 From the Director
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Hab 2:14
God is using the kingdom business movement to bring this prophecy to fruition. As kingdom business grows exponentially, it fills the marketplace with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. At RCE, we feel privileged to have a front row seat.
We are seeing God working at all levels of society with both large and small groups. Some programs are at the invitation of a nation’s leaders, even the Presidents, while others are begun among people with no visible connections to power. Some are presented in large auditoriums to thousands. Others start by training small groups to train others.
You will see all of these models represented in RCE’s activities described in this issue. Be encouraged. Join the Kingdom Business Movement.
Business Conference in Guatemala
March 11-12, Guatemala City
 About 1,000 pastors and business leaders received cutting edge teaching from 25 speakers in plenary and nine breakout sessions. In conjunction with the Luis Palau Festival in Guatemala City during the week of March 9, 2009, Dr. John Mulford, RCE Director, organized the first ever business conference portion of the Festival. Dr. Sergio Matviuk, Assistant Professor in the Regent School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship, presented a breakout session on Regent’s work in Peru, and Jason Benedict, RCE Strategist, participated in the breakout session on community development in Northern Guatemala (see separate article).
The teaching encouraged pastors to see their business leaders as God’s extension of the church into the marketplace. Many of the business leaders signed up for further training or activities; others volunteered to assist with a community development project or help develop a business incubator. The conference also blessed the speakers and their organizations, several of whom reported “divine connections” that will enable them to expand the impact of their ministries.
Read more…
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RCE Strategist Teaches Business in Tanzania
 Jason Benedict, RCE Strategist, taught a business seminar to over 100 people last month in Mtwara, Tanzania. At least 60% were business women.
After the seminar several people said they didn’t want to stop; people asked Benedict to come back and train them for several days. One brother said that this is what they really need. He indicated that all the church has taught them is giving and they have never been taught God’s plan for making money.
Benedict also met with two local officials who indicated their support. RCE is considering teaching Biblical Entrepreneurship (BE) curriculum in Mtwara next year.
Read Jason Benedict's blog post from Tanzania
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Bringing Transformation to a Mayan Community
 The "forgotten" region of Northern Guatemala, decimated by years of civil conflict, is often characterized by extreme poverty, lack of education, malnutrition and disease. Since 1997, Calvary International has been working in the Petén region to bring community transformation through leadership training, evangelism, church planting and by helping these communities find their own solutions in the areas of education, sanitation, health services, clean water and infrastructure development.
One area that has been missing is the area of microenterprise development. Early this year a coalition was formed between the Regent Center for Entrepreneurship, Calvary International, Church for All Nations (Colorado Springs), and American Business Leaders. They conducted a feasibility study in March to determine the viability of developing a Microfinance/ Microenterprise program in the region. Currently the group is developing an implementation timeline for creating a training initiative and beginning to assist communities in the region create savings-based microfinance programs.
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SUCCESS Center Sends Team to Moldova
 RCE’s affiliate center, the SUCCESS Center for Entrepreneurship in Ternopil Ukraine, sent a team of six to Tiraspol, Moldova last month (February 2009) to teach the Practices of Biblical Entrepreneurship course (BE II). Thirty completed the course and 10 were certified as teachers of BE.
Ivan Papish, Ternopil Center Director, is in Moldova this month teaching the third module of BE and helping the Moldovans launch BE in other cities. Papish has a vision for transforming all the nations of the former Soviet Union. He has invitations from Bulgaria and Russia. He is also partnering with RCE to develop a nationwide association of Christian business people in Ukraine.
Read more
Watch the video on the SUCCESS Center for Entrepreneurship, RCE's center in Ukraine
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Regional Entrepreneurship Conference
 RCE and Regent University hosted the Regional Entrepreneurship Conference in February, also sponsored by
SIFE* teams from St. Paul's College, Hampton University, Virginia State University, & Thomas Nelson Community College and the SBA. The conference took place Saturday, February 21 at Regent University. Benita Adams, WVEC.TV, was Mistress of Ceremonies and introduced motivational speaker, author and entrepreneur Mary Grate-Pyos. Watch Mary Grate-Pyos or see the agenda.
*SIFE—Students In Free Enterprise
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The Africa Project: Update—Burundi
 Jason Benedict, RCE Strategist, was in Burundi last month as part of his assignment in Africa. He writes, "It has been great to connect with the ICCC folks and I have been able to do some research and get a feel for the environment."
Benedict and Mulford are working on the curriculum for the first African business development center, scheduled to open in Burundi in late 2009. Mulford will report on progress to the international teaching team of ICCC at a meeting in New York City in April, where he will also be recruiting volunteer teachers to participate in the training in Burundi and eventually in other Centers worldwide.
While in Africa, Benedict was also able to record a 4 part series on God’s Purpose for Business at Heritage TV, which will reach a potential audience of 1 million people.
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Transformational Teaching
 RCE Entrepreneur-in-Residence Tom Stansbury, RCE Founder Michael McClellan and RCE Roundtable participant Jason Head have begun to meet with a group of local business leaders to go through the International Christian Chamber of Commerce’s (ICCC) Transformed Working Life series. Professional and personal growth and transformation is the goal, and leaders plan to develop a local Hampton Roads chamber of the ICCC from this core fellowship.
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Country Focus: Guatemala
from The World Fact Book
 The Mayan civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending a 36-year guerilla war, which left more than 100,000 people dead and created, by some estimates, one million refugees.
The 1996 signing of peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment, and Guatemala since then has pursued important reforms and macroeconomic stabilization. The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) entered into force in July 2006 and has since spurred increased investment in the export sector, but concerns over security, the lack of skilled workers and poor infrastructure continued to hamper foreign participation. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with more than half of the population below the national poverty line. Current environmental challenges include deforestation in the Peten rainforest, soil erosion and water pollution.
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A New Addition to the RCE Family!
RCE partner in Kenya, Dr. Jeremiah Koshal, and his wife Ruth welcomed their firstborn into the world on February 20, 2009. They named their son Osotua, which means "peace" in the Masai language.
Koshal is Founder and Managing Director of Go Africa Safaris. See their updated website!
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