7 Powerful Ways Economic Evangelism Strategies Can Be Used to Create Sustainable Community Impact

Of the three components of the Triple Bottom Line, social impact can sometimes be the hardest to quantify and evaluate. However, some basic principles apply that will give you some guidance as to how to incorporate this area in the overall assessment of your company’s health.

The first thing to consider is similar to the maxim taught in school to all healthcare students and is a fundamental principle throughout the world, which states, “First, do no harm.” Your business should do no harm to people or the planet (environmental). As a good steward of what God has entrust you with, it definitely would not be good for your relationship with Him if you are using your business to harm people. That is why I would not consider you a Kingdom entrepreneur if you were engaged in any kind of business that is opposed to principles taught in God’s Word. If your business could somehow drive people away from Jesus rather than closer to him, you need to pray and ask God if you need to go do something different or change how you do business.

In terms of the environmental side of this, we are not just stewards of people; we are also stewards of our planet. I am not a staunch environmentalist, but I do believe we have a responsibility to do our best to take care of what God has provided to us. You should be able to determine fairly easily whether your business is violating God’s principles of taking care of the earth, especially if they have a negative impact on people’s health.

I would consider “do no harm” as a passive approach to social impact management. However, I believe Kingdom entrepreneurs can be more intentional with their businesses and resources. That’s what Business as Ministry is all about. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus clearly laid out our job description as marketplace kings and priests:
 
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
 
I use the term “economic evangelism” to represent initiatives where you take the opportunity to invest your time, thoughts, talents, and treasures in bringing spiritual, economic, and social impact to struggling people and areas. Here are a few practical ways you can activate these initiatives as a Kingdom CEO:

1. Job creation and employment: You have an opportunity to directly affect the lives of the unemployed, underemployed, and misemployed. The bigger your company grows the more people you can employ.
   
2. Vocational discipleship: Create an environment in your business that gives people the opportunity to grow professionally and spiritually.
   
3. Business development: Help those in overlooked and forgotten communities launch and grow purpose driven businesses, which positions them to abrupt generational poverty.
   
4. Economic development: Create or invest in business development initiatives that focus on promoting godly prosperity in communities rather than ones that just talk about alleviating poverty.
   
5. Community development: Collaborate with other organizations to work on projects that improve the living conditions of disenfranchised and oppressed people.
   
6. Community chaplaincy: Provide a spiritual covering by investing your time as a friend, neighbor, or mentor in economically challenged communities.
   
7. Advocacy: Protest against systems, policies, and structures that serve to keep disenfranchised people disenfranchised.
   

 
Social impact initiatives may often take a long time to reveal the results of the activities in which you choose to engage. Nevertheless, our job is to obey God and He is responsible for the results (1 Corinthians 3:6-8). If you genuinely give your best in one or more of these areas you can be confident that He will bless your efforts. Although you may not see all the results of your investments, you will be able to experience the promise of Isaiah 58.

It is far time for us tear down the kingdom of darkness and raise up the Kingdom of Light within impoverished communities. As a Kingdom CEO you are in a prime position to do so.

Learn more about Economic Evangelism at www.economicevangelism.org.
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