The following was a story that my supervisor, Bob Vryhof, shared in a newsletter last month. It tells a little about our new partnership in Cuenca, Ecuador, the city where I will be moving in just over a week.
Our bi-annual global gathering is called Marketplace Revolution, which refers to the transformative movement we are
pursuing. This is not a loud and violent
revolution. It’s a collection of
personal commitments from Christian business people to live out their calling
to business, dig deeper into God’s desire for how they should do that, and
connect with other leaders to figure out how to help other business people do
the same. While this ‘revolution’ isn’t
normally front page news, it’s most definitely captivating and the impact is remarkable.
In one of my last letters I highlighted some key
puzzle pieces the Lord seemed to be knitting together in Cuenca, Ecuador to
promote exactly this type of impact.
Since that time, those pieces have come together, begun to bear fruit,
and are driving us on to exciting new possibilities.
Our Ecuador affiliate is now formally partnered
with Cuenca Partners – a group of local business people committed to helping
small businesses in their Church and community thrive. Not only that, but they are adamant about
holding one another accountable to doing business in a way that glorifies God
by bearing witness to His love and purpose.
Recently this partnership recruited and trained a
group of 52 local business mentors. As
business people, all of them are committed to using who they are and
what they have in service to their community. A result of this offering
of service is the
planned launch of a second business course in January. Cuenca Partners
expects 60 people to
attend. Mentors will be paired with participants that request guidance
in
implementing course principles.
Originally, this partnership focused exclusively
on small businesses. However, in the
last few weeks via meetings with the local Chamber of Commerce, Cuenca Partners
identified the need for high level mentoring and training for medium and large
businesses in the community. As a
result, we are working to design a strategy to engage and serve those people as
well.
Our shared desire through these activities is to
raise up a community of business people committed to seeking and living out
God’s full callingfor their lives. This
begins through training and mentoring, but it reaches further. As this network grows, our prayer is that
barriers between large and small, rich and poor, connected and isolated would
dissolve and vanish forming a community rooted in Christ-like service. By nature, that will be a community
characterized by jobs that truly afford opportunity, growth, and dignity – a community
that is increasingly able to meet its own basic needs and help others do the
same.
That’s a revolution I’m glad to be part of…..
Please join me in prayer for these business
people as they pursue God’s calling for them, their businesses, and their
communities.
