The new April/May issue of Brotha Online Magazine is ready and available for your exploration. My contribution to this edition is entitled, The Marketplace of Healing (I also have a special accompanying video, click here). 

I have believed for a long time that entrepreneurship education could be used as a strategic empowerment tool to lift up those in poverty-stricken communities. I'm very excited to see social entrepreneurship strategies being used all over the world to elevate people and communities out of their financial and social distress. Unfortunately, I don't often see the same entrepreneurial energy and intentionality utilized here in the United States to help those who are challenged with the lack of access to capital, resources, and tools that can help create new avenues of economic opportunity. 

Entrepreneurship education is just as valid a poverty-smashing solution in urban communities in the U.S. as they are in slums in India or villages in Africa. Even more, when entrepreneurship education is paired with Biblical principles, you have the makings of people who are not just skilled as businesspeople, they also develop the morals and character to operate a business that's profitable and positively impacts others.

Here are three practical ways entrepreneurship education can elevate economically-challenged communities:

1. Sense of Ownership: Embedded within an entrepreneurial mindset is a sense of ownership. Entrepreneurs who operate businesses within a community usually have a heightened desire to take accountability for what happens in that community, because they know they need that community to succeed if their business is going to be sustainable.
   
2. Sense of Purpose: Without a revelation of their purpose and significance, people cast off restraint and run wild (Proverbs 29:18 NIV). When people have no sense of purpose, they lose hope and stop caring about themselves and the people around them. Entrepreneurship education helps ignite the purpose in people to pursue something greater than what they may see around them everyday. Entrepreneurship education is an incredible platform to transport people from where they are in life to their God-ordained destiny.
   
3. Creative Energy: People in poverty-stricken areas don't lack creativity, they are just using their creative abilities far below the purpose for which God created them. Entrepreneurship empowerment can help people use their ingenuity for much more than just basic survival or even criminal pursuits. Creative energy that wasn't being used previously or being used for the wrong things are now channeled in a positive, beneficial direction for themselves and others. 
   

We're on a mission to stimulate the creation of 1 million jobs. If you want to learn more about how we're using entrepreneurship education to elevate urban and rural communities, check out The (Un)Employment Alternative. We're raising money right now to bring entrepreneurship education to Cedartown, GA so we can create jobs, restore hope, and revitalize that community. We need your help. Please partner with us today!

What is The (Un)Employment Alternative?
This is our ambitious plan to stimulate the creation of 1 million jobs through faith-based, purpose-centered entrepreneurship education. We are starting in Cedartown, GA. Help us today at www.theunemploymentalternative.com.

The Impact
The vision of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens of Cedartown, GA - a diverse group including pastors, entrepreneurs, social workers, and city officials - is to use entrepreneurship education as a catalyst to bring social and economic empowerment back to a region that is challenged with crime, unemployment, poverty, and lack of opportunities. They have partnered with Kingdom Business University to provide entrepreneurship classes that will restore hope, launch new businesses, create jobs, and catalyze new opportunities for the unemployed, ex-offenders, and youth who have been unable to find viable work and sustainable income sources.

What We Need & What You Get
Our goal is to raise $2500 on IndieGogo, which will pay for the first 30 participants. The more we raise the more people and can teach. Our desire is to offer this program at a minimal financial cost to the participants, although they will be asked to invest in this opportunity in other ways, such as community service. The amount will go towards:curriculum, facilities, supplies, and other related expenses. Additional funds will also be applied toward establishing a business incubator that will provide on-going support to graduates.

We have some great perks for those who contribute at the $25, $100, and $250 levels. Just look to column on the right side of this page www.theunemploymentalternative.com ▶

Other Ways You Can Help
This project is just the beginning. We aspire to help communities around this country implement their own economic recovery plan. In addition to your donations, help us spread the word. We are more than willing to come to your city, community, or church to talk about this innovative program and how we can create a customized version for your city.

Many Christians engage in business every day and don't realize the incredible opportunity they have to be a bright righteous light in the midst moral and ethical darkness. Others haven't accepted the Kingdom assignment God has given them in the marketplace, because they are too focused on just chasing dollars. Your success as a Christian entrepreneur will not be defined by your revenues. It will be defined by whether or not you complete the assignment God has given you.

I am passionate about equipping Christian entrepreneurs with a Kingdom perspective so they can thrive in the marketplace spiritually, professionally, and financially. When you understand where and why God has positioned you in the marketplace, you will be inspired and focused on seeking to accomplish your Kingdom assignment in business, knowing that God will provide everything that you need (Matthew 6:33). 

This Kingdom Business System Self-Study Course from Kingdom Business University will equip you with the mindset and skill sets to grow a B.I.G. - Bold, Innovative, God-Inspired - business that glorifies God and transforms lives, including yours! These powerful resources contain biblical teachings, practical tools, and business best practices to help position you and your business for accelerated spiritual and natural prosperity, including:
1) 5-Disc CD Set: Entrepreneurship: The (Un)Employment Alternative
2) Dream B.I.G. in 3D Life Purpose Workbook
3) Dream B.I.G. in 3D Kingdom Business Plan Workbook
4) Kingdom Business Best Practices Devotional

*Click on this store link to purchase your study course

It's time for you to achieve Kingdom success in your business far beyond what you can ask, think, or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Get the resources you need to elevate your business to a divine level!