As I contemplated what the words Church and Entrepreneurship meant, and how they related to each other, I struggled to see any correlation between the two. It always seemed to be more of an idea rather than something that could plausibly take place. I mean, the Church being intertwined into the workplace, or it being the foundation of a business, sounded almost too good to be true. However, once I started to grasp the concept, there was one question that I could not get past and that was, if something like this were possible, then how would you even get it started? It didn’t hit me until I got involved in a non-profit organization this past summer, and that’s when I realized that the most powerful organizations and people, don’t have to have some big fancy plan or structure to help them get started or to help them grow, but in reality some of the most influential businesses can start through the most humbling of beginnings.

One such organization is located in Dallas, Texas called For the Nations Refugee Outreach (FTNRO). I had the opportunity, alongside my church, to go and volunteer with this non-profit organization. FTNRO meets the needs of refugee status immigrants that are living in Dallas, Texas. The majority of these families live in rundown apartment complexes, are living on food stamps, and do not have many resources other than running water. Many of these refugees do not speak any English and are unable to find jobs to help support themselves and their families. For the Nations comes alongside these families and supports them through ESL classes, swim lessons, meetings and communication with the local schools, as well as helping to find jobs for the refugees, all the while bringing the gospel to these families. For the Nations has been able to reach out and help hundreds of families and help them adjust to their new lives in the United States. Throughout this entire process, FTRNO has stayed true to the calling of Christians to be the hands and feet of Christ. Matthew 25:40 says, “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” For the Nations lives out this verse, they search for a need and they meet it. They see the suffering of their brothers and sisters, and they go out and make a difference in the lives of these people for the glory of God.

For the Nations is now a flourishing organization that is slowly starting to grow bigger and bigger. One of the most inspiring things to me about this organization was how it was founded. This non-profit was founded by an ordinary kindergarten teacher back in 2011. This teacher, Kaitlyn Mullens, was simply trying to get a report card to the parents of one of her students and was unable to deliver it through the mail. She decided that she was going to hand deliver it to the house of this student and this is how she stumbled upon the apartment complexes of these refugees. Kaitlyn learned that her young student was the sole translator for her two parents who both knew little to no English. After hearing the story of the family and realizing all of their needs, Kaitlyn decided to come back to their apartment week after week and give ESL classes to these parents. The word quickly got out and soon enough, her one on one sessions grew into full classrooms of 50+ men and women desperately wanting to learn the language of their new home. As the numbers continued to grow, Kaitlyn and her husband Cameron, realized that they needed a bigger space in order to help all the refugees. They decided to partner with local churches who allowed them to teach these classes in their sanctuaries. These once small classes quickly grew into hundreds of people and the Mullen’s family decided to go all in and found For the Nations Refugee Outreach. All it took for this organization to get started was one person recognizing the needs of another. To me, this is entrepreneurship in its purest form.

Redemptive entrepreneurship does not need to be some huge and successful endeavor that changes thousands of lives from the start. When the body of Christ uses their individual strengths and resources to go out and do what God is asking them to do by planting the seeds of grace and truth, then they have just created an incredible opportunity for Christ to show his immense power and turn something simple into something great, purely because someone saw a need and decided to fulfill it.

Sources:

“For The Nations: Refugee Outreach – Refugee Care That Changes Lives..” Ftnro.org. N. p., 2019. Web. 8 Feb. 2019.

  https://ftnro.org/

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+25&version=ESV