Director's Perspective:  RCE 2006-2007

Those interested in kingdom business in developing countries have been active this year. We have interacted with many of them in the field and at meetings and conferences as we jointly explore ways to increase the reach and effectiveness of the work (see the stories in this newsletter). 

The year will culminate with the Open for Business Forum at Urbana 2006, signifying a coming of age of the Kingdom Business movement within the field of missions. Despite the good work being done and the interest being shown by the next generation of missions-minded people, efforts are still fragmented and too small to meet the vast economic and spiritual needs in the world. 

Regent’s Center for Entrepreneurship is determined to advance the movement in terms of its professionalism, scope and scale so that it can have a significant impact worldwide in the next decade. One focus will be on the launch and expansion of SME’s (small to medium sized enterprises), because they are the economic engine that provides jobs and increasing wealth to nations.

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Ukrainian Orphans Recieve RCE Attention

There are more than 100,000 orphans at risk in the Ukraine. Nataliya Khomyak, Regent MBA '04 and CBN Orphan Project Coordinator from Ukraine, is spearheading a collaborative effort with RCE, CBN/Operation Blessing and some of RCE's network of executives to establish training centers.

Unfortunately, the majority of orphans are released from the system in their mid-teens and end up on the streets, involved in prostitution and crime. The planned training centers teach job and life skills to teens about to “age out.” RCE is planning a demonstration project that also addresses the need or these orphans to have real jobs, supported through RCE-initiated entrepreneurial activities in that region.

The Ukrainian Orphans project mentioned in the Spring newsletter has expanded in scope!

Read the update

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Albania Conference Continues to Bear Fruit!

Inspired by the RCE Business as Mission (BAM) conference in 2005, Rich Hunter (MBA '96) and School of Global Leadership and Entrepreneurship professor Dr. Gary Roberts, in conjunction with businessman Grant Van Cleve, decided to do a similar conference in Tirana, Albania. The conference, held June 9—10, 2006, taught the fundamentals of how Biblical business principles can be applied to influence and transform society. It was natural for RCE to come alongside to sponsor and support this work.

Original Article

Grant Van Cleve recently shared some exciting news from Albania regarding momentum and relationships begun at the RCE Albania conference. "All are optimistic as we look ahead, grateful for the steps God has placed before us so far."

Read the update from Grant

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Businessmen Use Vocation to Lift the Disadvantaged and Unreached

Eight years ago, a group of Midwest businessmen and farmers with a heart to advance the Kingdom of God started an agri-business in a closed SE Asian country. Their love for the people of this nation and desire to plant genuine, life-changing businesses is helping to improve the lives of the poor, stimulate real economic development, and promote the spiritual growth of a nation. Thirty local villagers work for the company, and more than a thousand subsistence farming families now have their first cash crop, in many cases doubling their annual household income. Indirectly, 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.  RCE has developed a strategic relationship with this group and is currently exploring ways to act as a catalyst for leadership and entrepreneurship training of nationals, and to promote new business development.

Regent MBA students get behind the cause, and contribute a marketing plan.

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International Turkey Network Biannual Conference

The International Turkey Network (ITN) was founded in the early 1990’s for the purpose of networking Christian workers who are interested in reaching Turkey with the gospel.  It holds a North American conference about every two years which involves many key leaders in the efforts to reach Turkey. The 2006 meeting recently took place in Virginia Beach, and Regent University’s Center for Entrepreneurship played a valuable role in the Business as Mission portion of the conference, with Dr. John Mulford presenting. 

Read report

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Nepali Student Changing the World

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

"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.

"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 need to be successful."

Manika recently traveled to Nepal with her sponsoring executive to review together business opportunities in Nepal. She will be completing an internship in the spring before her graduation.

"I am planning to attend few trade shows during the fall of 2007 and am hopeful to build some good relationships with retailers. I recently was able to work with a wonderful lady to exhibit my products in a trade show. However, my business still needs a lot of prayers as we begin to market our products in the US."

Manika's story

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Executive Roundtables Continue in 2007

RCE Executive Roundtables consist of small groups of Christian business owners, CEOs, executives and professionals with a heart for giving time and talents to improve the economic and spiritual condition of disadvantaged populations around the world. God is calling business people from around the world to Kingdom Business (KB).

Roundtable topic areas generally address RCE’s focus on research, dissemination, equipping, and facilitating, and include lively discussion and debate on current and planned initiatives, projects, and KB concepts. Students and executive project leaders also share business plan ideas and updates. Roundtables are a great way for executives to experience firsthand what RCE and its partners are doing, to share business expertise, and to get involved.
More…

Dates for 2007 Roundtables are January 17, April 18, July 18 and October 17. Please contact the Center if you are interested in participating.

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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.

More...

We welcome your comments to RCE posts and your interaction with our bloggers!

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RCE/NPIM Advance Kingdom Business Through Curricula Study

RCE has just completed 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.

Full story

RCE organized focus group meetings with the program’s students, alumni, founder and CEO, board members, administrators and instructors. Results of the study were positive, and details are being shared with NPIM. RCE is considering a strategic partnership with NPIM in the area of training and development of kingdom entrepreneurs.

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RCE Equipping Others Through Research, Workshops and Website Resources

RCE Study Undertaken for India Conference

Drs. John Mulford and Jeremiah Koshal are working on a paper for the International Conference on Integrating Spirituality and Organizational Leadership. The paper is entitled: The Role of Major Religions in Economic Development: A Comparative and Exploratory Study. The February 2007 conference in Delhi, India is organized jointly by the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, and the School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Regent University.

RCE Enables Entrepreneurs

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.

BAM Resources Available on RCE Website

Available on the website are three case studies relating to actual kingdom entrepreneurship ventures in the Middle East and Asia.  People in these areas, as everywhere, are very interested in improving their economic circumstances and welcome those who genuinely seek to help them.  Though the traditional missionary model is not feasible in these parts of the world, kingdom entrepreneurs--genuinely seeking to improve conditions for those they serve--have an opportunity to make an economic, social and spiritual difference.

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.

Small Business Symposium a Resounding Success

Last Spring, RCE collaborated with Regent Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to present a symposium titled “Starting, Funding, and Expanding Your Business.” The half-day symposium held at Regent University was a response to President George W. Bush’s Faith-Based and Community Organization Initiative, and over 100 aspiring business owners attended. 

Full story

Another SBA symposium and other events are being considered for 2007. Keep watching our calendar for more details!

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SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise)

Update from Managing Directors Lindsay Hartline and Bob Van Hees

The Regent University Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team, a 2006 US Regional SIFE Champion, is poised to accomplish great things in the numerous projects that have been selected for this year. Following the Christmas break, Regent SIFE will host “Duel in the Colonies”, a personal financial case study competition between six universities from around the region. Another project, the Ukraine Orphan/Homeschool Initiative, involves converting existing entrepreneurship curriculum into a computer based training format.

SIFE’s Biz4Kids project will be expanded this year to encompass a new aspect known as Edible Schoolyard.  Using food as a unifying concept to teach small business principles, SIFE will lead students through the process of growing their own vegetables in a garden on the school’s campus, and teach them effective ways of how to distribute and sell their own product.  Connections with Norfolk High Schools have been established and the curriculum is already in progress! 

These and several other projects are merely the beginning to a great year in SIFE.  We’re excited to see where God will lead the team this year and look forward to the many lives that will be impacted through these opportunities!

More about SIFE at Regent

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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” and "Stewards" 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 make an initial investment of $5,000 toward the work of RCE, Stewards contrubute $1,000.

Thank you for prayerfully considering a contribution of any amount to the Regent Center for Entrepreneurship!

I want to make an impact through RCE...

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Merry Christmas from all of us
here at the Center!