Laura Scott is the director of the Thrive School, a ministry of Christ Lutheran. She and her husband French are active members and leaders at Christ South. In this blog, they explain the idea of “Entrepreneur Ministry” that is the basis for how Christ South and Thrive School are engaging the local community. Please reach out to them for more information and for conversation!

To better understand the Entrepreneurial Church model, it is important to understand a biblical principle that I like to call “The Blessing Factor”.  This is found in the the Great Commission – where it was 1st given….Genesis 12:1-2 and the life of Abram.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless you

You will be a blessing to others

Through you all nations will be blessed

Look at this this way: A+B = C.

Fact #1: God blesses us.  God wants to bless us.  Why? Because we deserve it?  Certainly not.  He Blesses us because He wants us to be a blessing to others.  God wants us to have hearts of generosity like Him.  God blesses us beyond what we could ever imagine, let alone deserve.

Fact #2: God asks us to be a blessing to those around us.  This should be obvious, but our sinful human condition constantly pulls our hearts toward greed instead of generosity.  “Give and it shall be given to you: Good measure pressed down and running over”.  Not only does God bless us, but when we are faithful stewards of His blessing through generosity, He wants to bless us even more – so lavishly that we cannot handle it all.

Fact #3: God has a purpose – He wants to redeem for Himself all people. That is His call in our lives.  What He starts in Genesis, He finishes in Revelation.  He wants to use us, as He did Abram, to be His channel of blessing to the nations to accomplish this.  God will use His blessing and our hearts & acts of generosity intentionally or indirectly to accomplish His purpose of being a blessing to the nations.  Those that have been faithful in the little He has given; He often gives even more.

God placed a burden on Abram’s heart.  Abram trusted God and ventured out not exactly knowing where he was going.  God blessed that faith.

So how does this tie into the Entrepreneurial Model for the church? The dictionary defines an entrepreneur as “a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.”  God puts passions, dreams, ideas of the hearts of His children.  Venturing out to fulfil those God-sized visions requires faith.

However knowing that #1 - God wants to bless us, not because we deserve it or have a the best idea, or amazing business acumen; He blesses us #2 so that we can be a blessing and #3 by doing so, His blessing can reach those around us in our community and across all cultures.

The Entrepreneurial Church Model is a model that encourages those whom God has given a passion/burden to venture out in faith to fulfil that vision, not necessarily for the sake of financial wealth but in order to give back to the church and community. Thrive Day School is one such example.  Thrive started with a passion to reach children and families with special needs in the community. We knew that in order to meet the needs of these families the church would need to be creative and step out in faith in a unique way. The church took a risk and God has been faithful to bless it in many ways: from preschool and kindergarten classes, to a therapy center and, starting this fall, a home school coop. We look forward with excitement to what He has planned for this next school year.