Note: From What Are You Doing about It? (Wipf & Stock 2022). Reprinted by permission of the publisher. Citations have been omitted.
I have spent a lot of my life trying to help people take their faith to work. But I have always been concerned about those who could say to me, “David, I would love to do that but I have no work to take my faith to.” Most faith at work organizations like to focus on business and professional workers, “white collar” folk. Blue collar folk in manufacturing, service jobs, volunteer or unsalaried work (like parenting!) – these workers don’t get nearly as much attention. And least of all are those without work or in between jobs. This is maybe the hardest work of all: looking for work! Stressful, discouraging, disappointing. Some workers have jobs that are terrible but they are stuck.
Despite the harsh and sweeping judgments made by some, the unemployed are rarely lazy and never without some kind of work skill at some level. Many in our churches and neighborhoods want to work but don’t know how to find a job or turn their skills into paid work. But our churches are full of other folk who do know how to train workers and how to turn skills into a small business. What a ministry, what a mission this could be – to help the unemployed and underemployed find decent work. Following Jesus doesn’t just mean helping the rich and successful to do better, it is also (and I think mostly) about helping the downtrodden get on their feet, not just spiritually but economically. Christians, tragically, are every bit as partisan and divided when it comes to politics as the world around us. But when it comes to work and jobs, conservative, liberal and nonpolitical Christians all agree that jobs and work are important, even a commission from God. I wish we Christians could talk much less about politics and instead join together to help create good work in our communities.
When I arrived at Gordon-Conwell in fall 2010 I was already thinking about trying to do something about small business entrepreneurship. Within a month I found myself sitting next to Larry Ward, pastor of Abundant Life Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at an advisory council meeting for our urban campus in Roxbury. As we went around the room and introduced ourselves, Larry mentioned his work mentoring young men and teaching them basic entrepreneurship so they would imagine and pursue something more constructive than selling drugs on the street corner. After the meeting we began our lifetime friendship and partnership. The Kern Family Foundation provided us a grant to pay (1) tuition for fifteen students enrolled in our new co-taught GCTS course “Entrepreneurship in Church and Community,” (2) a modest stipend for Larry’s co-teaching with me, (3) business start-up grants of $500 for each of our fifteen wannabe entrepreneurs, and (4) a celebratory lunch together for the thirty-two participants (mentors plus entrepreneurs and professors) at the end of the course. Our funding was renewable for three years. Gordon-Conwell approved our course proposal.
The first thing we did was recruit our fifteen students – some came from the current GCTS urban student body but others were local pastors and lay leaders. All of them were going to learn how to coach a wannabe entrepreneur from their congregation or surrounding community. Their first assignment was to find a good prospect and get them to accompany them to our Saturday morning class for the next nine weeks. We created a simple application form they could use for their prospects and a list of “Characteristics of High Potential Entrepreneurs.” From week two onward we had thirty people in class each week – fifteen coach/entrepreneur pairs. Larry and I always began with a workplace-oriented devotional out of Scripture and then a prayer. Then over the next weeks we taught the basics of starting a small business, always with an exciting biblical/theological foundation. Honestly, it often felt like church. Many of our entrepreneurs had never been around people who believed in them and their potential before. Starting a business with a coach/mentor/partner is infinitely better and more promising than doing it all alone. Being part of a cohort of fellow entrepreneurs once a week is hugely encouraging. Praying together and not just going for it ‘secular-style” makes a big difference.
We had our students read The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make A Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future (New York: Crown, 2012) by Chris Guillebeau, a secular best-seller but in harmony with biblical values and full of amazing true stories. I pointed out to our entrepreneurs that they “won the lottery” because they would get a grant of $500, not just $100. Larry and I created our own material rather than rely on one of the “Start Your Own Business” manuals available in bookstores. We also had several guest speakers who were experts in setting up good financial systems (Jackie Cooper), marketing (Catherine Blake), legal matters and permits (Betsy Cowan), e-mail and web sites, and other aspects of small business.
Once we had our mentors and prospects in class the first big topic was “what business should I start?” We taught them to find the intersection of (1) their own skills and abilities, (2) where there was or could be a market, and (3) God’s mission and values. Lots of businesses could be imagined that only satisfied one or two of those criteria but we insisted on all three and helped them learn how to figure out each of the three. The next big step was to draft an overall start-up business plan for the first six months or so. What’s the name of the business, specific tasks, equipment needed, advertising, due dates, costs…all the basics but on two pages or so.
Third, a bank account and accounting system needed to be put in place. We insisted that when we gave them the grant they had to have a dedicated business bank account and couldn’t just mix business and personal funds. My brilliant GCTS student Devon McCarley already had an MBA and worked part-time for a local bank. She got her bank to agree to open accounts for each of our entrepreneurs and she personally helped each one do it. Fourth, everyone needed a marketing plan, advertising, and a mailing/distribution list of potential customers. Fifth, everyone needed a web site and the ability create newsletters, posters and business communications. Sixth, everyone needed help with any permits or business licenses required by the city and the particular industry. Finally, we helped our entrepreneurs plan out their approach to personnel: things like an advisory council, board of directors, job descriptions and worker evaluations if and when any of these became appropriate. The entrepreneurs had to meet with their coaches outside of class each week and prepare some short reports on all of these topics.
When the business plan and budget were tweaked, strengthened and approved by Larry or me, we transferred the $500 grant to their business bank account. After a two-week break for them to work on their business we schedule two Saturdays of “Launch Day” – complete with room decorations and refreshments. Each entrepreneur (not their coach) had twelve minutes to present and promote their new business to the rest of the class – and all the other invited guests they wished – as though we were prospective customers they were selling. Even if, for example, it was a women’s hair or cosmetics business or a music studio, sell us, we said, on sending our women friends or musician friends their way. Many of our entrepreneurs had never before in their life stood up in front of a group and spoken. They answered a few questions from the “prospective customers” and received rousing applause at the end. It was incredible. We ran the course on Saturday mornings in the Spring Quarter after Easter so the weather was good and they could launch at the beginning of summer. Three months later we reconvened over lunch and Larry and I gave out two $500 awards to the (at that point) most successful start-ups.
Larry and I ran the course three years in a row from 2013–2015. Seven years out now, of our forty-five start-ups, my rough estimate is that ten developed into durable, successful businesses, twenty are functioning but are not yet strong enough to support the entrepreneur full-time, ten of the start-ups are on hold or life support for various reasons, and about five died fairly quickly because of business permit problems (usually food related) or overly ambitious and then costly challenges. Here are twenty-three of the forty-five start-ups to give you an idea of what was accomplished:
- Devin Marks’s speaker coaching business is thriving (remember how the seeds were sown at the Faith at Work Summit).
- Christine Paige’s “Bliss Salon” (hair) in Providence, Rhode Island, is booming and expanding with several employees.
- Julie Phillips’s “Jesignz Graphix” graphic design business is booming.
- Victor Cubi turned his odd job career into a more organized, formal, profitable “Victor for Hire” landscaping and handyman business, now including some hired hands.
- Izetta Jackson, a minimum wage staff hotel worker often forced to work on Sundays and miss church, launched her own “Mama Boney by Faith Cleaning Service” where she earns a fairer wage and can control her working hours and get to church regularly.
- Eva Clark, founded “L.A.S.T.” (Love All Skin Tones) a cosmetic business about rejecting tanning and bleaching and learning to love the colors God made us in a healthy way.
- Jennifer Dhanjee developed a vocal training school, “Lift Up Your Voice.”
- Derek Canton launched “G1G” (“God is Good”) a branded/message line of clothing and wearables which won some start-up business awards.
- Daryl Best founded “Best Media,” a producer and vendor of a new photo-sharing app.
- Pamela Cazeau launched an event planning business “Expressions of You.”
- Michelle Lagene developed “Michelle Clothing and Accessories,” a Haitian import business.
- Huegens Alexis, started “1sq Inch Custom Storage Solutions,” custom cabinetry and remodeling.
- Veronique Francois turned her cooking skills into “Anointed Catering Services.”
- Walesk Dube, turned his photography talents into “M.A.D. Productions.”
- Jinie Yang, founded “Olivewood Design,” a graphic design and branding business.
- Nyjah Wyche-Alexis founded “Spa Kitchen,” non-toxic, healthy, custom-made cosmetics.
- Neal Samudre created “JesusHacks” an online discipleship training program.
- Chad Ryan started “Make It Interactive,” a board game.
- Annie Quinones founded “Real Victory Estate” to focus on university housing rentals.
- Leslie Moore created “GeoForts,” an educational game/toy.
- Ronia Stewart started “Garden of Eden” leadership and empowerment training.
- Shannon Lankford turned her hobby into “Real Life Photography.”
- Sokhan Prak entrepreneured “Straight Ahead Silkscreen” (tee shirts).
One thing was abundantly clear: our churches could (if they so decided), individually or in church-partnerships, run programs like this and have a huge grass roots impact on communities in need of good jobs. What a witness to the gospel this would be. Any takers reading this?
David Gill, executive director, The 313
