From the Director:  The Sovereign LORD Is My Strength

Kingdom Entrepreneurs (KE’s) engaged in Business As Mission (BAM) are working in some of the most difficult business environments imaginable.  Some nations not only lack good infrastructure, but operate under the chaos of war, famine and disease.  Other nations have rulers who are either directly antagonistic to free enterprise or who preside over the remnants of antagonistic systems, such as communism.

But the prophet Habakkuk said, “The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights" (Hab 3:19).  He spoke these words while “Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.  Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails" (Hab 1:3-4).

KE’s are like Habakkuk in one way.  Because God is their strength, they have the motivation to reach out to the downtrodden in the most difficult situations, where justice doesn’t seem to prevail, and the confidence that they will make a difference.  Such work requires total focus and commitment, which leaves little time for reflection or consultation with other KE’s.  Consequently, KE’s can feel isolated. 

Regent Center for Entrepreneurship (RCE) seeks to provide information and encouragement to KE’s engaged in “hazardous duty.”  By studying their activities and disseminating best practices, RCE seeks to elevate business standards and improve success rates. 

As we study KE’s engaged in BAM, we are able to connect people who can help each other.  For the past year, we have been doing this on an ad hoc basis.  In the next few years, we would like to make this systematic through a database and a formal association of Kingdom Entrepreneurs.  This is one of the ways RCE will serve the KB/BAM movement.

If you share our passion to serve the downtrodden through kingdom business, please communicate your ideas to us and pass this newsletter on to like-minded friends and colleagues.    

The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.

Habakkuk 3.19

RCE Announces BLOGS!

RCE (Regent Center for Entrepreneurship) is pleased to announce the launch of our new blog site!  It can be found on our current RCE website, or go to the blog directly: www.regententrepreneur.org/ blogs.html.

We have organized our blog into regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Pacific, and South America) and Special Topics. Currently we have bloggers in the Africa, Asia, and Special Topics sections. We welcome your comments to RCE posts and your interaction with our bloggers!

More...

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Nepali Student Changing the World

The following is a testimony by Manika Baniya. She has established a jewelry manufacturing business in Nepal, exporting to the US and other countries, and is a second year Regent MBA student. She is also a part of the RCE team as a student researcher.

"Studying at Regent University has been a great experience for me—I thank God for the opportunity to learn about Christ centered management.  My passion for business and burden to help the local women in my home country of Nepal led me to start my own business in Nepal.  I was interested in a business that didn't require a high level of education for the workers, and jewelry-making fits that criteria: it is something that needy women can learn to do.

"My desire is to utilize my training and experience at Regent to become a “social entrepreneur” and help communities overcome poverty through business. At Regent, I was especially thankful for Center for Entrepreneurship, which helps students develop their business concepts.

"The Center for Entrepreneurship has also given me many opportunities to present my business ideas to potential investors and through their help, I now have the resources and contacts I needed to be successful."

Manika's story

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Businessmen Use Vocation to Lift the Disadvantaged and Unreached

A group of businessmen and farmers from the Midwest, with a heart to use business as a vehicle to advance the kingdom of God, has been working in one of the nations in the 10/40 window for the past several years.  Their love for the people of this nation and ability to plant genuine, life-changing businesses has helped to improve both the economic and spiritual growth of a nation.  Communities that once earned only a subsistence living are now prospering.  Also, home churches are expanding and hundreds are coming to a saving knowledge of Christ. 

A key to their success has been a keen understanding of kingdom business principles, and establishing a legitimate for-profit business that truly meets needs.  Additionally, formal discipleship is kept completely separate from the business and is only carried out by local believers.  RCE has developed a strategic relationship with this group and will serve as a catalyst for leadership and entrepreneurship training of nationals to ensure sustainability of the current ventures.  Additionally RCE will work alongside this group to strengthen existing businesses and promote new businesses in that region.

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RCE Announces New Case Studies

Now available on the RCE website, RCE introduces three case studies relating to actual kingdom entrepreneurship ventures, specifically in the Mideast and Asia.  Most people in developing nations, particularly those in the 10/40 window, have not heard the gospel and have little opportunity or propensity for it. 

However, these people are very interested in their personal economic well-being and in anyone who genuinely seeks to help them.  Therefore, although the traditional missionary model is not feasible in these parts of the world, kingdom entrepreneurship presents an opportunity for the gospel.

Read case studies

Case studies are taken from On Kingdom Business: Transforming Missions
Through Entrepreneurial Strategies, edited by Tetsunao Yamamori and Kenneth A. Eldred, copyright ©2003, Chapters 1-3. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187. For more information, visit www.crossway.com.

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God Is At Work: RCE Commentary

In the newsletters that follow, the Center for Entrepreneurship will share key concepts and principles from Ken Eldred’s book God Is At Work: Transforming people and nations through business. These concepts are helping to shape and advance the Kingdom Business movement.

"Spiritual Capital" Fuels Top Economies

by Jeremiah Koshal, Ph.D.

A nation’s culture determines its economic success.  In his book, God is at work: Transforming people and nations through business, Ken Eldred points out the cardinal role that culture plays before a nation can ever witness economic prosperity. He posits that the most fundamental need for developing nations is not an infusion of capital, a higher level of education, a democratic government or even a robust form of capitalism, but rather a real and meaningful cultural change.

A cultural makeover that conforms to Biblical values is also the basis from which a society will produce a more just, fair, free and honest political system.

As illustrated by the crippling corruption in Russia and elsewhere, promoting capitalism alone without the moral-cultural values (spiritual capital) necessary for its success is like building a house on sand.

Full article

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RCE Equips Not-for-Profit Entrepreneurs, Hosting Grant-writing Workshop September 29

The Regent University Center for Entrepreneurship (RCE) seeks to improve the economic and spiritual condition of disadvantaged populations through entrepreneurship grounded in a Christian worldview. Its vision is to see communities, regions and nations be revitalized spiritually, socially, politically and economically.

Because RCE recognizes the importance of entrepreneurship in both for profit and not-for-profit organizations, created and developed to serve their communities, RCE is partnering with Ocean Grand, an organization with a passion for not-for-profit work, to present a workshop on the particulars of writing grants, seeking out funding for ministries and not-for-profits, and building Biblical relationships throughout the process.

Click here for more information or to register!

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RCE/NPIM Advance Kingdom Business Through Curricula Study

In line with Weber’s [1] assertion that countries that adopt predominantly Protestant values (vocation, hard work and person piety) tend to experience greater economic success than their neighbors with similar resources and people groups, and additionally that internalization of Biblical values (or spiritual capital) and emphasis on personal character lead to successful capitalism, RCE is conducting a study evaluating the effectiveness of the Nehemiah Project International Ministries (NPIM) biblical entrepreneurship curricula.  NPIM is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC that offers biblical entrepreneurship training both in the USA and in Cameroon, West Africa.

After the curricula have been evaluated and modified based on the research, RCE hopes to certify the NPIM model so that it can be used by other organizations to train kingdom entrepreneurs both locally and internationally-–in order to transform individuals, communities and nations.

More...

[1] M. Weber, The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, 1905.

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Did you know... the world consists of four economic development rungs?

1. The poorest of the poor – also called the “extreme poor” (17%, or 1.0 billion*).

2. The poor – another 1.5 billion people are considered poor because they only live just above mere subsistence (25%, or 1.5 billion).

3. Middle income households – about 2.5 billion people are in the middle income world (not by the standards of rich countries). Their incomes may be a few thousand dollars per years and most of them live in cities (42%, or 2.5 billion).

4. High income – this constitute the remaining one billion people (17%, or 1.0 billion)

With such a stratified world, where there is a great disparity and inequality between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots, what role can we play as Christian businesspeople to bridge the existing gaps?

Do you believe that we can see the end of poverty by the year 2025 as stipulated by rich nations in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) [Sachs, 2005]?

Full article

*figures are approximate

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Nation in Focus: Nepal

Nepal is a beautiful and welcoming country, with both jungle and Himalayas. Among the poorest and least developed countries in the world, with almost one-third of its population living below the poverty line, Nepal is the only official Hindu state in the world. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for three-fourths of the population. Security concerns relating to the Maoist conflict have led to a decrease in tourism, a key source of foreign exchange.

Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors may remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, a low level of technology, remoteness, landlocked geographic location, civil strife, and susceptibility to natural disasters.

• Location: southern Asia, between China and India
• Population: 28,287,147 (2006 est.)  
• Capital: Kathmandu
• Major languages: Nepali, Maithali, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Tamang, Newar, Magar, Awadhi; English spoken by many
• Religions: Hindu 80.6%, Buddhist 10.7%, Muslim 4.2%, Kirant 3.6%, other 0.9% (2001)
• Products (agriculture): rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat
• Industries: tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarettes, cement and brick production
• GDP per capita: $1,400 (2005 est.)
• Unemployment: 42% (2004 est.)
• Population below poverty line: 31% (2003-2004)

(Sources: www.cia.gov, www.calebproject.org)

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LinkedIn: Join Today!

In April, RCE launched an online networking group created for the purpose of connecting people with a passion for Kingdom Business. Through this network, people connect for expertise, mentorships, career opportunities, internships and more.

The network is open to all Regent alumni and friends. If you have not joined us yet, join now!

Click here to join...

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Thanks for Considering RCE!

It’s hard to believe, but another year is quickly coming to a close.  As you plan your year-end giving, please consider the work of RCE.  Currently, RCE is totally dependent on the generosity and financial gifts of supporters like you.  Our vision to advance the kingdom and to truly transform people and nations through business begins with you. 

We are particularly looking for “Founders” who desire to make an impact during our early stage of development as an organization.  These are visionaries who understand that investing during the “ground level” can potentially reap much fruit, particularly as it relates to promoting and advancing the Kingdom Business movement worldwide!  Founders invest a total of $5,000 in RCE within a period of up to five years.

Thank you for prayerfully considering a contribution of any amount to RCE!

I want to make an impact through RCE...

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