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.
“It’s easy to talk about Christ with people because I am already involved in their lives. This business has opened many doors for me.”
Adem was a successful employee in an agricultural feed business run by Matthew, a Frontiers worker in Central Asia. Adem had helped the business expand, and it now served several hundred Muslim families who were learning how to operate their own small-scale farms.
Adem also loved Jesus, and he eagerly took the opportunities that his work afforded him to share the Gospel with the vast numbers of people he came into contact with.
But then, God instructed Adem in a dream to leave it all. God told him to move to a town in the north of the country—a region that was unengaged by the Gospel and predominantly Muslim.
Adem was hesitant, and rightfully so. Even though he and the people of this region had the same nationality, they were quite different culturally. On top of that, Adem didn’t want to leave such a good job in the fast-growing feed business.
But God’s instruction was clear, so Adem set off into the unknown. He arrived with no connections, no place to live, no work, and little money. Adem struggled to find a suitable job—one that provided both the income and the freedom to strategically reach those who had never heard the Gospel.
Nevertheless, Adem faithfully began planting the seeds of the Gospel with whomever he could.
More than a year later, Matthew decided to expand the feed business. A new office was opened just an hour away from Adem’s new town. In spite of the long commute, Adem resumed employment with the company. As he expected, the job was perfect—providing him necessary income while also giving him access to those who needed to hear about Jesus.
Eventually, Adem was able to eventually buy some land where he started his own small farm and a feed mill. He became the company’s first distributor, supplying fresh products to the local shops while building up the feed business.
Furthermore, as his network and influence expanded, Adem’s reputation as a respected businessman grew in the town and region.
Several families have since been trained by Adem to set up their own farms. Adem works closely with each family, fostering a sense of partnership with them and coaching them as their businesses grow. Simultaneously, opportunities to invest spiritually in peoples’ lives have multiplied.
“It’s easier to talk about Christ now that I am a businessman,” Adem says. “It has opened many doors for me because people respect me. They trust me. I find it is easy to start talking about spiritual things with people because I am already involved in their lives.”
Adem has several new believers he is discipling, teaching, and equipping to obey Jesus’ commands. Under Matthew’s mentorship and encouragement, Adem has grown into a spiritually sensitive entrepreneur, constantly looking for new opportunities to grow the business and also expand the Kingdom.
Many Frontiers workers, like Matthew, support local economies through viable businesses, while also providing opportunities for believers to broadly share the Gospel.
When asked why he endures the hardships of living on the field in difficult places like Central Asia, Matthew responds, “The reason is this: to work alongside committed people like Adem, and to see how effective they are at sharing the Good News to their own people.”
**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.**
Original article: www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/business-as-mission-to-the-unengaged
