Serve People and Trust God for Impact

She was amazed and perplexed at the same time. She was treated with respect and dignity. She was a woman challenged with disabilities. But her life had changed. With no or little prospect of ever getting a job, she was now working in a manufacturing company. She was creative, she had made friends, and she made money.

Women in this country and religious context were treated as second-class citizens. If they had mental or physical handicaps they were often further down.

But the company she worked for employed and offered jobs with dignity to women with disabilities. It was unheard of, and it made a huge difference not only in her life, but also for the other women who worked there. It even had a transformational impact on families and the community.

This woman asked herself: why is this workplace so different? It changes lives on many levels. She knew that the founder and CEO was a follower of Jesus. So she told herself: If that’s what it means to be a follower of Jesus, I will also follow him. It was a huge and risky step for a handicapped woman in a conservative Muslim environment.

What brought her to Christ? A gospel tract? A Jesus film? A bible study? No, it was human resource management informed by biblical values, underpinned with prayer. Ultimately, it was, of course, God’s doing.

This true story from the Middle East highlights some important issues as we serve God and people through investments and businesses development. We aim at the quadruple bottom line: financial, social, environmental and spiritual. It is not just doing business with a touch of ‘churchianity’, or Christians just doing social enterprise. No, we recognize God as the ultimate owner who has a vested interested in multiple bottom lines and multiple stakeholders. This pursuit of holistic transformational impact requires that capital is made available for these kinds of companies so they can grow in size, profitability and impact.

We can and should set goals in each of these four bottom lines individually as we plan, operate and evaluate.  However, we also need to recognize that these areas of impact overlap, interact and connect; the result is greater than the sum of its parts, as we learn from the story from the Middle East.

The CEO of the manufacturing company served faithfully with excellence, professionalism and integrity. God used that to draw a woman to himself. There was a kairos moment.

We cannot convert anyone by pushing through or forcing a spiritual impact. This is essential as we invest in companies and develop businesses. We must serve our customers, staff and suppliers with professionalism, excellence and integrity, and trust God for the kairos moment.

In the words of the apostle Paul: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow.” Serve people and trust God for impact.