing Business in a part of any city “…which has a high concentration of an unreached people group” (McLoughlin 1 and 2). Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Algeria are all either “undeveloped” or “underdeveloped” countries which need things such as “health services, water projects, building projects, and small manufacturing companies” (Lai 2). When a businessman begins a business; he can provide a job for these people and, therefore, provide a way for them to be able to afford the necessities for making a living and being able to survive (Lai 2). Sally Gritts said, “Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Businesses are businesses that Baptist Bible Fellowship International is currently supporting in restricted access nations” (Gritts). Once a businessman knows what the people need and what they are looking for he then needs to know how the people in that particular culture work, and what kind of business will be most effective for the needs and wants of the people.

According to Patrick Lai, once the process of discovering the needs and wants of the people is complete, the businessman can then begin looking at the resources of the land so that he will be able to build his business not only on the needs and wants of the people, but what resources he will be able to access in the country. He needs to discover where the best location is to obtain the resources that he will need, such as “water, soil and temperature” (Lai 4). This statement proves that the process of discovering resources available is very crucial because if the businessman does not do some research about the country first he may discover once he gets there that the business he has planned for will not be beneficial and he may not have the resources that he needs to be able to begin a business. The main reason for Christian businessmen to begin a business in another nation is to “…establish such good relationships with people because of their success that they will make good contacts with government people so that when God brings in an evangelist the Businessman can help him have favor with the people” (Gilliam 1). According to www.startupnation.com, the first principle to practice after the business has been set up is “…be a model of ethical behavior yourself…” (www.startupnation.com).

The most important thing that a businessman can do, in his business, is to “Tell the truth. Simple is better than complicated” (Dale 1). A businessman must be honest with his family, with his employees, and with his customers. II Corinthians 8:21 is a good example of being honest with all men, “Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” (King James Version) Honesty is very vital to a Christian businessman’s testimony, according to Honesty Morality and Conscience, “One of the key marks of a Christian businessman is total honesty” (White 81).

To be an honest businessman, one must first begin by being honest with his family in his own home. He must realize that his children are watching everything that he does and that they are going to live by his example (White 100). According to this statement by Jerry White, it is very vital that a Christian businessman first be honest at home, with his children and with his wife. They are the ones that see him a majority of the time, if he is not honest at home how will his children learn to be honest themselves. This is important, because if a businessman is not first honest with his family, he cannot even begin to think about being honest in his business practices.

According to Jennie Phipps the businessman, as an employer, must be honest with his employees by letting them know how the business is run and that he wants them to be honest as well. The businessman must make his employees aware of the procedures and how he would like them to conduct themselves. Eight ways to encourage employee honesty shows that a businessman must also be honest with his employees by being honest himself and being the same person at home as he is in the workplace (Phipps 1).”…Provide things honest in the sight of all men.” (Romans 12:17) This clearly shows that Christian business men should, not only be honest when the Lord is watching, but also be honest when men are watching, not because they are in need of man’s approval, but because it will help others see that they truly want to be honest and show others the love of Christ through their actions.

The third way in which a businessman needs to be honest, is with his customers, they are the most important part of his business, without the customers, he does not have a business to run. Jason Davis gave a great example of this when he said “…honor what you say, about meetings, commitments, changes, return trips, collection, etc. This is very important because you are under a finer lens as your customers know you are a Christian” (Davis). This statement proves that it is crucial to a businessman’s success to be honest with his customers.

According to James Dale, honesty is the most important and the most effective “weapon” in business, even though it is very uncommon in our society today. Why not just tell the truth; telling the truth is so much easier than telling a lie, we know what the truth is so why not just be honest (Dale 1). “Here is a simple fact. Lies are only told by liars. Do you want to do business with one? Neither does anyone else” (Dale 1). This statement should encourage any person to be honest in everything that they do, because no one wants to be cheated by a businessman, or by anyone else for that matter. Once a businessman learns to be honest, God will begin to bless him financially and he can then expand his work and use it to help support missionaries.
The last, but certainly not the least of the three ways that businessmen can be effective in spreading the Gospel is simply by supporting missionaries on the field. God has blessed them with the opportunity to have a business so that they can give back to Him by helping support missionaries. They can do this simply by the giving of their funds to the missionaries, to the local church, and to foundations.

The first way for them to support the missionaries according to Great Commission Companies is by using the resources which God has blessed them with to help the poor nations around the world (Rundle and Steffen 72). This statement is not restricted to just the poor; it also means helping missionaries, in need of funds, get to the field. This is how businessmen can support the missionaries personally, even if they do not feel they are giving a lot, God will use the little to do a great work. Businessmen can give to the missionaries not only personally, but also through the local church.

After an interview with Jason Davis, it was discovered that businessmen, “…by honoring God through their business, as the Lord blesses them, they also have additional income to help meet the needs and ministry of the church. As the Word of God and Biblical Principles are learned, ministry effects every decision and response of your business” (Davis). These statements are both great examples of how businessmen, who practice Biblical Principles and learn more about God’s Word, are supporting missionaries by the giving of their funds to the local church as needed, because the funds ultimately go through the church before reaching the missionaries.

Businessmen can also help support missionaries by “setting up foundations that will last for years and give assets earned from it to missionary needs around the world” (Johnson). Gary Johnson made this statement about the foundation that he helped establish, this foundation is designed specifically to support missionaries on foreign fields.

“Our foundation targets larger projects such as land purchases needed to build churches and even helping pay for construction of church buildings. Smaller foundations help buy vehicles, air fares, computers, etc. The path of setting up foundations has proven to be a very effective way of using God’s money to make an impact on missions for many years. In the long run after your income is smaller, and normal missions giving shrinks, your foundation can go on and on.” (Johnson)

This statement rings very true, especially since Mission-Based Management has the same theory through its statement “…foundations can go further to encourage financial empowerment, and seeding outside business ventures are one way to do that” (Brinckerhoff 261). These are both very strong statements showing that God uses businessmen, like Gary Johnson, that are establishing foundations, in great ways to help spread the Gospel of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Businessmen help spread the Gospel by supporting the missionaries that are on the field. If businessmen do not contribute their funds to missions, there will not be missionaries working on the field, spreading the Gospel.

Reaching restricted nations, honesty, and financially supporting missionaries on the field are just a few ways in which businessmen can be effective in spreading the marvelous Gospel of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; however, they are among the most important. Businessmen have a very important role in reaching the world for the Heavenly Kingdom, by trusting God and obeying His Word they can fulfill their duties as businessmen. God is the one Who gives each individual the purpose for his or her life and it is their personal duty to accomplish that specific duty for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. The readers should now have a better understanding of why it is important to have businessmen that are working for the advancement of the Kingdom, as well as those who are in full-time ministry, and that without businessmen it would be impossible to be able to support the full-time pastors and missionaries. Businessmen truly have a great impact on the missionaries of the world.


 

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