PREAMBLE
Recently II Kings 4:1-6 assumed a new meaning to me: one can serve God faithfully and die poor (not God’s fault, anyway). Again, rather than leave assets behind for one’s posterity (Proverbs 19:14; II Corinthians 12:14), one can end up leaving scores of liabilities. These should not be, because, God in His infinite wisdom has given to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness…. (II Peter 1:3-4). This implies that as we strive spiritually to be relevant in the scheme of things we should also strive materially to be relevant in the scheme of things. We need to strike a balance.
Three characters found in Luke 16:19-31 remind us of the need to strike a balance. They say to us that one can be earthly ‘useless’ but heavenly ‘useful’ and vice-versa. On the other hand, one can be earthly ‘useful’ as well as heavenly ‘useful.’ This is God’s Will for each of us. Rich man and Lazarus represent people who live to the extremes without striking a balance while Abraham exemplifies the need for us to strike a balance.
Abraham was described in Scripture as a man who was rich in cattle, silver and gold (Genesis 13:2). Succinctly stated, Abraham was a man of great substance (Genesis 13:6). In spite of his earthly ‘usefulness,’ Abraham was very close to God. He was one of the few characters to enjoy the celebrity status of Friend of God (James 2:23). To establish and justify the fact that one can have the best of the two worlds, father Abraham was assigned a place in eternity called, Abraham’s Bosom (Luke 16:23).
Is it possible to be a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and still excel materially by engaging in productive and profitable ventures? Yes! Is it possible to change the picture of beggarly and impoverished people, which have thus far characterized many of our fellow ministers? Yes, it is possible.
Brethren, in my twenty-five years experience as a preacher, I have come to the stark realization that preachers are busy making many rich, yet, they remain largely poor (II Corinthians 6:10). We are busy attending to the needs of others but leave ours and our families’ unattended to (Songs of Solomon 1:6). The picture that is often painted is that a faithful preacher should wear hand-me-down clothes and be beggarly. No, a faithful preacher is one who is rooted in God’s Word and thoroughly schooled in New Testament Christianity and in Restoration Movement principles.
CHALLENGING
SITUATIONS OF NIGERIAN PREACHERS NECESITATING ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF INCOME
GENERATION
Aside Americans’
Supports of preachers, and few Congregations of the Lord’s Church in mega
cities of Nigeria who have made ‘ample provisions’ for their ministers, average
salaries of most preachers in Nigeria are still below ten thousand Naira (N10, 000. 00) monthly. In fact my basic salary in my last serving
Congregation was twelve thousand Naira (N12,
000. 00). These are take-home for men whose children and wives often find it
difficult making ends meet. They cannot access basic quality education, feed or
clothe well, buy land and build their own houses, etcetera.
A Nigerian preacher, to say the least, does not have good salary, does not have pensions or gratuities. If he has American or any foreign assistance, the assistance can be stopped at any time for any reason at all, which can be very emotionally and psychologically devastating.
A Nigerian preacher does not even have job security because his Congregation can decide to relief him of his job on any flimsy reason as well. It is difficult ministering in this kind of challenging environment. But what does he do and what would he do? As a typical Nigerian, he is suffering and smiling while doing his work faithfully.
EFFECTIVE
MINISTRY REQUIRES FINANCIAL CAPACITY
Ministry is challenging. The man who makes the ministry should be a well made man, at least reasonably comfortable, not a beggar. He should be a man who is at home in himself and can independently afford the basic necessities of life.
Lack of preachers’ financial capacity turns preachers into beggars and compromises the pulpit. It makes preachers dependent on some powerful and influential interests at Church. Lack of capacity turns preachers into errand boys rather than spiritual and theological authorities that they are supposed to represent.
Lack of financial capacity reduces preachers to parrots, speaking only that which some people would want, to do otherwise would irk those interests and may cost him his job.
Financial capacity makes the preacher an independent person, responsible to God for what he teaches and preaches. It emboldens him and enables him to remain impartial because he has no other interest to serve other than God and to see to the well-being of the Church.
Church cannot experience meaningful growth and development until the issues of ministers’ welfare are addressed. No minister will be effective in the discharge of his duties if he depends on Church to approve every Kobo he needs to do his work. A preacher should have his own money and be able to stand his own ground.
Preachers must magnify their offices (Romans 11:13). A preacher who goes cap in hand to Church for virtually all he needs would not enjoy as much respect as just about anybody at Church. So, to protect the pulpit and magnify the office of the minister, we should discourage preachers from being ‘beggars’ and encourage preachers to be financially independent through entrepreneurship.
PREACHERS
AND ENTREPRENUERSHIP
Poly-functionality requires that preachers should become tent makers as Apostle Paul did. He was a powerful preacher and a great entrepreneur. Paul’s financial capacity enabled him to live in his own hired house in cosmopolitan Rome for two years (Acts 28:30). In today’s term, this is akin to renting a duplex in Asokoro area of Abuja. How was he able to do this? He was entrepreneurial:
I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:33-35, KJV).
Paul was entrepreneurial, he was a full-time preacher and apostle, yet, he was an entrepreneur! Acts 18:1-3 records,
After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks (Acts 18:1-4, KJV).
Becoming entrepreneurial does not stop a preacher from being effective. Rather than be a minus, it is actually a plus. What do full-time preachers do with their spare time? Apostle Paul was not only entrepreneurial, he encouraged people across Church to be:
Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread (II Thessalonians 3:6-12, KJV).
The need for entrepreneurship amongst preachers is anchored by God in Proverbs 27:23-24, 26-27:
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? …The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance of thy maidens.
PREACHERS
NEED FOR MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME
In the vicissitudes of life, the only thing that is permanent is change. Because of uncertainties of life, you would need to develop multiple streams of income. “When one door closes, another opens” is not for a person with one source of income.
God has taught us the importance of MSI when He planted Garden of Eden and watered it with four streams: Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel and Euphrates (Genesis 2:10-14). Why four streams? Should one stream dry up, three would sustain the Garden. Should a second stream dry up, two would keep the Garden watered. By the time, the fourth stream would dry up, rain would have fallen upon Earth again.
God is wise. We must learn from His example. There is no law that says you must focus only on one business or profession. You must not put all your eggs in one basket. The more you spread your tentacles the better. Ecclesiastes 11:1-4 encourages us to diversify.
STEPS
TO DEVELOPING A BUSINESS
Business is anything that is both lawfully
and Biblically defined which generates income for you. It does not matter how
small such a venture might be, what is important is underlined by the question,
“Does it generate income?”
There are several steps that can be followed to develop an enterprise. The first step is knowledge:
1. What do you know?
What do you know that another does not know and what can you do better than another person? What do you know that another person needs but does not know how to obtain? Knowledge is a compound word, which combines two words: Know and Edge. This implies that what you know is what gives you the edge. It bothers on your skills and capacities.
What skills do you have aside being a preacher? You can employ your skills towards developing a profitable enterprise. Many people do not realize that talents are not enough and that we must commercialise our talents. A man’s gift should make ways for him (Proverbs 18:16).
Most New Testament characters had one skill or another: Jesus was a carpenter; Peter, a fisherman; Paul, a tentmaker, etcetera. Developing a business and growing it are skills’-dependent. It bothers on strategic fit.
2. Let your passion drive you
Depending on the type of business you want to go into, what would determine your foray is your passion – what do you like to do? What do you have passion for? Search your heart to see what motivations you have. You are the only person who knows what his passions are.
What many of us do not realize is that the answer to our economic needs are right before us and are within reach. For the widow of a deceased prophet of God, there was a pot (jar) of oil positioned within the house that was the answer to her family’s economic woes (II Kings 4:2f). This same pot of oil was probably there all the while that the prophet was alive. It was there, yet, he died in penury. For Moses, the answer to his prayer for deliverance was in his hand (Exodus 4:2; cf. Exodus 14:15-16).
The questions coming to us at this point in time are, WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR HOUSE and WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR HAND? You may not know that what you are seeking for in Sokoto are already in your Shokoto. Only, open your eyes!
3.
Scan Your
Environment
If you want to create a business, you must learn to scan your operational environment. Apostle Paul in Acts 17:23 took time off to scan an environment he found himself. By doing that, he discovered an unmet need and took the solution to the door steps of the people!
The same principle can be replicated in the
world of work and business. If you really want to make impact, be productive
and relevant, there is need for you to scan your environment. By scanning your
environment, you are likely to discover:
1.
An
unmet need.
2.
What
is being done but is not being done well.
3. What you can improve upon.
Stop looking in one direction – look in all directions. Do not be short-sighted. Be omni-directional in your search and you will be handsomely rewarded.
4. Find out what people need
Being entrepreneurial implies taking advantage of your knowledge of the needs of people in your operational environments, exploring and exploiting them to your advantage. It could be as simple as providing services or being the bridge between people and their needs. In their book, See, Feel, Think and Do: The Power of Instinct in Business, Milligan and Smith (2008:4) wrote,
Business is in fact a simple process: you create
something someone wants to buy, they buy it, you take their money and create
something else they want to buy, and so on. And underlying the success of
business is the simple process of observing and understanding human behavior.
The greatest entrepreneurs throughout history have been those who have understood
– almost instinctively – what people would value and why, and then delivered it
as simply and as easily as possible.
SUGGESTED ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES FOR PREACHERS
I want to suggest areas that prospective preacher-entrepreneurs
should focus attention on. These are only suggestions, which should be improved
upon. There are other focus areas, which can be explored and exploited
1.
Services
Provision of
services of all types: trainings, educational services for dropouts, adults,
preparatory classes such as conducting lessons for people, which may likely
grow to become full blown educational institutions, etcetera.
2.
Agribusiness
It could be as small
as raising birds (poultry) in the spare part of your premises, poultry and
poultry feed production; animal husbandry and cash crops production (farming).
3.
NGOs
Floating NGOs that
are targeted at solving different society’s problems.
4.
Communication
Printing and
publishing, consultancy, etcetera.
5.
Sales and marketing
Providing services
for manufacturers, manufacturers’ representatives, etcetera.
6.
From waste to wealth
Scraps (metal and
aluminum), paper recycling, etcetera.
7.
Import and Export
business
You can engage in
mini home-based profitable import and export business using courier services.
8.
Storage business
Some Christians
mistake storage for hoarding (Proverbs 11:25). In storage, one buys in time of
plenty and waste, preserving the stored grains or whatever for the time of lack
(Genesis 41:47-49, 53-57). In hoarding, somebody creates artificial scarcity to
maximize profit. Storage is positive while hoarding is negative.
What grains or
produce do you have where you live which when harvested can be stored and
preserved, can fetch you handsome profits in a matter of months? Let us not
continue to allow the ungodly outsmart us in matters of this life (Luke 16:8).
You can store melon, ogbono, dawa, corn, pepper, honey, yams, etcetera. If you do not know how to go about this, pay somebody to teach you.
SHEDDING LIGHT ON A FEW OF THE SUGGESTED AREAS
THE
AGRIC OPTION
Agriculture is one sector of Nigeria’s economy that is laden with potentials. As we speak, Nigeria is the largest producer of yam and cassava, yet, she cannot meet demands for these in the international commodity market. So, we need people to help us tap into this multi-billion Dollar sector.
It was said that a Chinese once visited Nigeria. Upon seeing the vast potentials in our agro-allied industry shouted, “Money! Money!! Money!!! In Nigeria, money grows on trees!” Fact is, what we are not seeing, others are seeing them. Why are there influx of Chinese, Lebanese, Indians and other foreigners into Nigeria on a yearly basis? It is because they see potentials in our economy, especially in the agricultural sector. This explains why they are trooping in to explore and exploit Nigeria’s vast untapped resources.
Take for instance, if we should go into palm oil processing using local resources (humans and materials), we will be smiling to banks with millions of Naira. Experts are of the opinion that a typical palm tree is a financial supermarket, considering that almost everything on a palm tree is money. My advise: go into a farming friendly area, commence farming business and become wealthy.
Do you know that billions of Naira are literally waiting for us in farming activities (I do not mean hoe and machete farming work) such as piggery, goat herding, birds’ rearing, etcetera. These are vast income generating activities.
Take a tour of Ogoja, Cross River State. Many people go there to buy brooms, melons, plantains, and the like, go to places across Nigeria to make huge profits.
There are places across Nigeria where we have comparative advantages in the production of certain crops. You should do well to identify these areas as well as areas where there are comparative disadvantages. These would open your eyes to the vast business opportunities in Nigeria’s agro-allied sector. The key phrase is, “Shine your eyes!”
Do you know that you can get paid for going
into agriculture in Nigeria? Federal Government of Nigeria has made available
billions of Nigeria for FADAMA programmes. When you venture into any area of
agriculture, you can invite FADAMA Field Officers for inspection. If they are
satisfied with what you have done and are doing, you will be financed to the
tune of up to fifteen million Naira (N15,
000. 000. 00) to be repaid on friendly terms. Go to any FADAMA office and inquire
about this.
CONSIDER WASTE-TO-WEALTH ALTERNATIVE
I Samuel 2:8 holds a powerful key to wealth-creation that many people are looking down upon – waste to wealth (scrap aluminum, polythene and plastics). Open your eyes to see the wealth potentials in this area of business and you will marvel. Some people are seeing well but others are not (Jeremiah 1:11-12; Mark 8:22-25).
Walk up to a dealer in any of these, engage him/her in discussions and you will be amazed at the wealth-creation potentials in these. Recycling business is a lucrative multi-billion Dollar business. Advanced economies do not play with recycling business be it human waste, waste water, and waste everything. They are busy recycling and reclaiming their environments. The world is going green and one way to ensure that is recycling.
Waste-to-wealth could be a dirty man’s business but it surely is a lucrative one. Writing on, The Lure of Entrepreneuring, Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase, one of the foremost promoters of entrepreneurship in Nigeria in his well published monthly magazine, Success Digest of February, 1998 edition, page 47 wrote this timely piece as he asks and challenges us:
Have you ever been in the vicinity where human waste is being emptied from a septic tank? Right, you’ve got it: it’s not a nice place to be around! What with flies and the foul smelling odour that fill the air. The people providing the important service of emptying septic tanks have a nice slogan that puts the reward of their job in a sweet-smelling perspective. They say, ‘Owo igbe kii run,’ which means that ‘human waste money does not smell.’ And I agree with them absolutely, it doesn’t!
ENGAGE
IN MINI IMPORT AND EXPORT BUSINESS
Visit any office of Nigerian Import and Export Promotion Council near you for enquiries. It will amaze you at the vast opportunities inherent in import and export business. You will learn of the many products and standards that are available in Nigeria but are in great demands by members of the international communities; what are expected of a would-be exporter to do to start exporting with as slow as few tens of thousands of Naira. There are ready markets. The Council will help you to sell and get paid in hard currencies. You will be taught how to process these products, how to export them and how to get paid.
Take cognizance also that there are things you can import into Nigeria, using Nigerians who are outside the shores of Nigeria. Problems Nigerians in Diaspora have are the insincerity and dishonesty of some Nigerians at home. However, you can go into partnership with those who are willing to give you a try. What are needed is your ability to market these products, take your own profit or percentage and send back the rest to your partner in either Europe, America, Asia, etcetera.
You can cash in on the prevailing phone craze to bring in fairly used smart phones, I-phones, Ipads and other productivity tools. Some are even willing to send in fairly used automobiles, engines and spare parts.
You know, as a third-world (emerging economy), the first and second world societies because of their fast-paced of technological advancements, rarely use these technologies before new ones are brought in. So, they are always looking for buyers and users in emerging economies like Nigeria to dispose them. On the other hand, some of us who want to catch up with trends in other countries are so hungry to have what they have. As they are throwing out, there are people willing to catch them. Therefore, you be one of the middle persons to stand in the gap, receive them and then throw to those who are in need of these gadgets. By doing these, you make money, huge money.
The problem of Nigerians and outsiders have with our people remain their inabilities to remit back to the source of their supplies. For this reason, these sources do not have the hearts to continue to send things down.
Would you be honest enough to be trusted to
be the link person? If you are and can prove that over time, then there are
business opportunities for you in import and export business.
HOW TO
GROW YOUR BUSINESS
1.
Start “small,” then
grow
Do not start “big”;
it is not a must that you must start “big.”
Often, it’s better to start small so that as your enterprise grows you
will know how to effectively manage it.
2.
Advertise your
product or service (John 7:5).
Tell the world what you can do or what your product or service does. At John 7:3-4, we read of the power and importance of advertising:
His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
This is one of the best public relations and advertising principles known to man. If you do not say you are, nobody knows you are. Go to places where your services are needed. Tell them what you can do and what you can do better than others. You cannot succeed because people pity you. No, you can only succeed because of what you can do. So, go sell yourself to the world.
Place an advert in any medium and see what happens. Media confers certain status on people, products or services. Advertisement will generate traffic to your business.
3.
Apply Dilligence
Diligence defines
the totality of the way you go about your business or work. A diligent person
is one who is detailed, careful, effective and efficient; he is a professional
to the core. His customers are satisfied with his services or products.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets so well that the Host of heaven and Earth will pause to say, ‘Here lives a great street sweeper who did his job well.’ ” This is diligence at work.
How diligent are you? Diligent persons have potentials of standing before great people and ending up great (Proverbs 22:29). One diligent barber in the city of Chicago was so professional with his barbing business that today he is a power broker in White House, America’s Presidential Villa. How did he do it? Mr. Barrack Obama was attracted to his expertise in barbing hair when he was practicing Law in the city of Chicago. When he became Senator, he continued as his barber and then came in the big one – when Barrack Obama became America’s first African-American President, he had no choice than to bring to the White House the one who knew how to barb well.
Whatever you are doing or want to do, let diligence define you – do it with all your might (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Do not neglect the days of little things (Zechariah 4:10). One little thing you did diligently to somebody: client (customer) could open the door to greatness.
Do not become like Osuofia
who as an Okada rider would quarrel with every prospective client and at the
end of the day would go home with an empty pocket, claiming that no one
patronized him. Do realize that one customer (client) satisfied is many
customers won but one customer (client) dissatisfied are many clients lost.
That is to say that the major reason why you are in business is to satisfy
those who patronize you. Until the world is no more, customers remain kings and
queens. You are only a servant. How well you serve is what determines how well
you are appreciated.
Diligence is also important in how you handle your finances. You must be careful with your inflow and outflow.
5. Generating capital using OPM principles
Capital is the lifeblood of business but hard to come by. There are, however, some strategies that can be employed to generate the money we need to refinance our businesses. This is what we call OPM principle. OPM stands for Other People’s Money. It is established on the principle of using other people’s money to run your business without anybody getting offended.
OPM principle thrives on “Count-to-Ten Principle.” This is a simple principle that divides the amount needed into equal ten or equal twenty parts, then approaching ten or twenty persons that one feels could be of help.
When you source money from people, you would do well to follow my mother’s principle. Although not educated, my good mother, Mrs. Catherine Nwabuikwu Eji-Johnson Chukwurah taught me a powerful principle on how to source for fund. Here is her method: go to anyone you feel will lend to you. Ask for the amount you need and promise to pay at a particular date. When that date approaches and you have raised the money, do not wait until that date catches up with you, go to your lender and pay him/her but if you are unable to pay, look for another person to lend to you, approach him/her for a loan and if he/she lends to you, go immediately to the first lender and pay your debts. Now, you must have told the second person who lent money to you that on so, so and so date you will pay back the amount lent to you. If that date draws closer and you are not able to raise the amount lent to you, go back to the first person and plead with him/her on the basis of your ability to have paid the first time and promise that you will return the money if lent to you as was the case the first time. When you are lent the money, take it immediately to the second lender and pay. Do this as time goes by and you will be able to finance your business with other people’s money while at the same time you keep those who lend to you happy and assured that you can be trusted with money without disappointment. If you feel that you have bothered the first two, then look for a third person, approach him or her as was the case with the first two. You can even ask the third person to enquire from the first two if you are reliable when lent money. Of course, you can be sure that if he/she should go to make enquiry will receive favourable responses from those who had lent to you before.
By no means, do not play with those who lend money to you, either as individuals or as financial institutions. If you do, you will be digging your business grave. Be honest and pay promptly. If you cannot pay as agreed, go back to them and ask for their understanding BUT do not run away from them or “bad mouth” any of them.
If you are faithful in little, you will be considered faithful in much (Luke 16:10).
CONCLUSION
Brethren, what I have just shared with us
are thought-provokers meant only to ignite the desire to improve our economic
well-beings. If you think you can become polyfunctional, combining ministry
with entrepreneurship, and ultimately improving your family’s income base, then
this presentation is for you.
