The Marketplace Magazine September/October 2021

September-October 2021

Where Christian faith gets down to business

Faith & Business in the Classroom

Collaborative MBA, Marketplace Ministry programs Dear White Peacemakers Marketing Ukrainian honey Reasons to join MEDA in Atlanta this November MEDA aims to shift power to Global South

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The Marketplace September October 2021

Roadside stand

MEDA appoints regional director based in Kenya A visible sign of efforts being made in MEDA’s goal to achieve balance between the Global North and the Global South is being seen in hiring this summer.

Helal Ahsan-Ul-Haque is MEDA’s new regional director for the East, Southern and Central Africa region. He works out of a MEDA office in Nairobi, Kenya, one of the most senior positions at MEDA to ever be based outside of North America.

Helal recently served as country director for Helal Ahsan-Ul-Haque MEDA’s Jordan Valley Links project. He was instrumental leadership closer to our partners in leading the team to success and clients in a way that is aligned in increasing the contribution with MEDA’s new strategic of Jordanian women and youth direction, Towards an Equal World, to Jordan’s economic growth by the announcement read. improving their entrepreneurial Further evidence of MEDA’s and business acumen and reducing commitment to drawing key staff barriers to market entry. from the regions where it works He has a 30-year career in the comes in a posting for a fulldevelopment sector, holding senior time, permanent finance manager roles in designing, planning and position based in one of MEDA’s leading large-scale development African offices in Kenya, Ghana, projects in Asia and Africa. Just or Senegal. Finance managers before joining MEDA, Helal served provide oversight and financial four years in Ethiopia as Chief management for field operations. of Party for CARE. Helal holds a master’s degree in International Personality transplant needed? and Intercultural Management.

MEDA is far from the only voice In announcing Helal’s working at addressing North-South appointment, MEDA noted his issues or thinking about needed regional experience in Ethiopia. changes.

“We believe this decision will In a TEDX talk from Accra, Ghasupport the growth and developna entitled “What’s International ment of a strong portfolio of development got to do with it?,” projects in the region over the next Amma Gyampo argues that the infive years and it places regional dustry needs a personality transplant. She suggests international development is ripe for disruption, Follow The Marketplace on with a focus on indigenous knowTwitter @MarketplaceMEDA ledge from indigenous people.

The Marketplace September October 2021

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With a gender funding gap currently at $42 billion, social investment partners and development agencies need to rethink their approaches in Africa in order to close this gap and achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, she says.

Weaving a way to financial wholeness Seattle-based entrepreneur Jeremy Showalter sees a business opportunity in helping people save together.

Showalter, a MEDA board member, and two investor friends are launching a service called Weave Savings. (Read about it on pg. 15.) The concept, inspired in part by savings and loans groups used in several MEDA projects, seems to be at odds with the current North America culture.

Not so, Showalter says.

Younger people are showing openness to connections that were once common, but may have skipped a generation, he said.

Even in the US, one of the most individualistic cultures in the world, “there are communities that are already doing” savings groups, he said.

Dear White Peacemakers Author Osheta Moore, whose book dear white peacemakers is excerpted on pages 9-10, is a voice who deserves thoughtful consideration. You can hear her in person at MEDA’s November convention in Atlanta.

One of the things that makes Moore’s reflections on the challenging subject of anti-racism so refreshing is the way she recognizes and affirms the dignity of all as beloved people created in God’s image, without minimizing the work white people need to do to bring about justice for all.

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In this issue

Ray Dirks photo

Features

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Towards greater equality in development programs

MEDA works to give greater voice to partners in the Global South

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Approaching difficult conversations with grit and grace Author and pastor Osheta Moore takes a balanced approach to anti-racism work.

In an excerpt from her book Dear White Peacemakers, she explains why.

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Sweetening the chances of success MEDA project helps Ukrainian “Honey Brothers” prepare to export

The Honey Brothers

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Faith, ethics and a business degree Mennonite colleges work together on collaborative MBA

Departments 22 Roadside stand 24 Soul enterprise 19 Soundbites 22 Books in brief

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The Marketplace SeptemberOctober October 2021 The Marketplace September

Soul Enterp prise

Living in the NOW despite the In-Between

By Greg Leith

The global COVID pandemic is winding down.

It’s been quite a ride of upheaval and change mixed with some fear. It used to be that masks were worn only by doctors and nurses and bank robbers, but now we all have a supply of masks in our cars. People have died in record numbers. Some business models are flailing while other business models are flourishing. You’ve likely been at home more than out and about.

Your office is still a bit empty.

Cultural anthropologists tell us we live in a place of “liminality”.

The word liminality comes from the Latin word, threshold or limin.

For us it means we can’t totally go back to pre-COVID times, but we don’t know what the future holds either. We’re living in the inbetween space.

Yet, we can’t live like the fog will never lift. God was not surprised by COVID-19. He is still wanting us to live with hope and trust in his purposes and plans and love for us and for all the people of planet Earth. Former USA Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger said, “The historic challenge for leaders is to manage the crisis while building the future.” Leaders must The Marketplace September October 2021

Ray Dirks photo illustration

“We should do things today that will leave a strong legacy. A legacy of someone who lived for God and loved people.”

move from inward hand-wringing and present-day stats-gazing to outward-focused market planning.

It’s time to move away from contingency-paralyzed wondering to hopeful scenario planning. It’s time to re-imagine your business model, not just hope it goes back to the way it was.

If you’re a follower of Jesus, you live in-between another couple of places in history. You live inbetween the cross of Christ and the coming of Christ. The cross gave you a chance at forgiveness, 4

and the future coming of Christ gives you the hope of a home in heaven. Most of us pretty much live like we will be on earth forever and never die, yet history is clear on the stats. Everyone, in all of history, has died! Well, there is one exception. Jesus Christ holds the distinction of being the only one who beat death and rose from the dead. He inspired some followers of his to write down life principles that show us how to live in the here and now while keeping eternity in mind.

What does this have to do with leadership? Well actually, a lot.

While we’re busy re-inventing our firm, we should be living like our time at the helm of our firm is not permanent. We should do things today that will leave a strong legacy. A legacy of someone who lived for God and loved people.

Some plans and dreams on our corporate to-do list ought to be accelerated into the here and now.

We might treat people like we would treat them if we knew that they, or we, had 24 hours to live. We might worry just a bit less about profit and give out

more bonus money to our team members. We might be offended less by others. We might give out more compliments. We might find out when our team member’s birthday or anniversary is and give them a generous amount of money to go out to dinner. We might take that longer vacation. We might hug our family more and look them in the eyes and say a heartfelt “I love you.” We might go home early and play catch with our kids or walk in the park, or just listen and not tell.

We might be less angry with nonperformance. We might apologize for

hurting someone. We might resolve that unresolved conflict from months ago. We might be sure that there is no question that we are followers of Christ so that no neighbor or employee or co-worker at our funeral is surprised we were a Christian.

Tim McGraw sings a powerful song that helps us push eject from fog-enshrouded living. It’s called, Live Like You Were Dying. In the song, after the doctor gives out the bad news about cancer, Tim reminds us we should all love deeper, speak sweeter, become better friends, give forgiveness

Harvest Prayer

we’ve been denying, go sky-diving and go Rocky Mountain climbing.

Why not take just four minutes now, look up the song and reflect on the message.

How about you? What if you knew you had just three months to live? How might you live like you were dying? It’s time to live well in the in-between.

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Greg Leith lives in California. He is the CEO of Convene (www.convenenow.com), an organization that helps Christian business owners do business with excellence on a Biblical platform. His career spans over 40 years of senior leadership roles in corporate, non-profit and academic sectors.

Volume 51, Issue 5 September October 2021

Creator and provider of the harvest, thank you for the food produced by the land.

Thank you for the richness of the soil that nourishes plants.

Thank you for the work of those who till the ground. For those who plant, tend to, and gather in the crops that we far too often take for granted.

Thank you for the rains that sustain plants and trees. Forgive us for any actions we have taken that harm the access of others to the water that they need.

Guide us towards restorative actions.

Open our hearts to respond to the needs of those whose lives are harmed by too much or too little water.

Be with those suffering losses due to drought in some areas, and floods in others.

Help government leaders to rule wisely and justly in their responses to those whose harvests fail due to no fault of their own.

Bless the farmers who grow our fruits, grains, and vegetables. Watch over those who catch seafood, tend to poultry and livestock.

As we give our thanks, inspire us to live lives where good intentions go beyond words and prayers.

Give us a sense of contentment, of enough, and a willingness to gratefully share, both in times of abundance and of want.

Help us to see how we can contribute to a harvest of justice, of opportunity for the less-fortunate and marginalized.

Instill in us the wisdom to use our life experience, our purchasing decisions and donations in ways that contribute to healing and wholeness for people near and far who struggle in ways we fail to appreciate.

Instill in us the grace to understand that land, like anything else we temporarily possess, is not something to be owned, but rather a trust to be stewarded.

Help us find ways to nurture and sustain instead of degrading the goodness of creation.

Amen.

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The Marketplace (ISSN 321-330) is published bi-monthly by Mennonite Economic Development Associates at 532 North Oliver Road, Newton, KS 67114. Periodicals postage paid at Newton, KS 67114.

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The Marketplace September October 2021

Creating North-South balance MEDA aims to involve the Global South by empowering local partners and clients Balancing the current North-South power imbalance is a key principle that guides MEDA’s new strategic plan.

This includes creating grassroots projects and shifting to increased local decision making.

The move means more independence for local partners and clients. The benefits of this important work will be revealed overtime as the plan enfolds.

“We need to change as a sector, as MEDA and be deliberate about it,” says Dr. Dorothy Nyambi, MEDA’s President and CEO. “The North-South shift is about respect — respecting all voices and opinions, especially those on the ground who have the best solutions for their problems.”

“One of the steps will be finding new connections and partnerships,” adds Mike Miller, senior director of resource development. “We need to reach out to the people who share our common origins and ancestry in North America.

MEDA can do this.”

Miller also believes that the power to decide will eventually lead to more local funding too.

“It’s inevitable,” he says.

“And we want to be intentional about it.”

Dr. Dorothy Nyambi “A prerequisite for an She wants to ensure that MEDA effective shift is for MEDA to have takes the steps to be ready so that the right policies and procedures,” the country directors are working Nyambi says. “We want to share within the protections and parapower and that means shared meters to which everyone agrees, accountability.”

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and time is taken so they are set up to succeed. Nyambi believes MEDA needs to preserve the quality of its work, maintain its professionalism, and affirm its brand.

During this journey, MEDA will be thoughtful in its planning to provide the tools required in a professional manner.

“The funding architecture also needs to shift,” Nyambi says. “It can happen organically or iteratively through small changes. When these opportunities come, we must embrace them.”

She also wants to tap the grassroots and their ability to design their own projects. Given that the majority of MEDA’s funding comes from institutional donors, Nyambi knows MEDA cannot do this alone.

Government funding Mike Miller comes with strings.

Nyambi and Miller know that with its private individual and there is a delicate effort to foundation donors to shift project harmonize agendas. funding dynamics in current “When we accept government fundraising practices as well. investment, we are careful to focus While working with women, on meeting its aims, while proving youth and other marginalized our concept and bringing other people has always been important agencies along,” she explains. to MEDA, its new strategic plan is “It’s a very competitive funding even more explicit about ensuring environment across North America, their voices are truly heard and no Europe and Australia. When we one is left behind. succeed, we have an opportunity For Nyambi this translates to to act differently by being inclusive respect for all voices. and respecting a diversity of “We also need to alter how voices (from the Global South) in we design projects and how we determining what we do.” communicate and define who are Co-operation Canada, which is our partners,” Nyambi says. “We the advocacy agency for Canadian need to open up space for partners organizations doing long-term in the Global South to be vocal and international development and active participants in designing and humanitarian assistance work, implementing the projects. Only is pressuring government to then will our efforts be authentic.” reconsider and change how Nyambi knows this is not easy projects are funded.” and will take time to allow people It’s also happening in the to trust the process. Once partners United States through organizations trust our intentions in the Global such as Humentum and interNorth, we authentically demonstrate action and BOND in the United we are ‘listening and hearing,’ the Kingdom. MEDA is working power shift can be more stable and 7

long-lasting, she said.

“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” Nyambi said. “As MEDA pursues longer-term plans, we maintain the short-term wins but eventually we hit our stride and with time shared accountability becomes the norm.”

As a result, MEDA’s country strategies are evolving to conform to the new plan. The organization is fully aware of international development norms that can create roadblocks but hopes to overcome these challenges. Institutional donors invest within a framework and MEDA becomes accountable to certain defined goals.

“This dynamic can distract us from achieving progress,” Nyambi says. “It’s a mistake for international development organizations, MEDA included, to close their eyes and ears to clients to placate donors.”

One hopeful sign for the sector and MEDA recently, is billionaire Mackenzie Scott (ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos) who is committed to investing more along these lines.

“Philanthropists can be convinced,” according to Nyambi.

“The no-strings-attached approach of leaders like Mackenzie Scott will allow many charities in both the global north and south to build sustainable programs for decades to come.”

Nyambi is also quick to add that accountability is still the foundation of any relationship.

However, Canada’s accountability laws for charities are woefully out-of-date. Written in the years following WWII, the rules for direction and control of charitable The Marketplace September October 2021

projects means trust becomes harder to achieve and a culture of ‘saviorism’ perpetuated.

She hopes that Canadian politicians of all stripes can find a common purpose around this and change it for the better as soon as possible with the ongoing push from the Global South to ‘decolonize’ international development.

Nyambi also assumes that MEDA can and should broaden its donor base beyond its current pool to include donors from the Global South.

“Our strategy affects every MEDA department, office and project,” Nyambi says. “Our resource development team needs to grow our donor base in the North with diversity and inclusion in mind and also engage with supporters from the South too.”

Nyambi also notes the marketing and communications team will be busy reinforcing our brand and telling our story, aligned with our strategy. The finance and legal team will prepare and place the controls, checks and balances that are needed so that partners in the Global South can be

both more independent and more accountable.

Nyambi emphasizes that transparency is key because regardless of origin, North or South, everyone at MEDA is committed to good stewardship of funds.

MEDA’s people and culture team will build an inspiring global workplace. These leaders will weave MEDA’s values into all its activities and create the conditions to pursue MEDA’s mission and realize its vision.

The programs team will design, execute, and evaluate our field initiatives to confirm they meet our new strategy. The innovation and impact department ensure that data is shared, so clients understand and know how they can use the data and information obtained to continuously learn, improve, and make decisions.

MEDA’s technical specialists in impact investment, inclusive financial services, environment and climate change, gender equality and social inclusion, and market systems

Comments Would you like to comment on anything in this magazine, or on any other matters relating to business and faith?

Send your thoughts to mstrathdee@meda.org

The Marketplace September October 2021

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will learn, share, and continue to be guardians of our expertise.

“Our expertise has a global ethos,” Nyambi says. “We will begin the tough but vital powersharing cconversationss and open up the dialogue for better and stronger solutions to emerge.”

MEDA’s journey also involves its board, ensuring that the trustees are fully informed as they embrace the strategy. The board will also continue to manage risk to achieve the desired results within an evolving culture that is inclusive, acceptable, and reflective of where MEDA is going.

As MEDA pursues this strategy, it will take everyone to reflect on what this means for them as individuals in order to embrace the North-South shift, she said.

“This shift will create locally driven outcomes, building trust through open ears and open hands,” she said.

For Nyambi, this is the best way to live out MEDA’s core value of respect.

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A balanced approach to dismantling racism Pastor calls people to follow Jesus’ example in anti-racism peacemaking Osheta Moore is a writer, pastor, speaker, and podcaster in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She will be one of the keynote speakers at MEDA’s annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia in November. The following is an excerpt from her book: dear white peacemakers: Dismantling Racism with Grit and Grace.

I’ve spent the last decade calling in the peacemakers to view their peacemaking in light of the Hebraic concept of shalom.

I define it as God’s dream for the world as it should be, nothing missing, nothing broken, everything made whole. Because shalom is God’s dream and God is love, our shalom practices must be rooted in love.

Therefore, I’ve invited peacemakers to resist peacekeeping that is rooted in anxiety and to choose peacemaking out of a posture of love.

When love enters the equation, everything changes. We begin to ask ourselves what Osheta Moore we’re for instead of what we’re against.

We stop seeing other people as enemies. We let empathy tenderize our hearts. Our skin gets clearer, our hair gets shinier, and the Nobel Peace Prize committee comes knocking at our door. Okay, well maybe not those last three — I’m

still waiting on all that.

But from my experience, if I do not have love, if it’s not the foundation on which I build my peacemaking practice, then I’m in grave danger.

This book you’re holding in your hands is incredibly personal; 9

I wrote it from my core conviction that peacemaking is partnering with God to create shalom and that the greatest calling for peacemakers in this moment is to practice anti-racism.

I am anti-racist because I want to actively dismantle ideas, thoughts, beliefs and actions that say White people are superior to people of color and our ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions. This belief is called white supremacy, and it’s dangerous not just to me, but to you as well, White Peacemaker.

I am a peacemaker because I want to embody these three paradigm-shifting teachings from Jesus: 1. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).

Peacemaking requires me to be my full, whole self. Shalom is God’s dream for me to be transformed by his love so that all aspects of myself, even myself in this Brown body, can flourish.

My thoughts, my heart, my experiences, my perspective as a Black woman can be used to proclaim the love of God, but first peace and the making of it begins within. It begins with me dismantling any internalized racism — the sense that I am not good enough because I am not White.

It begins with me looking at myself in the mirror as a Black woman and saying, “God did not make a mistake when he made you The Marketplace September October 2021

Black. Your Blackness is a gift from a God who loves you and desires to reveal more of himself to the world through you.”

2. “Love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 39) My core dignity as a human is restored first by fully loving myself because God loved us first, and then from that overflow being able to truly, wholeheartedly love you, my White neighbor. This is why I’ve decided to treat you, White Peacemaker, just as Beloved as I treat myself.

I want to create an environment where we can make peace together. This common bond of unity based on our love makes our peacemaking spectacular because we are becoming the Beloved Community in this world so influenced by white supremacy that our cross-cultural relationships are often expected to be dotted with vitriol and mistrust.

3. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28) This third way of approaching an enemy, someone who is just beyond my empathy, is a way that rejects passivity and violence. It requires courage to maintain my dignity and call it out in someone whom I want to humiliate.

When White people do something that enacts harm on me and reveals how influenced by white supremacy they are, I will choose to love them. Love will look like addressing their actions, holding them accountable, and expecting change.

Love may also look like praying for them, encouraging them to do better, and setting healthy boundaries while they are still in-process around race and justice. Peace and the making of The Marketplace September October 2021

it transform the way I think of enemies, from monsters to fellow wounded humans trying to make their way in a dangerous world.

An anti-racism peacemaker, then, is a person who actively works toward a holistic restoration

“As a person devoted to understanding why Jesus was so obsessed with the kingdom of God, it only makes sense that I would want to find some way to map kingdom ethics onto our current call to become anti-racists.”

of the interpersonal and systemic effects of white supremacy through nonviolence and empathy. It’s a way of doing this work that holds in tension systemic change and relational unity — grit and grace.

I lean into Angela Duckworth’s work that describes grit as “passion and perseverance for very longterm goals.” Grace is both a posture and a promise to seek to understand and choose to love — even if it is costly.

We’ll talk more about how this third-way approach is necessary and how the current anti-racism frameworks don’t always make room for this tension.

This book is an invitation to approach your anti-racism work in a way that follows Jesus, Prince of Peace, man acquainted with sorrows, flipper of tables, and King of kings, who overcame sin and death on the cross not by power-over dominion but by power-under love.

As a person devoted to understanding why Jesus was so obsessed with the kingdom of God, it only makes sense that I would want to find some way to map kingdom ethics onto our current call to become anti-racists.

Jesus lived, taught and modeled the way of his kingdom.

He began his ministry proclaiming, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15).

This was good news indeed — the peacemaking kingdom had come and Jesus was preparing to teach us how to live its countercultural ways.

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Excerpted from dear White Peacemakers: Dismantling Racism with Grit and Grace by Osheta Moore. ©2021 Herald Press. Used with permission. www.heraldpress.com.

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Bringing Ukraine’s sweetest nectars to the world “Honey Brothers” prepare to tackle export markets Ukraine is one of the main producers of honey in Europe. Around 1.5 per cent of Ukraine’s population, over 660,000 people, is engaged in various forms of beekeeping, according to the United Nations.

A 2020 study suggested that Ukraine is the number one honey producer in Europe and 8th largest producer in the world, generally producing 65,000 to 75,000 tons

per year.

But many people have neither the skills nor the connections to grow their backyard hives into commercially viable businesses. MEDA is helping beekeepers gain the knowledge and connections they need.

With assistance from MEDA’s Ukraine Horticulture Business Development Project (UHBDP), three brothers have turned a niche

operation into a profitable venture that is eyeing international markets. UHBDP is a $14.1 million US project funded by Global Affairs Canada and donations from MEDA supporters.

In 2015, Dmytro Kushnir, Yuriy Yanyshyn and Yevhen Yanyshyn, working independently, began packing honey in jars.

The following summer, they

Assistance from a MEDA project has helped the 'Honey Brothers' prepare to sell their product internationally 11

The Marketplace September October 2021

began working seriously to helped them to frame the develop a business. They Honey Brothers online quickly realized that just presence, to identify a target selling honey would not audience, create a unique be enough. In Ukraine, selling proposition, analyse honey is sold at markets, in competitors and set goals. unregulated trading, through Dmytro is now sharing acquaintances. the knowledge he has The Honey Brothers is a family business that involves several Small honey producers, gained through webinars generations. such as the brothers-beeand conferences sponsored certification. keepers, simply hand over honey to

by MEDA’s UHBDP project.

This funding helped to purchasing agents or sell it in jars Sales have been growing by partially solve the problem of at the market without any label.

15 per cent a year, as the brothers insufficient automation, to reduce Accordingly, it is almost impossible find new markets through superthe time for responses to customer to trace and control its quality. markets, corporate gifts, and their requests and improved control over The Honey Brothers needed to own website. The company now product quality. increase sales and profit so they sells honey from apiaries in six “All honey of the 'Honey Brothcould invest in production facilities. different areas of Ukraine. ers' trademark is made exclusively To sell to retail chains, let alone They currently produce in our own apiaries; we do not buy export, they needed to produce between 15 and 20 tons of honey or resell honey from other beelarger volumes and to be able to per year, production varying based keepers,” Dmytro says. “Our honey confirm product origin and quality. on temperature conditions. is a product that has its own face, The small production autoDmytro is chairman of the roots and history. Our apiaries are mation will allow producers to Honey Brothers, looking after located in unique areas possessing offer larger volumes with full strategic planning, development, their own exceptional climatic, confirmation of origin and quality. and partnerships. Kateryna, cultural and historical features.”

Through attending UHBDP Dmytro’s wife, is responsible for UHBDP assistance also helped training, Dmytro learned about product sales. Yuriy is a major the brothers to obtain quality a grant program for producers’ beekeeper with 10 years of professional information from support. Receiving a grant allowed experience. Yevhen, the youngest Israeli specialists about psychology them to expand production brother, is a creative link in the and business analysis. facilities, automate the production team. He designs labels, flyers, and Another training course process, and prepare for presentations.

Their brand philosophy promotes the areas where the honey is grown. Each type of honey, taken only from their own apiaries, emphasizes the magnificence and Marketing of different types of honey there are no two identical honeys,” their the unique diversity of Ukraine. includes language similar to what you website states.

After completing registration of may hear people use when discussing “We use the original French cheese or wine. professional method of tasting honey the name “Honey of Zakapattya” (a Wikipedia suggests that “Highas a wine to tell you about all the flavors province in southwestern Ukraine), quality honey can be distinguished by that honey can have.” they hope to begin exporting over fragrance, taste, and consistency.”

Product features including shades of the coming year.

The Honey Brothers website speaks aroma and taste, as well as “gastronomic “Online trading missions are of “unique terroirs and hard-working bees recommendations for combining honey the future prospect,” Dmytro said. that create distinctive taste palettes.” with other dishes or products” are reflected Terroir is a French term describing in tasting sheets on their web site.

“Honey is one of the products how a particular region’s climate, soils and Honey Brothers products offer a in which the Japanese market is aspect (terrain) affect a product’s taste. variety of taste combinations that may very interested, but only in highThe Honey brothers note that not be familiar to Western honey buyers. quality honey. During the mission, flowers, grasses, the amount of One variety contains black pepper. we gained new contacts and got precipitation and soil specifics create the Another contains poppy seeds, another understanding of which direction uniqueness of honey in a region. “There flower pollen, and yet another hot to choose.” are no two identical terroirs as well as pepper.

Taste of honey varies by region

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Rising together in Atlanta Rising Together is the theme of all aspects of work, with to bring economic MEDA’s 2021 convention, which success defined based on opportunities to will be held November 4-7 in local context. people in need. FCS Atlanta, Georgia.

• Partnership for has been partnering Dave Hataj, president and system level impact: with underowner of Edgerton Gears, a Pursuing and creating resourced Atlanta Wisconsin-based custom gear opportunities which neighborhoods for manufacturer, will be the Thursday contribute to the long40 years. evening plenary speaker. Hataj is term strategy goal.

• A food walk the author of the book, Good Work: Convention tour through How blue collar business can change attendees will have Grant Park will lives, communities, and the world. several opportunities to explore one of Other keynote speakers at the experience local history, Atlanta’s oldest Glen Guyton convention include pastor Osheta culture, and cuisine. neighborhoods.

Moore and Glen Guyton, • A city tour will Attendees will visit three locally executive director of provide an up-close owned food shops and learn Mennonite Church USA. look at civil rights more about southern cuisine from Moore’s most recent monuments like the people who operate these book is dear White the Martin Luther restaurants.

Peacemakers (see excerpt King Jr. National • Food lovers will also enjoy pp. 9-10). Her Saturday Historical site, the Friday evening dine-around evening session will explore passing by the where people can choose from a how a commitment to World of Coca-Cola range of area restaurants. peacemaking requires white Museum and CentenA Friday afternoon MEDA people to step out of their nial Olympic Park. pitch competition will see young comfort and privilege and • An Atlanta entrepreneurs with an impactful into the work of anti-racism. Osheta Moore history tour of the agri-food innovation that aligns Guyton (whose latest book, Old Fourth Ward neighborhood will with MEDA’s values competing for reawakened, is reviewed on page tell the story of Martin Luther King a $10,000 grand prize. The runner22) will give a Sunday morning Jr., with an in-depth look at the up will receive a $5,000 prize. message on the topic Rise to your people and locations that inspired Seminars will cover a wide Feet: Be Transformed. him. The Ebenezer Baptist Church range of topics related to faith MEDA staff will provide a Friand the King Centre will provide an & business, business issues, day lunch panel on the topic Toopportunity to learn about the civil professional development, and wards an Equal World: Vision 2030. rights movement. international development.

The session will explore three • An exploration of FCS Two seminars of note include principles that guide MEDA’s work: (Focused Community Strategies) sessions by MEDA staff on: • Agri-food market Atlanta will include • leading your team through systems: Focusing stops at three local the pandemic and beyond, MEDA’s efforts on businesses — the • The story of Karak Star, a specific agri-food Carver Market Jordanian firm that is taking an market systems in the Neighborhood innovative approach to recycling plastic. The firm’s process Global South. grocery store, creates a cheaper, carbon-reduced • North-South Community Grounds synthetic fuel, while building a equilibrium: MEDA coffee shop, and network of women entrepreneurs commits to shared the Bearing Bike who work as collectors and sellers voice and power for Shop. All of these Dave Hataj of waste plastic. all stakeholders in firms were created

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The Marketplace September October 2021

Ohio group covers a lot of territory in telling the MEDA story This is the fourth in a series of stories about MEDA hubs across North America. The hubs, more than a dozen volunteer-led groups, organize events and activities to build awareness about MEDA’s work creating business solutions to poverty, to network and to hear people share stories about faith, work and entrepreneurship as a calling.

MEDA supporters in Ohio may hold the record for the most meetings organized by a group.

For many years, their monthly meetings, held from May through September, were held in two different counties, on consecutive days.

Dallas Steiner, who is completing nine years on MEDA’s international board this fall, tried to attend all those monthly sessions in Wayne and Holmes counties.

Steiner has been involved with the Ohio hub for at least 15 years and has served as chair for more than a decade.

Dan Miller, a retired medical doctor who was also involved in a family hospitality business, says the Ohio gatherings date back to the late 1970s or early 1980s. “A number of us were really impressed with the mission of MEDA.” The group originally tried to get congregations acquainted with MEDA’s business approach to alleviating poverty, by speaking in as many area churches as possible.

Over the years, events have included speakers over a meal or tours, including at least three visits a year to a farm or industrial business. “It could be on any activity,” Steiner said.

Most sessions involved discussion of integration of faith and The Marketplace September October 2021

Ohio MEDA supporters tour Tilmor, a division of Venture Products, in May. Tilmor manufactures agricultural equipment to meet the needs of small, diversified vegetable growers and organic farmers. Roy Steiner (centre, facing camera) tells the group about a rice huller and peanut sheller that he is designing for small-scale farmers around the world.

business. The tagline for the group’s monthly newsletter described their events as providing “personal stories of weaving faith, family and career into one’s life journey.”

“We just tried to make subjects that were really relevant to the day, of the day.”

Many spring events have featured a dinner with speakers from MEDA. The hub has about 150 supporters in both Wayne and Holmes counties, plus a few from other areas, he said.

Over the years, the Ohio group has raised funds for MEDA projects in Nicaragua, Peru, Zambia, Ghana, Kenya, Myanmar, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Dallas Steiner Attending 14

MEDA’s annual convention and taking trips greatly strengthened the group, Miller said. He fondly recalls a trip to East Africa in 1995, and other trips to Central America, Ethiopia, and Egypt to see MEDA projects.

Recently, the Ohio group’s efforts have focused on bringing supporters to a single location, which varies according to the event.

A lunch event in May attracted more than 40 people. Upcoming events include a discussion group, a visit to a startup business and a small business panel.

Other members of the Ohio executive include Keith Hostetler, MEDA staffer Bethany Nussbaum, Kirsten Detweiler, David Lehman, and Mike Gerber.

Steiner hopes the group will schedule more informal, outdoor events in 2022. This would allow families to bring their children along.

Family-oriented pizza nights are a better way of engaging younger supporters than traditional sit-down banquets, he said.

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A low-tech idea meets fintech Seattle entrepreneur adapts savings groups to the digital age Jeremy Showalter has long been intrigued by the power of people pooling funds together in savings groups.

Tens of millions of people in more than 70 countries take part in these groups. They have long been an important development tool promoted by charities such as Hope International and MEDA. Showalter saw firsthand how saving together could be helpful. Several generations of his family set up a group through an Indiana credit union in the early 2000s. The group lasted Jeremy Showalter for more than a decade and “was incredibly helpful for of information storage. all (of) our lives,” he recalls.

Showalter and two friends have In 2008, he began talking with named their venture 3Locks. The friends about starting a company to name refers to the three locks that promote such groups. He pitched are used on savings boxes in village the concept at a MEDA convention, savings and loans programs. Showalbut the idea never got traction. ter, a MEDA board member, saw Showalter is a tech industry these while visiting the Jordan Valveteran who worked with Microsoft ley Links MEDA project in early 2019. in a variety of roles for more Weave savings is the product than 13 years. He became CEO 3Locks is developing to support of Vietnam-based Pique, a firm savings groups. that provides artificial intelligence The Weave name could be powered product and content seen as a reference to Ecclesiastes recommendations, in late 2019.

4:12. That Bible passage states Pique, which grew to 25 that “a cord of three strands is not million users, was acquired by easily broken.”

Vietnamese e-wallet company Showalter admits that this MoMo in June.

Biblical principle underlines what Since Showalter first imagined he hopes Weave can help do. launching a business around But he points to Isaiah 61, a savings groups, advances in section of scripture that Jesus is technology have made his idea quoted reading in the synagogue more feasible. Smartphones now (in Luke 4). The passage predicts allow widespread connections. good news for the oppressed. These Cloud computing reduces the cost people will rebuild and renew their 15

situations, he noted.

Savings groups are about relational capital, what they enable for the communities that form them, he said.

He hopes savings groups can reduce the economic oppression that exists through payday loans and title loans (where people get cash advances by putting their car or house up as collateral).

These loans generate $12 billion in fees annually in the US. Human isolation, lack of trust, pride, and shame lead people to turn to these expensive lenders, he said.

Weave is not about fancy ways to move money. The product is just a method of enabling groups to form, regardless of where members are located, he said.

Like other fintech firms, it will not actually handle money, but will partner with financial institutions “to enable services others haven’t done well.”

A business model for Weave arrived last year. Andrew Cho, one of Showalter’s co-founders, was looking for a way to support his employees. The product will make money in the business-to-business marketplace, with a “freemium” version available for individuals.

Showalter thinks it will be useful for non-profits and faithbased communities as well.

“Hopefully we’ve seen in the past couple of years (that) more relationships is what we need.”

Weave will have a beta (test) product available this fall, he said.

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The Marketplace September October 2021

Business studies beyond the bottom line Mennonite schools collaborate on MBA program

By Melodie M. Davis Economic concerns bogged Long before the pandemic forced folks down: weren’t Mennonite learning to go online, several schools already competing for Mennonite universities and students? Which school would colleges pooled their resources get to “claim” the students? How to offer a mostly virtual graduate would revenue from the program business degree. be divided?

The collaborative Master of In the fall of 2012, businessman Business Administration degree Jim Smucker (then of eastern program includes four schools.

Pennsylvania), took a sabbatical.

Ohio’s Bluffton University, He moved to Harrisonburg to work Manitoba’s Canadian Mennonite on making the collaborative dream University (CMU), Virginia’s a reality — a nine-month gestation.

Eastern Mennonite University, and “Jim had the gifts to break the Indiana’s Goshen College partner stalemates and labored through in the effort. meetings to iron out a schedule These schools offer undergraduate business degree programs with a variety of specializations. Students who complete other undergraduate degree programs can go on to earn a master’s in business — often while holding down fulltime jobs. Andrew Miller, a faculty member at Eastern Mennonite, was installed last fall as director of the program.

The idea for doing something cooperatively was nurtured at MEDA’s annual convention, says former program director George Lehman. Various business department professors and staff began discussing the idea of collaborating to offer an MBA in the early 2000s.

There was a great deal of interest kindled each year, but initially, the idea never Michelle Horning took off.

The Marketplace September October 2021

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to help the idea come to life,” Lehman said.

Michelle Horning leads Goshen College’s collaborative MBA efforts. “If we tried to have a successful MBA program as individual schools, we wouldn’t have the expertise represented that we currently have in the bigger program,” she said.

Horning had seen that schools were already maxed out on teaching loads for professors. “It is hard to imagine how we could have added an MBA on our own and made it financially.”

As the schools began talking about how to pool the resources of the various Mennonite schools, they asked themselves big questions: “Do we have a shared vision? Does the world really need another MBA program?” Horning recalls.

They agreed if they launched it they wanted a rigorous program, but “something a little different.” The collaborators decided to focus on “the common good.”

Craig Martin, who chairs CMU’s Redekop School of Business, says the cooperative focuses on people, profits, and planet — not just the bottom line.

“We stress: don’t burn out your people, treat God’s creation well, and still try to be profitable,” he said.

CMU handles all the registration of students who are not from North America.

Immigration laws are more liberal in Canada and make enrollment possible for them.

Participants do not have to be Christian and have included those who are atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, and other faiths. “Students need to be sympathetic to the underlying basic beliefs of our program to treat people fairly, preserve the planet, and appreciate the fundamental goal of being profitable,” he said.

People who want to work on New York’s Wall Street or Toronto’s Bay Street financial district may wish to choose a different school’s program, he said. “But there is a set of Jonathan Andreas students out there looking for a ‘common good’ orientation “serial entrepreneur” parents. He for their advanced business started working at age six. degree.”

“I did chores around the store Before the pandemic, the — which is not that different from program featured an especially the average farm kid working from strong draw for participants. There a young age.” was a nine-day international Jonathan Andreas is the component where cohorts of Bluffton University students travelled to learn about business chair and businesses in a culture other than became director of their own. About 25 percent of the MBA program at students participate from countries Bluffton in January other than the U.S. and Canada.

2021. He teaches Martin grew up in a home with a core economic class, Managerial Economics. He does something that is a little “weird,” using the Free Market Fundamentalism textbook by (awardwinning free market economist) Milton Friedman (and others).

The book emphasizes that Craig Martin

“the moral responsibility of a business is profit for shareholders,” says Andreas.

At first glance this seems to contradict the three goals of the collaborative MBA program. Students sometimes ask why he uses that textbook.

“I think it is useful to critique free market fundamentalism,” Andreas says. “Plus, the book looks at the fundamentals, which actually helps in teaching economics.”

“The work world has become more and more managed, and filled with those who believe profit is everything,” he said.

“Managers who only care about the me and not the we are being selfish.” The collaborative MBA program, with its church affiliation, attracts people who look for a bigger purpose.

Students are buying that bigger purpose, and the convenience.

Sara Alvarez Waugh finished her

Sara Alvarez Waugh 17

TheMarketplace MarketplaceSeptember SeptemberOctober October2021 2021 The

MBA in April 2021 through Goshen College. Not having to move to a new town or drive 45 minutes each way to South Bend for her classes made the program attractive for her.

“Values and price also factored in,” she said. “I knew this program would emphasize values I shared and expected it would be a high-quality education.”

She also appreciated the online international experience part of the program. “The teachers Ololade Tunji-Abimbola were able to facilitate good class discussions,” she said. manager at an advertising agency.

“The program helped develop my “I was working full time and sense of leadership and will open felt I was not at my best” in that wider opportunities for my future.” competitive atmosphere.”

Ololade Tunji-Abimbola is a What she likes most about the student from Lagos, Nigeria, where collaborative MBA program is “the she worked as a senior media emphasis on the common good.”

The Marketplace September October 2021

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As a Christian, TunjiAbimbola says the program and interaction with classmates in her cohort “made me feel like I am not alone in the struggle to find a balance in the workplace.”

She hopes that in the future, the scope of the classes and teaching materials will include more case studies from Africa.

“Most of the case studies were focused on North America, Europe, and Asia.”

Bluffton’s Andreas is delighted with the number of international students enrolled in the program.

Discussions are enlarged with students from other countries, he said. “They don’t have the tribalism that is sometimes present in North America and offer other perspectives.”

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Soundbites

The changing face of trucking in the US More and more of America’s truck drivers are wearing turbans, as a growing community of Punjabiborn drivers, the majority of whom are Sikhs, play an increasingly outsize role in one of America’s fastest-growing industries, Religion News Service reports.

As many as 270,000 of the 800,000 Sikhs in the United States are either directly involved in trucking or in supporting industries, RNS notes. “The trucking industry has attracted generations of Americans because it offers good salaries and essentially allows drivers to be their own bosses. Now, a growing community of Sikhs are joining the industry — in part because of the autonomy it gives them to follow religious traditions.”

Sikhs have long been involved in trucking in India and translated their experience to the American road when, in the 1980s, many Sikhs fled persecution in India for safety in the United States and Canada.

One former driver said many Sikhs see truck driving as a short-term opportunity to make cash toward launching a second business, in trucking or an aligned industry, even agriculture.

This cultural shift is sparking a boom in businesses that meet the needs of this driving group.

Vegetarian and Punjabi restaurants are appearing across the nation “to service Sikh drivers’ ethical practices and culinary tastes.”

the hapless Netflix folks had thought were private messages on the Slack messaging app.

Reed Hastings, Netflix’s co-CEO, is committed to public candor, telling his workers to only say something about someone to their face.

Sounds a lot like Jesus’ words in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 18, verse 15, where he suggests that if someone offends you, you take the matter up with them privately.

Not always easy in some work environments, and it may depend on a manager’s openness to suggestion.

Remote or relocate?

Many employees are in no hurry to return to their former offices; a Fortune magazine article suggests.

As many as 42 per cent of people who are currently working remotely say that if their company doesn’t keep offering remote options, they will look for a job that does, a Prudential financial survey found.

Forrester research predicts that 70 per cent of US companies will move

to a “work-from-anywhere” model allowing at least some workers to spend two days a week working wherever they want, Fast Company magazine reports.

But they miss their commute People who have been working from home are feeling uneasy for reasons they can’t quite name, according to “Admit It, You Miss your Commute” in The Atlantic magazine.

Once ranked the most miserable part of a worker’s day, the commute is being re-assessed, and missed by some.

Twenty years ago, researchers at UC Davis found that the ideal commute time was seen to be 16 minutes. Some respondents to their study wanted an even longer time, for decompression, listening to music or audiobooks.

In some cases, not having the routine tasks associated with a commute has lessened rather than increased people’s productivity.

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Griping is a firing offence at Netflix Complaining about co-workers or bosses can be bad for your health, and your employment status.

Several marketing executives at Netflix found that out the hard way. They were sacked after higher-ups became aware of what 19

The Marketplace September October 2021

Acknowledging service in work and life Manitoba's Steinbach Bible College offers Marketplace & Ministry courses for students, community Terry Kaufman worked in his family’s lumber business for a decade.

Then he served as a pastor for almost 17 years.

Now he is drawing on the experiences of both of those careers.

As head of Steinbach Bible College’s Marketplace & Ministry leadership program, he is helping students and seasoned entrepreneurs alike connect their vocation with their Christian faith.

The need for the program is rooted in two realities. Three-quarters of the college’s graduates do not end up working as pastors or in any other form of vocational ministry.

At the same time, “as the capital C Church, we’ve done a horrible job of training business leaders to be ministers in their work,” he said.

“There doesn’t seem to be much of this kind of thing (faith and business integration) around (at other colleges),” he said.

In an article written for In Touch, SBC’s bi-annual newsletter, Kaufman wrote: “Our less than robust picture of Marketplace ministry requires that we need to increase our attention …(to) ‘works of service.’

“The works of service that build up the body of Christ are not found only within the walls of the local church, they can also be found behind the sales counter, in the board rooms, in the carpenter’s The Marketplace September October 2021

or mechanic’s shops, in the sales offices of marketplaces and in professional environments.”

In 1978, Kaufman joined a family lumber yard that his father had started 14 years earlier. That business eventually became a HomeAll Building Centre, (now Home Building Centres), part of the Home Hardware co-operative of over 1,000 independently owned stores.

He later did a master’s degree in theology and went on to serve as a pastor at Emmanuel Evangelical Free Church in Steinbach.

Kaufman currently works part time as a leadership catalyst for the Evangelical Free Church, and half time at the college.

Steinbach is an ideal location for the Marketplace and Ministry leadership program, given that many businesses in southeast Manitoba are operated by people of faith, he said.

The program aims to provide students with “an understanding of the biblical value of work, a Christian worldview to anchor them, and insight to know how to use such a worldview in an effective way in their vocational environment.”

SBC offers both a two-year Marketplace Ministry diploma and a three year Marketplace Ministry degree.

Each winter, Kaufman teaches a class called Introduction to the 20

Marketplace. He hopes all SBC students will have access to this class “so they can be challenged about the ministry aspect of whatever career.”

He also teaches a four-session, evening Business as a Mission class that is open to people from the community and beyond. Last winter, that class had to be done online because of the pandemic.

Thirty six people took part, most of whom were not SBC students. Twelve people, friends from the same Mennonite church in Mexico, got together to join the class. “I think it’s a fabulous model, and it isn’t something that I had planned,” he said.

Kenny Peters, who works with orchards in Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua, Mexico, was one of those participants.

Peters took the course “because I have always believed that my workplace should be more than just business. Although I believed this, I have always struggled to incorporate mission with business.

“This course taught me how to incorporate these two, and I especially was challenged to focus on my relationships with my clients. A huge part of business as mission, I learned, was to really focus on establishing a deeper relationship with the people you come in contact with at work.”

Tannis Nickel, a registered

photo courtesy Steinbach Bible College

Terry Kaufman

nurse and director of care at Steinbach’s Rest Haven Care Home, said the course provided an experience that “was both positive and rewarding.”

“I gained insight to the importance of a strong mission statement not only in your workplace and as a business leader but as a member of the community and follower of God,” she said.

“In order to fully look at business as mission this must include the way that I act, my attitude in what I do, and who I am accountable to, is all to honor God.” Devyn Bartel, a young financial advisor in Steinbach, enrolled because he had been battling with incorporating his faith into his professional life. He “wanted to see various strategies on how Christ’s love could be shown through a profession.”

Bartel says the class gave him tools and scriptural reminders

to address concerns regarding ethical issues that could arise in the workplace. “It gave me a sense of peace of mind knowing that anywhere can be a mission field, even if you are not directly working in a ministerial role.”

Terry Wiebe, a former trucking company owner who has operated a Steinbach garden centre with family for the past 20 years, learned about the course from a young man he is mentoring.

“As the capital C church, we’ve done a horrible job of training business leaders to be ministers in their work.”

“I found the information in the course all-encompassing and practical for living in the marketplace,” he said. “The ethics of operating a business with Christian ethics versus world ethics I found particularly relevant.

Although my life experience is huge, I learned new things and was never bored.”

Future classes will be hybrid, with some asynchronous portions — recorded lectures and materials that students can access at their own pace.

Kaufman is starting conversations with other schools about work-integrated learning possibilities and sector councils that focus on areas that include construction, agriculture, and biotech.

Other goals for the program include building partnerships with area entrepreneurs for internships.

“That is very much a piece of the puzzle moving forward.”

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The Marketplace September October 2021

Books in brief

Poorly conceived development To Be An Entrepreneur. Social Enterprise and disruptive development in Bangladesh. By Julia Qermezi Huang (Cornell University Press, 2020 298 pages, $28.95 US) To Be an Entrepreneur is an important, though academic, read.

Both fascinating and disturbing, it is a cautionary tale on how not to do international development.

While recognizing that people need and want work, the book is critical of exploitative “poverty capitalism” outlined through the experiences of young women.

The iAgent program was a market-driven development model created by a Bangladeshi nongovernmental organization. The name of the organization, and the people whose stories are told in the book, are not disclosed.

Young women were recruited to work as information agents, travelling by bicycle to call on marginalized rural villagers. Their tools included internet-enabled laptops, digital medical equipment, and multimedia content on a dizzying array of topics.

They offered mobile phone and internet access, public health services and agricultural information, as well as accompanying products. Their modest training ill-prepared them for clients who weren’t clear about their multiple, sometimes conflicting, roles.

In 2013, over 100 women signed up for the program. They were to charge a small fee for each service, thereby earning income to support themselves and their families.

But the work was at odds with “acceptable” conduct for women. Many people were used to receiving services for free and took advantage without paying.

The Marketplace September October 2021

Risks were not shared. Many participants were harassed by strangers and criticized by family.

Agents were told their equipment was being paid for by the group that hired them. They later had to take out expensive loans from a commercial bank.

They thought they were getting salaried jobs but found their commissions were often not enough to service the loans.

Development interventions, Huang concludes, “need to spend time understanding what is or could be meaningful, dignified work that is recognized as contributing to the community.”

A roadmap to renewed relevance reawakened. Activate your congregation to spark lasting change By Glen Guyton (Herald Press, 2021 221 pages, $16.99 US) Guyton, executive director of Mennonite Church USA, is a trailblazer. The first African American to head up the largest Mennonite denomination in the US, he is also likely the first military veteran to lead an historic peace church.

With reawakened, he provides a welcome tonic that should spark much reflection in congregations across North America, regardless of the church’s denominational label.

He documents why churches are no longer as relevant to many 22

people’s lives as they once were. The key to renewed relevance is not nostalgia for the mythical “good old days,” but rather understanding and addressing the current issues of their community, he writes.

Guyton suggests eight key characteristics that a church needs to demonstrate in order to be “activated.”

These include understanding its identity in the community; practicing mission-focused spirituality; working intentionally at discipleship and faith formation; relating to a (culturally) diverse Christian community; and developing strategic community partnerships that foster “health, hope and healing.”

Living out a holistic witness in its context; practicing and teaching sound stewardship principles; and having a long-term plan for leadership development are also key, he says.

Guyton provides practical suggestions in how to meet each of the challenges he poses.

Well-researched and persuasively argued, each chapter contains questions for reflection.

Those questions and a resource for further exploration of the issues raised make the book an ideal candidate for group study.

Glen Guyton will be a keynote speaker at MEDA’s annual convention in Atlanta in November.

Books in brief Exploring giving as a spiritual discipline Growing a generous church. A year in the life of Peach Blossom Church By Lori Guenther Reesor (Selfpublished, 2021. 220 pages, $25.20 CDN plus shipping, available through Winnipeg’s Common Word bookstore https://www.commonword.ca or www.lgreesor.com ) Stories can be incredibly powerful teaching tools. Nowhere is this truer than when it comes to tackling taboo subjects such as money and giving.

In Growing a generous church, Guenther Reesor artfully weaves Christian theology, church best practices and believable stories of people’s questions, hopes and fears into the tale of the fictional Peach Blossom Church.

Peach Blossom is a small

congregation that isn’t sure they can afford a full-time pastor when a longtime leader retires. But they hire one anyways, giving their new shepherd the mandate of helping them talk about money and generosity.

The author’s life journey gives her a unique perspective. A math graduate who did marketing analysis with World Vision, she later served as a pastor.

Her Doctor of Ministry research, which included interviewing donors at churches across Canada, inspired a book that should be required reading for congregations large or small.

During monthly meetings of the Big Hearts Breakfast Club, Peach Blossom members discuss gratitude,

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how they learned about giving, fear, tithing, and why churches need to treat supporters like horses, not cows.

They discuss ways of making it easier for younger attenders to give, plus the importance of regularly talking about money and providing proper thank yous to donors.

Some of the ideas the church agrees to are controversial. Bringing pastors into the circle of confidence around individual giving patterns is something that many pastors aren’t even comfortable with, despite studies demonstrating that giving is stronger in churches where the leader is so informed.

Growing a generous church is a welcome gift to communities of faith.

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The Marketplace September October 2021

The Marketplace September October 2021

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