This month’s post is from Derek Kessen, Managing Partner of Heron Ventures. He wrote this story shortly after his trip to Africa earlier this year. A meaningful exchange with company founders led to convictions about stewardship and the need to make sure we are pursuing God’s plans and not just our own.

Matthew’s gospel tells us one of Jesus’s many intriguing parables, the parable of the talents. Like many parables, this one makes us think and reflect as the story unfolds in unexpected ways. In the parable (found in Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus tells of a man who goes on a journey, entrusting three different amounts of money to three different servants according to their ability.

It fascinates me to think of how the screen can entertain and educate. As a follower of Jesus and a father of three, I pay close attention to the things we watch in our home. The film and media that entertains us, educates us, instills fears, or inspires us can have lasting impact. My wife and I want that impact to be for God’s glory and our good.

One of the most beloved and theologically rich Christmas carols is “O Holy Night.” The powerful lyrics of the third stanza boldly proclaim: “Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease.” What if this isn’t just a nice thought we contemplate at Christmas time, but an invitation for us, as Christian investors and ambassadors of God’s kingdom, to actively take a stand for justice in the way we position our investment portfolios?

What does it look like to be in, but not of, the world? From Abraham to Jesus, we see biblical figures wrestle with living according to God’s word in a dominant culture that does not follow His principles. Jesus, of course, lived it perfectly and prayed His followers would figure it out (see his High Priestly Prayer in John 17), but my personal favorite example is Daniel.

Meet a Tanzanian company that provides natural skin care products for all people, but especially for those whose skin has been affected by working daily in the sun, bathing in dirty water, and the resulting irritations. Most people in Tanzanian villages and interior areas do not have soap, petroleum jelly, and lotions, and those that exist are chemically based.

Investor decisions are often motivated by fear and greed. While the terms fear and greed may seem harsh, they often fuel investment decisions that seek to minimize risk and maximize financial return for a single stakeholder. In contrast, investing as God’s steward requires that investors seek to optimize the interests of other stakeholders. This mindset requires an understanding of living by faith, holding tightly to God and holding loosely to our expectation of returns.

You’ve heard about The Great Commission—Jesus telling his followers to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”— and you know of many wise and courageous efforts to go into all nations through the centuries to tell the world about Jesus. But have you heard about Great Commission companies?

Last year, we invested in a boat so that the captain and his team could be a living witness of Jesus to his crew and to the villages which are part of the routine stops the boat makes. The boat provides opportunities for two types of tourism: ethno tourism, in which travelers explore indigenous populations, learning about their culture and traditions; and community-based eco tourism, in which visitors participate with local residents in festivals, homestays, or production of artisanal goods in order to build local economies.

A land-locked, eastern European country of 2.5 million bordering Ukraine and Romania, Moldova is relatively young as a country and suffers from economic, constitutional, and other political crises. Nearly three quarters of its workers leave the country to find work, often for months or even years at a time. God called co-founder Anatol to lead this company in bringing light and hope to the families of Moldova.

A wonderful example of economic development is Dignity Coconuts, a missional business located in the Philippines. Dignity’s story illustrates the power of investments to foster development combined with bringing abundant blessing to the village inhabitants. The investors are able to partner with God in sowing seeds, doing good work, and experiencing a harvest of righteousness.

This book is an advanced look at stewardship. We answer the question: how can we build a portfolio that accomplishes eternal impact? I hope to motivate investors to move capital from where it is piled up to where it is in short supply so that we can grow the kingdom of God on earth.