Businesses support the local economies in countries where Frontiers workers live. They also provide opportunities to shine the Gospel in places where there still is no witness for Christ.

Matthew’s business allows for quick connection with vast numbers of people who need to hear about Jesus. The result: doors wide open to engage Muslims with the Gospel.

Adem woke up from the dream, confused. God was prompting him to go back to his home country.

Return home? Adem wondered. Why would God want me back there?

Adem and his two sisters had come to Russia from their nearby country two years before. They had left behind a difficult life in their home country. Their father had died young. This had left the family so desperate that Adem’s mother placed him in an orphanage to ensure that he had enough to eat. She brought him home on the weekends to try to keep him connected to the family.

Adem was a teenager when one of their relatives, an aunt, came to faith in Jesus. She told the rest of the family how God had redeemed her through Jesus. Eventually, they all decided to follow Jesus, too.

Living for Jesus in their hometown—a city known for its Islamic fanaticism—was not easy. When people found out about Adem’s faith, he began receiving death threats. The family moved to the capital, where Adem got involved in a church made up of mostly Russian nationals. Adem proved to be a gifted teacher and evangelist, and he preached often in the church and went out onto the streets to tell people about Jesus. He saw several dozen of his own ethnic people came to faith, many of whom he started discipling.

But work was hard to find in the regional capital. Adem and his sisters had heard that life was easier in Russia. Eventually, they emigrated across the border, found good jobs, and one of Adem’s sisters even got married.

Then, Adem had that dream, and he knew he needed to return to his home country. Leaving behind his well-paying job and with no real plan for the future, Adem returned to Central Asia. He and his unmarried sister settled back into the capital city.

Soon after their return, Adem met Matthew, a Frontiers worker who had just begun an animal feed business. Through this business, local families were trained in how to set up and operate their own small-scale farms. The business helped them get started by providing them with a small investment of livestock and feed.

Matthew hired Adem as the company’s first national employee. He mentored Adem in business strategy and introduced him to his business model—a model focused on strengthening communities of common interest where the success of clients, employees, distributors, and suppliers is all tied together.

As Adem saw the business grow to involve several hundred Muslim families, he discovered an important Kingdom principle embedded in Matthew’s business model: the principle of influencing communities with the truth of Jesus, leading towards holistic transformation. This community-based model allowed him to quickly connect with vast numbers of people, swinging doors wide open for him to engage his people with the Gospel.

Adem’s work in Matthew’s business was a success. He was helping it grow and expand, and his favor with clients granted him access to share the Gospel with more and more families.

But then, Adem had yet another dream. God was giving him a new assignment…

**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.**