The business of transformation

Beginning with her first business in 1996, Jo (Singapore) committed to using her entrepreneurial skills to further God’s Kingdom. Since then, she’s started five different companies to bring physical and spiritual transformation to both her employees and those impacted by her businesses.

Jo didn’t always understand the connection between business and missions. When she first joined OM in South Asia, she considered abandoning her entrepreneurial dreams for Bible college. “Back then, business as missions was very unheard of,” she explained. Instead, she stayed in South Asia, slowly recognising how her business acumen could serve God and the women she came to love.

Jo began employing single mothers, allowing them to bring their children to work or leave early to pick them up from school. By accommodating their needs as caregivers, Jo provided the women opportunity to get back on their feet. Fifteen years later, she employed nearly 30 women through multiple businesses.

Eventually, Jo relocated to another country in South Asia. There, God again allowed Jo to start a business to serve others.

In her new city, Jo joined a church whose pastor had a heart for vulnerable and trafficked women. Like in many urban contexts, the Red Light district was a place where women desperately needed to experience God’s love. Many women working in the sex industry wanted to leave but were unable to get out. Their families back home were often too ashamed to allow them to return, and most did not have an education or any skills training to help them find work. One by one, Jo began employing women from the Red Light district, allowing them to choose a new path for their lives.

“When we share about Christ with them, about how He loves them and forgives them, it is a very natural healing process for them,” Jo said. It may take time for them to accept that Jesus is the only God, but “it is quite a natural process for them to hear about Jesus and to then respond to Him.”

Jo’s faith has grown as she has witnessed the transformation that God’s love can bring. “We hope that the business we have built can be passed on—even to the women’s children whom we have also helped,” she said. “That they can grow up to be the next leaders and that we could see more women rescued and redeemed.”

Could you offer your skills to help further God’s Kingdom in a part of the world where His love is not yet known? We’d love to help you find your place in God’s mission to His world. Contact us at uk.om.org/talk-to-amission-coach