When I think about the Kingdom of God and community gardening, I think about the opportunity that our community has to experience “Shalom” or right relationship with God, right relationship with each other, and right relationship with God’s creation. Here are some ways this “Shalom” is being lived out in our community through the community garden.
What is social entrepreneurship? I have to be honest; I did not know what the term meant. As I began to learn about it, I realized how significant this field is, and how if one leveraged a business with the gospel in mind it could make a powerful impact in the world and lives of others.
Several years ago, Greg Spillyards developed a vision for ways we, as a faith community, are called to be intentionally engaged throughout all sectors of the city in order to love our neighbors as Jesus calls us. Influenced by Jeremiah’s writings in Nehemiah, he hoped and prayed for a unified faith community to rebuild a city spiritually, socially and economically.
The Rust Belt region (comprised of a portion of the north-central and northeastern regions of the country) is so named for its significant economic depression, de-industrialization and population decline. In the midst of all this, it’s encouraging to see examples of how the Church is leading where others dare not go.
At the Asbury Project Conference, over 30 college and seminary students submitted plans for businesses that they hoped would be profitable and socially enriching additions to the common good. I was buoyed up by the energy, compassion and business acumen of the students. There is a great deal of hope for the future.
Conferences for Christian entrepreneurs are full of energy. That was the first thing I learned at the recent Asbury Project conference in Wilmore, Ky. The conference, a collaborative effort between Asbury Seminary and Asbury University to explore how social entrepreneurship can advance the Kingdom, left me inspired to develop a social project of my own.
