Business for generosity: 5 benefits of turning your business into a “giving engine”

So he waited. He had, for a long time, viewed his vocation as his mission. And he and his wife, Shelley, had always been committed to giving. They gave consistently to their church and volunteered in ministry. But in this period, he was learning something new, a new way of giving that was much more fun than writing checks.

He didn’t go looking for orphans. His passion was not a particular cause. His passion was using his knowledge and skills to glorify God.

Lifesong’s approach attracted Rod for several reasons: He was touched by their focus on orphans and vulnerable children, as well as providing education, vocational training, and funding support for adoptions. He was also impressed with the organization’s “100 percent pledge,” promising every dollar of donations fund the ministry, because operational costs are covered through other means – namely charitable businesses.

Soon, the two were “scratching out plans” to use businesses as “giving engines” for God’s work. Rod says he finally discovered something: “What I’ve learned professionally can be a tool to give back, and keep giving.”

What is a giving engine?

For Rod, a giving engine is simply a business that directs a portion of its profits to support ministry, helping to make the ministry sustainable. Instead of giving a check that gets spent to cover the costs of doing ministry, this financial support represents an investment in economic, social, and spiritual transformation. Giving from a business provides ongoing, sustainable support. And, Rod points out, these are real businesses, not hobbies. He expects them to succeed, grow, prosper, produce market-rate returns and gradually take over more of the costs of ministry.

A giving engine is simply a business that is used to support ministry.

Today, Rod’s involvement with Lifesong demonstrates the breadth of his new philosophy of stewardship. He guides development of businesses like Lifesong Farms in Ukraine and Zambia and helps with buying small businesses and creating startups in the U.S. too. But, like any good business, each of these has a specific purpose. If you’re curious, here’s how it works for them:

• Impact businesses: Lifesong’s ministry is wide and deep, supporting adoption-minded churches and individuals across the U.S. and vulnerable children in 14 countries. But they make a pledge that 100 percent of public gifts go directly to caring for orphans and vulnerable children. This is where the impact businesses that support Lifesong come in. Lifesong Impact owns five small businesses that operate in the U.S. A couple of them have been startups (though Rod says these are tough). Others have been bought from Christian business owners who no longer want to run their businesses but want to see them continue on for kingdom purposes. In some of these cases, these small business owners keep a small percentage of the business in order to send their kids to college, fund their retirement, or do their own giving. The businesses always have some component of discipleship.

5 reasons to love giving engines

The reasons these businesses are so great becomes apparent pretty quickly. Here are a few reasons to love them:

Imagine what could happen to the cause of vulnerable children and orphans if every ministry had this kind of support. Then imagine if this business model was applied to every Christian ministry. Could God be calling you to wait on him to lead you into such a calling too?