Church Planting International

Micro-Enterprises
Starting Small Businesses on the Mission Field

   Our vision is to aid churches and individuals suffering from poverty in underdeveloped nations to become self-sufficient by providing training and loans to begin small businesses.

   Peru and Mexico are characterized by high unemployment and underemployment with typical wages as low as 50 cents an hour. Many can find only sporadic or part-time work. Families often live on $100 per month, dwelling in shacks of cardboard, adobe, or scraps of wood. These structures are frequently lacking electricity and running water. With no heating, during the colder months families are forced to huddle together on dirt floors under a few blankets. Some people are reduced to eating little more than beans and tortillas.

   Poverty is also hindering the work of churches and the proclamation of the Gospel. With little money among the people, tithes are insufficient to cover the cash needed to pay expenses. Faced with a depressed economy and little support from their churches, pastors struggle to provide for their families while continuing to minister. Spiritual growth and evangelistic outreach become stymied by the pressing needs of survival.

   Many missions agencies have responded to this dilemma by providing long-term support to native pastors and missionaries. They reason that nationals know the language and can be supported at a fraction of the cost of sending foreign missionaries. However, this approach creates an unhealthy long-term dependency, a jealousy among the people not receiving support, and discourages responsibility, initiative, and dependence upon God alone for their provision. This hinders the establishment of self-sufficient indigenous churches.

   A better solution is to help the people start small businesses. A business can be started for as little as $500-$2,000. As modest as these loans are, they are generally not available through traditional lending agencies. That is why a special fund is needed to provide loans to enable the people to start small businesses. Successful small businesses benefit the communities, the churches, and the pastors. As church members become entrepreneurs, they will be able to support their families, give jobs to others, and tithe to their churches. Pastors with small businesses will have the economic means to persevere in their callings and provide for their families. As pastors work within the same economic conditions as the people, church members will identify with them and be more motivated to support their ministries. On the other hand, foreign support actually discourages national support.

   Pastor Angel Yguia of Lima, Peru, is one of three pastors in his church, all of whom have been working in full-time ministry without pay. This church receives about $300 per month, barely covering rent and other ministry expenses. Pastor Angel is a very skilled administrator who has helped to organize large teaching conferences, including several for CPI. He is a mature Christian with a passion to know Christ and a desire to study in greater depth the Biblical teachings introduced to him. Despite his giftings as a useful Christian leader, he can no longer serve in full-time ministry. Having no source of income, Angel and his wife are living with Angel�fs mother and are expecting their first child. What occasional offerings he receives from CPI and others for his labors, will not deliver him from his present economic crisis. When asked if they would work in a secular job, Angel and one of the other pastors replied that they would love to if only one was available.

   Angel is presently researching how to start a small business buying and selling used clothing, and manufacturing and selling simple cleaning supplies. His estimated startup cost is $900. He recently wrote,

“I have made the decision with seriousness and responsibility to accept the business loan. I would like to know as soon as possible if this is still your intention. I write to you with great expectation of what God will do in my life and family, now that I have taken this decision before God. Come what may, we...continue to live to serve our Lord Jesus Christ and preach the Gospel. The sovereign God is the owner of us and our future. And so I put all things into the hands of our good God, Savior, and Redeemer forever. I wait for your reply soon.”

   There are many people just like Angel that need a way to support their families with dignity. There are many churches like his that need to become self-sufficient. The same economic opportunities that are essential for the restoration of lives are also important for the establishment of strong, enduring churches. That is why Church Planting International is starting a fund to provide loans for the startup capital of small businesses. The following project description details how this fund will be administered in order to maximize its fruitfulness.

   Our first objective is to establish a startup fund of $20,000 from which loans will be distributed to help the needy and the underemployed of developing countries to begin small businesses. For $20,000 we expect to start between 14-20 businesses initially. Many more businesses will continue to be started with the same funds as loans are repaid and the money re-invested.

   Our second objective is to raise $2,000 as a grant to help Pastor Jose Lopez of Tepic, Mexico, start a small business that will lead to a better economic self-sufficiency. Having witnessed his many years of unfailing perseverance, sacrifice, and labor in ministering to the Mexican people, we desire to invest in this business as a grant and not as a loan.

   Funds for the loans will be supplied through donations. The amount of each loan, upon repayment, will not be paid back to the donors, but will go into a revolving fund and loaned out again to start more businesses. A loan administrative fee will also be charged for the purpose of helping to reimburse the time and costs of the local administrators who are overseeing these projects.

• Each applicant must have personal recommendations from those who can attest to their character, reliability, competence, and family life.
• Each applicant must submit a business plan which will include a cost and market analysis.
• If accepted, he or she must agree to be accountable to the local administrator who will serve as a mentor and advisor.

   We will begin in Mexico and Peru with the people we have already established relationships with that meet the requirements for starting a small business. We will also engage those we know who are experienced in business and qualified to administer the program. Working through a network of existing relationships provides safeguards that are unavailable to traditional lending institutions. As the fund grows, we will help others in need who are recommended to us. The program will grow through word of mouth and relationships. Though most of our contacts are in the evangelical community, our program will not be limited to Christians but to anyone meeting the criteria. This will create opportunities for nonbelievers in the program to be presented with the Gospel.

   There will be a team of local administrators in each area where loans are made. A payment schedule will be established for each loan with a term for repayment of 2-3 years. The local administrators will manage the fund, keep accounts, and provide counsel for the loan applicants. At first the local administrators and CPI staff will evaluate the loan applicants on a case by case basis. Later, as the program develops, all decisions will be made by the local people who make up the loan approval committees for each area. Those receiving loans will receive training on sound business practice and godly stewardship from the local administrators. Materials from Crown Ministries on financial stewardship are available in Spanish and will be utilized. Later, small business accountability groups would be formed.

   There are many examples of small businesses that may be started with a small amount of capital. Examples include: a small store, a commercial taco grill, sign painting, used clothing, upholstery, shoe repair, appliance repair, a carpentry shop, a tire repair shop, textiles, exports, and much more.

   The first person that we would like to help is Angel. In addition, we would like to help expand the existing micro-enterprise program of Josue Lopez. He is the founder and director of The Emanuel Children�fs Home in Juarez, Mexico, where CPI has co-labored for many years. Josue has already started one small business, a broom factory, which now has a number of people working in harvesting the straw, assembling the brooms, and selling. He knows of many needs and is well qualified to be a local administrator. Besides Josue and Angel, there are many others who have inquired whom we would desire to help.

   CPI will personally monitor the progress of the businesses and will also receive reports from the administrators where the loans are being made. These reports will be made available to donors who may also visit the mission field to personally meet the people if they so desire.

$20,000  for loans to start small businesses
  2,000  for a grant to help Pastor Jose Lopez start a small business in San Cayetano, Mexico
  5,000  for operational costs and travel to the foreign field                                                         
$27,000  TOTAL