Entrepreneurship and the Purpose of the Church
Through studying the Scriptures and exploring the history of the Church, I have come to realize that there is a threefold purpose of the Church: 1) to worship God; 2) to equip the saints; 3) to seek and to save the lost. I am convinced that the threefold purpose should be held in that order, the priority given to worshipping God, the secondary priority being equipping the saints, and the tertiary priority being seeking and saving the lost. It is not that any of them can be discarded because all of these elements are needed for a healthy church. I have reflected on how the threefold purpose of the church relates to entrepreneurship, and I think it can be most prevalent in the tertiary purpose of seeking and saving the lost.
It is here that many redemptively minded businesses exist to reach people with the gospel and meet their physical needs as well. I am personally aware of many organizations that were founded with the goal of helping those in need internationally and locally, as well as groups that are focused on evangelism to the lost. Whatever the cause, all of these businesses can exist for the purpose of seeking and saving the lost. Enter the churches–it is here that churches can partner with these businesses in their effort to reach people. Whether through financial means or physically providing people for the work, the church can be a great vehicle for carrying out God’s mission in the world. Without entrepreneurs, many of these organizations would not be able to exist, making the study of entrepreneurship necessary and relevant to the church. Returning to the threefold purpose of the church, entrepreneurship can play a crucial role because it is absolutely appropriate for people to pursue those in need with the intention to reach them with the gospel–therefore seeking and saving the lost.
Good post. I like that you acknowledged redemptive businesses accomplish the third part of the three fold purpose of the church. Entrepreneurship is most definitely used to help carry out God’s mission for the world.
This is great. I think the three-fold purpose of the church is a really cool insight. I’ve not thought about things like that before, especially the importance of the order. I especially appreciate the way that you’ve organized entrepreneurship into the third category. It shows that you’ve thought well about the purpose behind true redemptive entrepreneurship.
Garrett, this is a great post. I like how you intertwined the mission of the Church with entrepreneurship. I think many people think of redemptive businesses as solo ventures that use their earnings or capital to help those in need, but I think you point out so clearly that we need to see these businesses as a fulfillment of a part of the mission of the Church who should be working with these businesses.
Austin, this is awesome. I love the way you used those 3 purposes of the church. I think we can ultimately categorize everything into those 3 categories. I really like how you connected those to entrepreneurship and how they can really impact the way people do things. Well done!