Check out our most recent newsletter!
Q4 2022
Thriving Kingdom Businesses Engaging in Thriving Disciple-Making Ministry
703-652-iBAM (4226) | ibam.org
CREATING MORE DISCIPLES BY USING KINGDOM-BUILDING PRINCIPLES
When it comes to disciple-making, there are two avenues you can take. First, you can go through a conventional missionary program where a group promotes the Christian faith in another country by providing services such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and more. Second, you can go through iBAM and use our training to equip indigenous people with the tools they need to create and develop their own Kingdom business. Then, they can contribute to their society and help generate more disciples through their companies. I think both forms of missionary work are essential and needed. Some people are called to engage with a select group to teach them about God and help them transform into a disciple. Others are called to teach Kingdom business principles and assist those creating their own company from God’s worldview. But from iBAM’s perspective, developing businesses with indigenous folks who are already active in their communities will make more of an impact and increases the number of disciples. The best way to explain this perspective is by providing a couple of examples. Let’s say you are attempting to speak to a group of nonbelievers about the Christian faith. You may have little success reaching them because they don’t know you — they don’t have a relationship or a connection with you. You might be met with skepticism because the conversation may seem unnatural to them. Now, you may reach a few people who will grasp and believe your message and then share the Good News with others. But it’s challenging to communicate with others when you don’t understand their language, culture, and way of life. This is where iBAM and our students come into play.
Instead of trying to reach and connect with nonbelievers, we team up with active indigenous believers and provide them with resources to share the message of God and create more disciples through their businesses. When you go through individuals who are already believers in that community, they make more of an impact simply because they understand the culture and language of their people. They connect with them on a deeper level and meet them where they are. “But it’s challenging to communicate with others when you don’t understand their language, culture, and way of life. This is where iBAM and our students come into play.” Because non-disciples will be engaging with these businesses on a personal level, they will feel more comfortable conversing with the owners because they already know them and have a relationship with them. The business owners will not only connect with their customers and impact their lives, but they can also do it with their employees. By helping indigenous believers create their own businesses, we are helping develop more disciples because we reach them through people and companies they are comfortable and familiar with. We love our conventional missionaries and the work they do for God. They help impact and influence nonbelievers on a smaller level where individuals will find the word of God. Then, when iBAM steps in, we seek out those believers who were influenced by these missionaries and equip them with the resources they need to develop more disciples. But we would be more effective in sharing God’s message if we work together. iBAM and I implore traditional missionaries to implement our programs and training into their practices. This is a community effort, and if we were to work together, we could create more disciples than we’ve ever imagined. For more information, please visit IBAM.org to learn more about our story, mission, and vision.
-John O.
ibam.org 1
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com
WITH THE REFUGEE CRISIS CONTINUING MORE PEOPLE ARE FINDING CHRIST
On Aug. 15, 2021, Taliban fighters entered Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and overthrew the government. Today, the Taliban now has total control over the city, and more than 6 million Afghans were forced to flee their homes to seek safety. In fact, many neighboring countries are still receiving Afghanistan refugees because of the terrible attack. These countries in Central Asia were unaware of the thousands of refugees who would enter. It’s devastating that some of these places are already struggling on their own to feed and provide for their people. Now, more individuals are on the streets — starving and seeking shelter. It’s heartbreaking to hear these stories of such horrendous human suffering. Before the refugee crisis, God did something amazing in 2019. A gentleman in neighboring country named Sahid met a small number of Afghan refugees and began building relationships with them. He felt like God had called him to one family in particular. This family practiced Islam, but after engaging with Sahid and learning more about God, they converted to Christianity. Once more, refugees began entering this country, and Sahid turned to iBAM for help in 2021. He told me about his experience and how he wanted to help others find God and provide them with the resources they need to survive. So, we established a partnership with him. Within the Afghanistan culture, they are skeptical of engaging with outsiders — especially Christians. But after helping develop a small grocery business with the new believing family, they now give canned food, medical supplies, and other resources to refugee families in need, and they began to trust and engage with them.
Not only did the disciples provide others with food to eat, but they also got to share stories of how God impacted their lives for the better. These families who created businesses developed friendships and helped other refugees recognize God’s grace. Sahid then teamed up with some Christian refugees and made a refugee camp where they played games, sang songs, and served food, and some families even converted to become disciples. Who could’ve predicted, other than Christ himself, that one refugee family would turn their lives to God, then many others would join Discovery Bible studies in just a few weeks? I hear from Sahid frequently, and he gives me updates on what God is doing in his life as well as the lives of the refugee families that he gets to interact with. He told me that more and more refugee families are searching Scriptures with him and spreading the Good News to others around them. Sahid and several others now conduct Bible studies, send relief packages, and deliver resources to their neighbors. Their impact on their community shows God’s good grace and inspires and encourages others to turn to Him. It’s painful and heartbreaking to hear stories about people fearfully leaving their homes because they aren’t safe in their native lands. But receiving reports from our partner on how God is showing Himself to these refugees — and providing for them — brings me hope for the future.
There’s still more work to do and thousands of more refugees who need to be reached. If you want to help, go to IBAM.org/give and click “Central Asia” in the drop-down menu. Your proceeds will go straight into the hands of our partners who will provide for the refugees in need.
-J.S.
2 703-652-iBAM (4226)
FINDING WHERE GOD CALLED ME TO BE AND WHERE I WAS MEANT TO BE
It’s impossible to separate my walk with the Lord and my business. My dad had a Styrofoam business for a light and industrial manufacturing company. At the age of 13, I would spend my summer working with him in the factory. I did this up through college and enjoyed every minute. My dad was my role model, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. However, after I began following Christ in my 20s, I asked Him if He’d been calling me into the ministry. If you felt serious about God, I thought you had to either become a pastor or a missionary. But I decided to follow in my father’s footsteps and develop my own foaming business. At the time, I didn’t know this could be my form of ministry. I openly
That’s when I learned that God calls everyone to be a minister, but that doesn’t mean working in a church or going on missions. Your business and how you operate it can be your ministry. Today, I own and manage Progressive Foam Technologies Incorporated. I combined the business skills I learned from my father — and the spiritual gifts I developed in the church — to run my kingdom business. I used Biblical principles in my company and improved my leadership and management skills that way. I continue to share my faith with my employees and encourage them to do the same. We will pray together and support each other personally and professionally. If one of my colleagues has a loved one in the hospital, a newborn on the way, or other life-changing events, I pray and take time to visit with them. Since starting my Kingdom business, it’s exponentially grown throughout the years. Listening to what God has called me to do has inspired me in more ways than one. I encourage you to listen to God and what He says. Where are you supposed to be? Is God calling you somewhere? I’m looking forward to the future and what it has in store for me and my community.
shared my faith with my employees, offered prayer sessions, and supported and treated them as Jesus would. As a result, many of my employees found faith and turned their life over to God. Seeing my impact on them inspired me so much that I wanted to go into the ministry full time. My church even offered me a position as their youth pastor, and I accepted. I stayed at the church for four years and found my spiritual gifts. I’m so thankful for the experiences being a pastor provided for me, the people I met, and the different ways I impacted my community. Then … one day God spoke to me loud and clear. He didn’t call me to work with other Christians all day. Instead, He called
me to work with the blue-collar, working-class people. I spent my entire life around these individuals. I knew their culture, what was important to them, and how to communicate effectively with them. God wanted me to share His grace with them in our daily work.
Thank you, God, for all of your blessings.
-P.C.
ibam.org 3
give@ibam.org 703-652-iBAM (4226)
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
1. How Missionary Work Can Impact Others 2. Update From the Field 3. How P. C. Found His Calling 4. God’s Calling INSIDE THIS ISSUE PO Box 4323, Wheaton, IL 60189
BOARD MEMBER FEATURE MEET OUR PRESIDENT, JOHN O.!
At iBAM, we help our students develop Kingdom businesses so they can connect with people on a deeper level to create more disciples of God. To help our students with
Instead of using this experience for my own personal gain, I can use it for a greater purpose,” John says. The knowledge and exposure John received by working in 72 different countries helps us in our mission and vision to equip our students with as much insight and as many resources as possible. After we got to know John and his heart, he joined our board in 2016 and began using his expertise to help us improve our training and provide better service for our students. Then, last year, John became the president of the board. There isn’t a hierarchy on the board; we all volunteer and step up when we can. The president’s primary role is to help facilitate our programs and services, but other than that, everything the board does is a team effort. Anyone can step into the presidential role at any time. It all depends on who has the time to fulfill that need. John was in a position where he could fill that need and felt like it was God’s calling for him to step up. Thank you, John, for all your hard work for iBAM, our students, and our Lord and Savior!
their endeavors, we created a board of experienced business leaders to walk with them through this journey. All members are invested in seeing disciple-making businesses grow and blossom. Our president, John O., got involved with iBAM in 2015. He was invited to go on a trip to help us train students. After his first trip, he realized God had called him to use his global business skills to help our students and their disciple-making businesses. “It was an overwhelming experience for me. I realized that my 20 years of international business experience could be used for God’s Kingdom.
4 703-652-iBAM (4226)
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator