One of the goals of ICM is to empower and equip churches to transform their

communities. This requires intention of churches and their leadership. When

this is done, change takes place. For two years we have been running a pilot

project in Kenya to help churches transform their communities. The results

were beyond our expectations. This is a short report from Renita Reed Thom-

son, our Intl. Coordinator of Discipling Marketplace Leaders.

Phil Walker, President, ICM USA

April 5, 2016 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I just returned from a trip to Kenya, where we developed a new tag line for the work of Discipling Marketplace Leaders (DML): Unleashing the Church - Transforming the Community - Changing the World Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? A little optimistic, you might be thinking? I know that I thought that too. But then I thought about the interviews we had with business people. They shared stories with us of how they have incorpo-rated a quadruple bottom line in their business: social, spiritual, economic, and environmental. They shared how this shift was impacting so many people. I thought about the inter-views we had with pastors who energetically talked about their churches growing, some for the first time in 20 years! Unleashing Church members and discipling them to purpose was leading to community transformation in the Marketplace. Let me tell you the story of Bishop Lister from Kisumu, Kenya. He is the founder of Word of Life Ministries and oversees four churches. He and his wife care for a number of orphans, as is common for many pastors in Kenya. They needed some income-generating activities to support the children. They started making liquid detergent and then proceeded to bar soap. Two years ago, his business attracted the atten-tion of the Kenya Research Group. They were instrumental in helping Bishop Lister develop his product. Last year Bishop Lister was named one of the top ten innovators in Kenya by the Export Promotion Council. The bar soap that he has developed is 100% organic, made of seven different oils and no chemi-cals, and helps with a variety of skin conditions. He began attending trade fairs and even traveled to Ethiopia where he found a large potential market. But his production was still at a small scale. The Bishop needed machines to scale up pro-duction that would enable him to export his goods. He was asked over and over for copies of his business plan, but he did not have one. He did not know how to make one or where to go for help.

The Vision of DML is to reclaim

the redeemed marketplace

through Church-based Business

as Mission and bring it under the

Lordship of Christ.

The Mission of DML is to empow-

er the local church to establish

and run successful Marketplace

Ministries, empowering, equip-

ping, encouraging, and discipling

business people to have a quad-

ruple bottom line: spiritual, social,

economic, and environmental.

Our Activities:

A Reclaimed Redeemed Marketplace

Job Creation and Poverty Alleviation

Partnerships - Pulpit Pastors & Marketplace Ministers

Tra

inin

g

Me

nto

rin

g

Ad

voca

cy

Business as Mission

Discipling Marketplace LeadersChurch-based Business as Mission

Bishop Lister in the forefront

SPECIAL EDITION

$_________This gift is to be designated for: 609045 DML-USA

$_________This gift is to be designated for: 010100 Hope of Africa

If you wish to give electronically, please visit our website at www.icmusa.org You can give one-time or monthly

gifts with either your debit/credit card or by a direct transfer from your bank account.

Last November he heard about DML from a fellow pastor in Ki-sumu and joined the local class. He told us that the DML class changed the way he looked at business, a complete paradigm shift. He shared how the class gave him the tools to write his business plan, and so much more. He now wants the DML class introduced into all his churches. He has also seen a different ap-proach for how to support, equip, and disciple his business members. Now the good Bishop can present his business plan that will open the door for purchasing the machines he needs to seize the opportunities. For his six employees, and the orphans he cares for, the future is filled with possibilities. The Bishop has a working, viable business plan, basic business training and the endorsement of the Export Promotion Council, as well as a product which exceeds Kenya’s export standards. His life and

the lives of those working with him have changed. His churches have a new model. Together with his wife they are able to help those who cannot help themselves: the bishop has a quadruple bottom line!

Unleashing the Church - Transforming the Community - Changing the World So maybe it’s possible, one church at a time, one business at a time, one dream at a time. Want to join us? By God’s grace we can work together at “Changing the World.” We are exploring opportunities of starting this ministry in Ghana, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria. We are en-couraged with how God is opening doors, even as we see the challenges of different cultures and contexts. Your prayerful partnership as well as your financial partnership are critical to keeping the momentum going as we work to reclaim the Marketplace for Christ. If you would like to financially assist with this work, please give through the envelope enclosed and include ‘609045’in the comment line. Thank you for your faithful prayers, encouragement and support in partnering with the DML ministry. Your sister in Christ,

Renita Reed-Thomson Discipling Marketplace Leaders International Coordinator

renitar@icmusa.org

www.reedsinthewind.blogspot.com

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Our interview with Bishop Lister

and two of his employees.