Christian Entrepreneurship Building Your Company’s Finances on Faith and Godly Principles

By De’Borah V. Johnson

As a Christian entrepreneur, we need to integrate our faith into all aspects of our business, especially in our financial practices

Having biblical values can shape how we run and make decisions for our company. God’s word guides our choices while ensuring our practices align with Godly principles. Obedience, faith, discipline, and timing combined with administrative, operational, marketing, and financial strategies also play a big part in our business success

I’ve found that God goes to great lengths to set up systems and strategies early in the business development stage designed to help us win. He often gives us business ideas and different approaches to launch and run our business, but he leaves managing our finances up to us.

In this article, we cover practical strategies for integrating faith into our everyday business practices We discuss accounting, cash flow management, budgeting, and investing strategies (to help keep the doors open) while strategically building wealth. This article also touches on tithing and giving back to the community.

Laying the Foundation for Building Our Company’s Finances with Faith and Godly Principles at the Helm

As a Christian business owner, how we run our business should be strategically interwoven with how God wants us to represent him in the marketplace Faith inspires us, but our day-to-day actions are what causes God to respond to our acts of faith Because faith without works is dead (James 2:26), our actions show God that He can trust us with running our business. And since promotions come from the Lord (Psalm 75: 6-7), it is God who we should please and rely on for our success. We should also seek Him first (so the things we desire for our business) can be added to us according to his word (Matthew 6:33).

Faith in God, discipline, and stewardship ultimately shape how we run our business and reap its rewards. Our relationship with God reflects how we lead, manage, and treat people and how quickly we respond to God as he speaks to us throughout the day

While we operate our businesses - typically taking the lead and making decisions, surrendering to God’s voice helps us make some of the best business decisions possible. When we allow God to become the lamp unto our footsteps, he will lead us to take the proper steps for our business growth and success. Steps that lay a solid foundation while creating financial stability. Since God holds the blueprint for our company, it’s to our advantage to follow it and run it his way, not our way or in our own might Why? As it says in Psalms 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it”. According to Proverbs 14:12, “There’s a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death”. So, we may have a plan, but God has the master plan.

We can trust God to send us clients (although marketing and advertising helps too) Satisfied customers will share their experiences with others Since our “good” reputation precedes us (Proverbs 22:1), our satisfied clients will likely become repeat customers and refer others to us. Good customer service builds traction that causes our business to grow and scale, creating longevity and financial stability. (More on this below.)

How to Build Stability in Our Company’s Finances

God will lead and guide us in multiple areas based on what’s best for our business He will send us customers to keep our pipeline full, lead us to get the education and the certifications and meet the regulations needed to run our business, but he won’t manage our finances. Since we are laborers together with Christ (1 Corinthians 3:9), managing our finances is our responsibility. He is faithful to his part and expects us to be faithful to ours. Once we prove to God that we can manage what he has entrusted unto us, he’ll trust us with more (Mathews 25:23): more clients, more responsibilities, and ultimately more revenue

Practical Strategies for Financial Management

As our business grows, we should have well-maintained financial records that can serve as a barometer to measure its financial health. Financial statements are a tell-tell sign of our business’s performance. Ongoing accounting, cash flow management, budgeting, and investing techniques help manage and ultimately grow our business

Accounting and Cash Flow Management: Strong accounting practices should be established as early as possible – including keeping personal finances separate from business finances. Regularly monitoring cash flow statements helps identify potential pitfalls before they occur. It provides an opportunity to put funding strategies in place in advance. See Luke 14:28- 30, which talks about the importance of financial planning by first counting up the costs.

Budgeting: Developing a budget establishes financial boundaries and reduces overspending. Regularly reviewing budgets and variance reports lets us see if our business operates within or over budget These reports also show us where we are overspending and where to make cutbacks.

Investing: Christian business owners can use various investment strategies that generate extra revenue streams. Seeking God for wisdom and getting wise counsel from advisors can put us on the right track to wealth investment opportunities.

Tithing and Giving Back to the Community

Tithing reflects our relationship with God It is a biblical practice that reminds us to honor Him with our increase (Malachi 3:10). By tithing on our business profits, we show gratitude by acknowledging God as our source Giving back to the community is a great way to become a beacon of hope in the neighborhoods that support our business.

Conclusion

This month’s article explored how we, as Christian entrepreneurs, can integrate our faith and Godly values into all aspects of our business. It was designed to guide us in running and growing our businesses using Godly principles. To learn more ways to manage your finances, be sure to read next month’s article

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows”.

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