We spend the majority of our waking hours at work between the ages of 20 and 70. Jesus was constantly entering into people’s work places and spaces – the fishing  pier, the market, the town square, the tax office. When we fail to show up and engage in the work place, we are missing an essential aspect of Jesus’ ministry strategy, and missing the opportunity to bless and be blessed by our neighbors.

Sometimes we can go to them, but we also have an opportunity to create a space where they will want to gather for work and community building.

Congregations have several elemental strengths when it comes to incubating small businesses:

1. They are already physically present in communities.
2. They are geographically close to individuals who are longing for greater meaning in their lives and a rewarding way to financially support themselves.
3. They historically have a web of relationships with which to engage and collaborate
4. They have property (buildings and land) which are often underutilized resources that can be leveraged for new and innovative projects.
5. They may also have a tradition and a theology that encourages helping people to flourish and thrive in a holistic way – in every aspect of human life.

• Here’s one example of how this can develop within an existing congregation at The Mix Coworking.
• Here’s one example of how it develops away from a church campus but as kingdom and kin-dom work none-the-less – The Grove Dallas.
• Here’s one recent example of how this might develop as a church plant.

For more on this topic:
Small Business Incubators, Community Development, and the Church
Social Entrepreneurship on KenGCrawford.com