Missional business plays key role in Asia Faithful Witness

BY AMY BAREHAM

In sensitive locations, mission workers must have a means of forming relationships that is not associated with ministry.

That is why Will* – SIM’s point person for Business as Mission – is helping Hikari* launch an IT recruitment firm in Asia.

Hikari, his wife, and their five children recently joined the Faithful Witness team in an unreached part of the continent. Originally from Japan, they are excited to develop a start-up in their new community.

This is Faithful Witness’s first attempt at business as mission, and Will has been a valuable support for Hikari, making connections with professionals and helping him source capital.

Will explains, “First, I find out what’s in a mission worker’s heart. Then, I ask the question, ‘What is in your hand?’ I want to learn what their gifts and strengths are, and how they connect with the needs of the community.”

Hikari knows his country’s customs and is the perfect resource for local companies seeking to do business with Japan. Will says, “Japan has a huge technology industry, but also a sharp decline in population. There’s a very small labour pool and a major need for workers, which drives Hikari’s project.”

Japanese firms are creating a business hub where Hikari now lives, which gives him a great opportunity to build a client base. Of course, start-ups require significant upfront investment and Faithful Witness has contributed roughly US$39,000 to Hikari’s plan.

Will says, “Most of our businesses are small and may be able to raise start-up money from individual donors. If the project is larger, entrepreneurs may need to seek out capital from missional business groups that invest for kingdom purposes. We often see a mixture of both.”

There is a clear need for consistent financial support, so the call to give is just as pressing as the call to go.

“In business as mission, we have a quadruple bottom line,” says Will. “We want to make a spiritual impact and bring transformation to the community, but sometimes, that doesn’t happen for a while. Prior to that, we want to bring social impact by providing jobs and introducing a product or service that adds value. We don’t want to come in and be competitive or drive other businesses away. Next, there’s environmental impact, and then finally, we want to see financial impact.

“If the business isn’t viable, you won’t be able to stay in the country, so you’ll lose your ministry. But when a business is profitable, it becomes part of your testimony. It’s how you build trust with other business leaders and people.”

Pic by Annie Spratt for Unsplash

Will and his wife have visited Hikari’s family and spent a day with them. Will says, “We got a sense of what he is doing, where he lives and what his family dynamics are. That’s when we began to cultivate the recruiting idea and steered Hikari in that direction. It answered that question of, ‘What’s in your hand?’”

Although Business as Mission is still a new concept for SIM, Will is encouraged by conversations with colleagues and sending entities.

He says, “We’re learning as we go. It’s a paradigm shift for many workers and we’re helping them along, viewing business as just another tool in our toolbox to reach places where Christ is least known.”

To get involved with Faithful Witness’s Business as Mission initiatives or to find out more about this work visit www.sim.org/faithfulwitness/about.