Business can be used as a great vehicle to extend the reach of the gospel. One of our church planters in an African country is working to share the gospel with an unreached people group. She has been reaching out to men in bars. While she was sharing with them and building relationships she also asked them: “What product or service would you like to have access to that you currently don’t have?
The men opened up to her and they said they were hungry. “What would you like to eat? And how much would you like to pay for it?”. They told her they like to eat “cow hoof soup”. Although she liked to cook, she had no idea how to prepare this dish. She started researching recipes and practiced cooking the food. She is selling them the soup and started her small business that can provide for her and her family.
After a while she asked if they wanted to have something else, a different product or service. They told her that they wanted to drink some juice. So off she went, she produced mango juice for them. After a while she did the same, and now she is also selling fish to them!
What can we learn from this story?
- Starting a business starts with researching your market. Talk to the community you live in or want to reach.
- Cooking was something that our church planter liked and could. It’s a great advantage if the needs of the market meet the gifts/skills of the business owner.
- Although she liked to cook, she didn’t know how to prepare the cow hoof soup. This stretched her and helped her to grow in her skills and character.
- She continually talked to her customers and learned they had more needs and wanted more products.
- She used the revenue of her business to add additional products: juice and fish. This is a vital part of the Pioneer Business Planting process. When there is a harvest, part of the harvest will be used to grow the business or start a new one.
