Imagine what could happen if 50,000 evangelical business leaders in Ukraine viewed their businesses as missions opportunities for the Lord.
Imagine what could happen if these businesses viewed their employees, customers and suppliers as part of the “flock” the Lord gives them opportunity to reach and serve.
“That could transform Ukraine, as well as the evangelical church here,” said Tim Judy, a Baptist representative serving in Ukraine. And that is the goal of the Christian Business Fellowship that he promotes across the nation.
Working with Victor Zaluzhny, president of the Christian Business Fellowship, and Ivan Papish, president of the Center for Biblical Entrepreneurship, Judy hopes to start Christian Business Fellowship chapters across Ukraine. Already chapters are functioning in six of the nation’s 25 oblasts (states).
Judy explained that the exact size of the target group is not known. He said there are an estimated 1 million evangelical Christians in Ukraine and between 5 percent and 7 percent of that number are business owners or top-level managers of corporations.
Building a network of Christian business leaders to encourage one another is an immediate benefit, those involved acknowledged. This is being done with testimonies about how God is working in the lives of business people and the problems faced and solutions found.
But the Christian Business Fellowship is not about warm fuzzies. It is about helping evangelical Christian business leaders develop skills and practices based on the Bible that will give them a competitive advantage in the marketplace. These include everything from employment practices to legal advice to marketing concepts and more.
As envisioned, services offered would include instruction in the principles of biblical entrepreneurship, mentoring, general business training and regional skills seminars.
Already the concepts are changing lives.
For instance, a common practice for fishermen is to fill fish with water before freezing them in order to get a higher weight. But one fishing-boat captain stopped this after becoming a Christian. His new ethical standards earned him respect and a larger market.
Another Christian businessman bought used grain combines and began a small business with all the profits dedicated to his church. The work has prospered and the funds are being used to underwrite new church starts.
In Odessa, a construction firm owner decided to give each client a Bible and share a personal witness about Jesus before signing a contract. Now with construction business down by a reported 80 percent, that businessman is unique in that he has customers waiting for him to get to their projects.
A group of business leaders wanted to be more involved in Baptist work, so it recently purchased a home for a church planter in the Chernobyl area.
“People are hungry for the Word of God and want to know how it impacts their lives,” Judy said. “That includes business people. They are not satisfied just to attend and give (to the church). The response, the openness is amazing.”
Already Kiev Christian University and Odessa Theological Seminary are partnering with the Christian Business Fellowship to teach biblical entrepreneurship and a variety of business skills.
Judy said he hopes to find partners from Alabama who will work with the organization to teach concepts and skills, as well as share personal experiences.
After all, Judy speaks from experience. “I know the difference it made in my life when I first realized that my business was more than a profit and the Lord wanted more than my money,” he said. “When I saw that my business was my missions field, it transformed my relationship with the Lord, as well as made changes in the way I related to my employees, my customers and my suppliers.”
Judy said he may not be the typical Baptist representative as a former business executive but he is thrilled with the opportunity to share these Christian business concepts with his counterparts in Ukraine.
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