05Feb 2019 by Nigel Ring

Social Enterprise 1 – Enterprising, Social and Christian

Equipping, Poor
Social Enterprise to uplift the poor For many months I have been wanting to feature the important topic of Social Enterprise as I see this as one significant way of helping people who are poor or in need. So I was delighted when Nick Priggis responded to my invitation to write a series. I have known Nick (bio below) for nearly twenty years; he worked with me in the early 2000s to develop the Act Together Initiative which helped the Newfrontiers family of churches bring ministry with the Poor into the heart of church life. Nick’s and Tracey’s passionate hearts for the poor are conspicuous, so it was no surprise to me when empowering the poor became a central part of their church’s agenda when they moved into church leadership…
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30Jan 2019 by Nigel Ring

Culture and Cheese – Book Reviews

News
It's all about people Recently I have read two books related to the culture and dynamics of life in business. But since a successful business relies heavily on the relationships between people much of what was written also applies to the church and to individual lives. So I commend both books to you, whether you have responsibility for others in a community environment, such as a business or church, or whether you want to handle change in your personal or work life more effectively. Shaping your Workplace Culture - Vanessa O’Shea I have known Vanessa for many years. We were in the same church. I was aware of her responsibilities working for the YMCA but, until I spotted this book, published only a few weeks ago, I was unaware of…
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23Jan 2019 by Nigel Ring

Businesses and church planting pt 4 – Stories from Albania

Poor
In the concluding part of this series about the Seed Fund Charles Glass tells of some of the successes in Albania – and a few failures.   Albania A small mountainous country in the Balkans, Albania is one of the poorest countries in Europe, although in the last few years it has become much more open. From within the Newfrontiers family Martyn Dunsford and other UK churches have planted or are planting nine churches, including two in the capital Tirana. 24 businesses – 21 successes Over the last ten years Seed Fund has helped start 24 businesses. All but three are still trading successfully or have fully repaid their loan. Although the total amount passed by Seed Fund to the country is only just over £14,000, as a result of…
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16Jan 2019 by Nigel Ring

Businesses and church planting pt 3 – Training and Mentoring

Poor
Charles Glass continues his series about the Seed Fund by sharing how the team bring support to emerging businesses. Training and Mentoring Many in the contexts in which we are working have little business experience. For them, particularly, Training and Mentoring are vital. But we have yet to find someone for whom it is not needed at all! So we have a number of the team members who have been involved in training initiatives, ranging from large groups to coaching individuals. They can bring personal input and support to ensure not only that the business has a good chance of success but that this opportunity to start a business also provides a context for strengthening the individual in his skills and abilities. Both Martin Fakely and Charles Glass have at…
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09Jan 2019 by Nigel Ring

Businesses and church planting pt 2 – Character, Planning and Cultural sensitivity

Poor
In part 1 Charles Glass showed how Seed Fund is designed to assist with church planting by starting businesses in parallel with a church planting initiative. Now he begins to share some of the practical considerations necessary for a successful business. Getting it right from the start Supporting businesses that help church planting and also uplift poorer communities involves a lot more than just lending money. There are the important questions as to whether the business is viable, whether the individual is right to start that sort of business and what support would help make it a success. Over the years the Seed Fund Team has been involved in all those areas and has developed resources, guidelines and simple systems to help. Our particular focus in this posting is on…
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10Dec 2018 by Nigel Ring

Businesses and church planting pt 1

Poor
It is a pleasure to have a close friend and the CEO of Seed Fund, Charles Glass (biography below), as a guest writer for this short series on how start-up businesses can help support church planting by supporting individuals and families.   Introducing Seed Fund As Apostolic Spheres in the Newfrontiers family are increasingly planting churches in the poorer and less accessible regions of the world the need to create businesses to support these churches and give dignity to the people in them has become more and more important. Since Seed Fund was formed 10 years ago by Martyn Dunsford (Founder and, until recently, Pastor of King’s Community Church, Southampton, UK and founder of Seed Fund and of Care and Relief for the Young [CRY]) it has been doing exactly…
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