View the Business as Missions Series »
The following is audio from a Q & A session with Patrick Lai from our recent forum on Business as Mission. In it, he answers questions related to his preceding talk on Business for Transformation.
The opinions expressed in this recording are those of the speaker and may not reflect the opinions of SendRDU, but are provided to provoke dialogue about what will be a vital part of the future of missions.
Audio
Podcast: Download
View the Business as Missions Series »
The following is audio from the talk Patrick Lai gave at our recent forum on Business as Mission. In it, Patrick challenges traditional missions strategies and processes and makes a case for what he calls Missions 3.0, in which the key strategy is Business for Transformation: strategically placed businesses in unreached areas designed to create jobs in the local community that bring transformation to a segment of society through evangelism, discipleship and church planting.
The opinions expressed in this recording are those of the speaker and may not reflect the opinions of SendRDU, but are provided to provoke dialogue about what will be a vital part of the future of missions.
Audio
Podcast: Download
Listen to the Q&A session which followed here.
About the Speaker
A leading author and expert on the subject of business as mission, Patrick Lai has worked in SE Asia for 28 years among unreached people as a serial entrepreneur. During that time, God has enabled his team to plant two churches and two fellowships among Muslims while starting several profitable small businesses. He is the author of Tentmaking: The Life and Work of Business as Missions.
Take a moment to watch this video and pray for Imago Dei Church as they prepare for their first worship gathering on September 11, 2011. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Tony Merida and his team to help plant Imago Dei in North Raleigh. Tony is a gifted and faithful preacher and leader, and I can’t wait to see how God uses his church to reach those who are far from God in a rapidly growing part of our city.
The planting of Imago Dei is a powerful demonstration of what happens when churches in a city have a kingdom mindset and agenda. Multiple churches in Raleigh-Durham, like Open Door Baptist, Vintage21 Church, and the Summit Church, to name a few, have contributed people and resources to see this plant happen.
Many of these churches are located within a few miles of where Imago Dei will be meeting. They’re doing it because there are over 600,000 lost people in the Triangle, and while I’m sure all of them want to do everything they can to reach these people, they understand that planting new churches is essential to seeing that happen.
This, honestly, doesn’t happen in many places. It’s a testimony to what God is doing here in RDU. You have local churches, a seminary, campus ministries, non-profit organizations, all aligning themselves for church planting. It’s why I would recommend any young leader that is interested in church planting move here. God is doing something special, and if we align ourselves with his mission, we could see RDU become known as a sending place for the Gospel to the world.
We’re excited to announce that our next church plant will be in…
I sat down with lead planter, Andrew Hopper, and asked him, why plant a church in Greensboro?
Like many, I grew up in the religiosity of the South, and if there’s one thing that has become crystal clear in my life, it’s that religious affiliation is not the same as Gospel change. So as we sought where God was calling us to plant a church, I felt a burning desire to see a church planted in a strategic city in the South….We landed specifically on Greensboro for two reasons:
First, it’s a city that desperately needs the Gospel. Like many cities in our part of the country many people in Greensboro are religiously affiliated…but most are only and exactly that…affiliated with religion and not radically transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Second, Greensboro is a very strategic city for North Carolina and the South. Greensboro is called the “Gate City” because of its centralized location on the I-85 corridor. Throughout its history, Greensboro has been a hub for the distribution of goods and services throughout the Southeast – in years past, it was textiles…now businesses like Fedex, Kmart, and Polo have chosen to hub themselves out of Greensboro.
We see Greensboro as a gate city for the gospel. We think it’s an ideal place to not only plant a church, but to plant a church from which other churches can be planted throughout the South.
For more information, including how you can get connected, go here: Greensboro Church Plant »
We want to let you know about on important change for the upcoming Advance Regional. Due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts with the 9Marks Conference at SEBTS, the Regional has been moved from Friday, September 23rd, to one day earlier – Thursday, September 22nd.
When we chose the date for the Regional, our friends at 9Marks and SEBTS had not released the schedule for their event. As it turns out, our schedules are perfectly overlapping (what are the odds?). While this won’t affect many of you, it would force some to choose between these two events.
By moving the Regional to Thursday, our guests have the opportunity to attend these two outstanding events in Raleigh-Durham for the price of one (the Regional is FREE).
Thanks for your understanding. If you’ve already registered, you should have already received special instructions by email. We hope you can still join us!
To register or get more details on the Regional, go here. For more info on the 9Marks event, go here. We’d strongly encourage you to check out both.
