The Five Marks of a Faith Driven Entrepreneur

— by Henry Kaestner

Faith driven entrepreneurs are an integral and critical piece of how God is working in the world. A clearer examination of the importance of faith driven entrepreneurship and the “marks” of a successful faith driven entrepreneur are critical as we look to encourage and invest in these culture-makers that God is using to renew and restore all things. A faith driven entrepreneur is an active participant in the bringing about of God's Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven.  

Transformation happens in the marketplace. It happens when we can love on our partners, vendors, customers and employees in such a way that points to a God who loves us, who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us, and who we might know, love and serve bringing joy to ourselves and others. Faith driven entrepreneurs are the co-authors of this transformation.

Grasping the importance of faith driven entrepreneurship is important everywhere, both in the the West as we see new entrepreneurial pursuits like Facebook redefine community for better or worse, but especially in emerging markets where rates of self-employment are often high and culture-making is of special significance. Creating a Godly vision for entrepreneurship can raise up a new generation of culture-makers in the marketplace in places like India where more traditional and inflexible beliefs on Christian vocation exist (e.g. a Christ-follower should go into the ministry or the academy).

Before we go into an overview of the five marks of a faith driven entrepreneur, it’s important to set a foundation. What is the mission of a faith driven entrepreneur? What is it that we do? How does what we do fit in to the larger work that God is doing in the world? Why is it important in God’s economy? Why should we examine this force at the Christian Economic Forum?

We come to understand the importance of a faith driven entrepreneurs when we examine the concepts of Imago Dei, Missio Dei and the Creation Mandate.

Imago Dei: We were created in the image of a God who:

• worked six days a week

• whose work was beautiful 

• and whose work continues to this day (John 5:17)

• we can do great things as a part of the body of Christ, and apart from Him we can do nothing of value (John 15:5)

Missio Dei: 

• Being used by God to bring about His Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven for His glory  

• Being God’s agent in working toward the restoration and redemption of all things

The Creation Mandate: 

• Be fruitful and multiply

• Take dominion over all

As faith driven entrepreneurs, we have:

• A high calling: As Christ-followers we have a special opportunity to be used by God to bring about His Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven, and,

• A different motive: From a radically transformed heart, and out of gratitude for the gift of life given us, now and eternal, we seek to bring all that we are – our gifting, our talents, our expertise – to the altar as our meaningful form of worship because we are grateful for the gift of life given us...now and eternal.

The Five Marks:

1. Identity: Who(se) the entrepreneur is. Responding with joy to the gift of life given us. Is our identity as a successful business owner? A leader of a company that is growing fast? One that closed a big funding round or was featured in a newspaper? Or, is our primary identity as a beloved child of God, unable to earn our salvation regardless of entrepreneurial success or financial gain?

2. Excellence: It’s to the degree that we do our work well that we have an opportunity to witness and be heard (Francis Schaeffer). The rest of the world, both secular and Christ-following, expects that we will be second rate. Acknowledge the headwinds created by  business owners who have used a “fish sign” to compensate for shoddy work….and push through it doing great work for the King as He uses us to bring about His Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven.

3. Stewardship vs. Ownership: Understanding the benefits and challenges that come from financial success. Think of the story of the five loaves and two fish. God can make something out of nothing, so he doesn't need my money. He just wants my heart. And too often money has a grip on my heart, so giving is a way for me to worship Him with all of my heart. Why do we give? Is it because we are grateful for the gift of life given us or something a bit more transactional?

4. Ministry in Deed: Loving our partners, vendors, customers, employees, and communities in a way that goes beyond expectations. Ministry in deed might also mean creating a product or service that is in itself redemptive or restorative looking to solve for a market deficiency. I think about the way that Grab looks to provide safety in transportation across all of Southeast Asia for instance. Ministry in deed also can mean loving on our communities in a way that is different than the rest of businesses in an industry. Example: CloudFactory’s 1,000 CSR projects in the year preceding the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.

5. Ministry in Word: With the preceding four marks in place, we have an excellent opportunity to introduce the Gospel and the reason for the Hope that we have to those in our companies and markets. Some examples include:

• The leader sharing their story including how God has worked in their lives.

• Being ready to pray with someone, in Jesus’ name, who is in crisis.

• Incorporating chaplaincy. A 24/7 resource available from a ministry professional who can be on standby for spiritual crises brought on about by sickness, death or other stresses.

Some other considerations for a faith driven entrepreneur include:

The Importance of the Spiritual Disciplines:

Practicing prayer, fasting and time in God’s Word regularly, if not daily.

“The most amazing force in the world is compound interest.” - Albert Einstein

The Importance of Being in Community:

Entrepreneurship can be a very lonely journey as evidenced by the much higher rates of mental illness from entrepreneurs (see FDE podcast with Max Anderson). 

Lessons from the Good Kings of Judah:

Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Hezekiah...we need to seek God and His will 100% of the time, not just 90% as they did. It is nearly impossible to do that without being in community.

A Right View of the Role of the Entrepreneur’s Financial Success:

If Jesus could take five loaves and two fish and feed 5,000, then He doesn’t need our financial success to bankroll the work that He is doing. He wants our hearts.

Practical Notes on Generosity:

Establish a financial finish line well in advance of financial success and then share with others so as to make it more accountable. Be ready to answer the question “Why do you give?” Is it out of gratitude for the gift given us first, and then a desire to bring all that we are to the altar as our meaningful worship second?

Willfulness vs. Faithfulness

An entrepreneur needs to be on guard about being willful vs. faithful. Example: the leaders of Bandwidth willfully looking to raise money rather than seeking God’s plan. Examples from Scripture: Saul not waiting on Samuel as opposed to Gideon waiting on God. One can be willful in activity as well as passivity. Think also of David staying behind when kings went off to war. 

Or, as Chip Ingram describes the paradigm, “striving vs contending”:

In essence, all of God’s work is going to be done in a hostile environment where the enemy seeks to thwart Kingdom advancement. Therefore, it requires energy and focus and faith to move forward. But there’s a difference between “contending” for the faith (what God has directed you to do), and “striving.” Contending means “I bring all that I am in obedience to the Lord Jesus but the outcomes are His” – it’s a position of dependency and entrusting the results, and timing, and funding etc. to Him. “Striving“  is characterized by an internal pressure that “I have to make this happen” in my energy, in the timeline I believe is necessary and, in many cases, by the means that I think is best. Contending is accompanied by peace and dependency; striving is accompanied by anxiety and pressure. 

For more information, I invite you to check out the Faith Driven Entrepreneur website (www.faithdrivenentrepreneur.org), where you’ll find out a more fleshed out look at the five marks along with a daily blog, a weekly podcast, a monthly newsletter and more that seek to equip and empower the faith driven entrepreneur

A diagram that lays it all out (thanks Jake Thomsen, partner at Sovereign’s Capital):

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