SfK Ministries: Newsletter

SfK Newsletter Vol. 2017-06
June 7, 2017

And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
(Acts 17:25)

Muslim village transformed through prayer, Christian business people and owls
The following article is an excerpt from the personal blog of Mats Tunehag with permission.

It was warm and humid. One may say almost too hot for a Swede. But the story that emerged was more than cool.

I listened to the mayor of a small Muslim village. We sat outside his house, drank tea and nibbled on fruit, nuts and sweets. He was enthusiastic and composed. As a devout Muslim he had come to appreciate Christian business people in a way that surprised him. There is a long and sometimes violent history of severe distrust and tension between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia.

The village used to be quite poor. Rats ate 40 percent of the crops every year. These creatures also spread disease. Collaboration for irrigation was non-existent. There was a lack of entrepreneurial spirit and seemingly no-one thought about praying for a difference.

To read more, CLICK HERE.

Mats Tunehag is speaker, writer and consultant from Sweden and has worked in about half the countries of the world. For the last 20 years he has had a special focus on developing the Business as Mission, BAM. In 2002 he initiated and co-led the first global think tank on BAM, which produced the Lausanne Paper on BAM as well as the BAM Manifesto (2004). In 2011 he and Mrs Jo Plummer developed another much bigger global think tank on Business as Mission with over 30 national, regional and international working groups. Tunehag is a senior leader on Business as Mission in both the Lausanne Movement and World Evangelical Alliance, and he lectures globally on Business as Mission.

The following article is the second in the series of excerpts from The Missional Entrepreneur by Mark Russell.

Partnering with the Creator
Excerpt from The Missional Entrepreneur by Mark Russell

One of the most notable things about the Genesis creation account, seen in all of Scripture actually, is that God desires to work through humans to carry out His mission in the world. Consider the creation of human beings. God created Adam and Eve in two distinct ways: Adam from dirt and Eve from Adam’s rib. He was undoubtedly capable of creating more human beings in innumerable ways. However, instead of making human beings ad nauseum by Himself, He invited Adam, Eve, and their descendants to do so with Him. His first command was to “be fruitful and increase in number” (Genesis 1:28).

To continue reading, CLICK HERE.

MINISTRY UPDATES

Lausanne Movement and BAM Global Think Tank published the Wealth Creation Manifesto in May. Please CLICK HERE to review it.
SfK Board Meeting was held in Los Angeles on May 13, 2017. All board members were present from six different time zones. The board held a productive discussion and made important decisions, including approval of Vision 2020 and our 4-year strategic plan.
World Mission University BAM Class - Jeffrey together with three guest speakers (Tom Phillips, Mark Russell, Brian Chun) led a class titled "Principles and Practices of BAM" at World Mission University in Los Angeles from May 8 - 19, 2017. A total 10 undergraduate and graduate students participated in the class. Participants have given great feedback with many saying their perspective on business has fundamentally changed. Praise the Lord!
SfK Ministries has two important investments currently underway.

UPCOMING EVENTS & PRAYER REQUESTS

IBA Leaders Forum (June 19-21) and IBA Conference BAM Prism (June 23,24) - IBA is a representative platform for BAM in Korea, playing an active role in mobilizing and training Korean BAM practitioners. Jeffrey will be a keynote speaker on Innovative Finance to Help the Socially Disadvantaged at both events. Please pray that the gatherings will inspire and motivate many people.
SfK Korea will hold its first board meeting on August 3. Please pray that this board meeting will lay the necessary foundation for future ministries.
Transformational Business Network (TBN) of Asia will hold its annual conference in Jakarta, Indonesia during September 14-16, 2017. SfK Ministries will be participating in reviewing business plan proposals from impact entrepreneurs. Please pray that all participants will experience God's presence and witness His power. Also pray that important contacts will develop for SfK Ministries to establish presence in Indonesia, a predominantly Islamic nation.
BAM Conference in Dallas in September 15-17, 2017. - BAM Global will hold its annual conference this year in Dallas. This insightful conference will challenge you to reconsider the role a business can play and how you can help redeem business as mission. To learn more about the conference and register, please go to: http://bamconference.com/. Please pray that more people of God will respond positively to the call for business as mission.
SfK MBA (Missional Business Academy) Chiang Mai 2017 - SfK Ministries will hold its missional business academy in Chiang Mai, Thailand during September 18-27, 2017. This intensive practical training about BAM will equip participants to better understand what BAM is and to prepare and present actual missional business plans. SfK Ministries plans to hold this MBA annually in Chiang Mai. This year's training will be conducted in Korean. A Business Plan Contest will also be implemented. Please send your inquiry to info@sfklife.org to learn more about this training. Please pray that this first event of the planned annual training program in Chiang Mai will be well prepared and produce a significant impact in all participants.
SfK MBA Kigali 2 will take place in Kigali, Rwanda from October 28-November 10, 2017. This MBA will be held for missional business entrepreneurs from Kigali Diocese of Rwanda Anglican Church. The training will be conducted in English, but the trained participants should be able to train the next generation participants in Kinyarwanda. Please pray the preparations are thoroughly adequate to train a significant number of trainers to lead and equip Rwandan business people in Kinyarwanda.
Seeking Kingdom Fellows - SfK Ministries continue seeking Kingdom Fellows who have been blessed with knowledge and skills in accounting, who may lead our efforts in establishing Shared Accounting Services. Please pray that the Lord will send someone in His time.
We also continue seeking Kingdom Fellows to help us with Resource Development in the following regions: Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver, Atlanta and Memphis/Birmingham. God has sent Kaye Min to SfK Ministries who will cover New York and New Jersey Regions. Praise the Lord! Please keep praying for other regions also to be covered.