When you think of a kingdom business, what comes to mind? Is it merely a Christian in business or a Christian who happens to own a business? Let’s look at some of the characteristics of a truly Kingdom Business. Some are obvious, while others require careful thought and planning:

Profitable

It sounds obvious—right? It should be.

Your business won’t last long unless it is profitable. In an increasingly regulated western world, we have the media promoting the false idea that profit, or at least too much of it, is a bad thing. This is an absurd notion. The real issue is the way by which a business makes a profit (i.e. that it is done legally, honestly and ethically) and of course how those profits are then used.

A business needs to be profitable to survive, to grow, hire staff, and to pay the taxes that provide many of the vital services in an economy. If all businesses in society made little or no profit, the economy would come to a standstill and governments would be forced to cut services. Basic common sense has been lost and replaced with ideology.

Advances God’s Kingdom

Using your profits, you can fund your church and its outreach activities, bless your local community, help those in need and fund mission. I would argue that Kingdom Business is the future of evangelization of the planet. Try setting up a church in Saudi Arabia—not likely. Set up a genuine business there instead and you will have a potential kingdom opportunity! Think big, and ask God how I can use my business to extend God’s kingdom?

A kingdom business has an eternal focus!

Help the Poor

The Bible is unequivocal about the poor and we are called to help those in need. Not only can you help the poor with the profits from your business, but you can go one step further—hire them! One of the causes of poverty is unemployment, and you can provide an opportunity by providing jobs. You can make this even more effective through proper training so that it can be permanent and the beneficiary can help others up.

Relationships

One of the best aspects of business are the interesting people you meet. It is also one of the greatest challenges. But make no mistake, the Christian business person, probably more than other believers, is endlessly meeting new people and establishing relationships. From staff to customers, suppliers to service providers; there are many opportunities to build genuine relationships with people, share the gospel with them, help them and simply “shine.”

Vision & Mission

The Bible says that without a vision, the people perish. The same is true with business. Your business needs a purpose, a reason for being, something significant beyond just merely making a profit which is nice, but changed lives are better! Seek God to determine what your mission and vision should be.

Multiplication

One of the most overlooked concepts in the Bible is the concept of multiplication. Consider the human body which starts off as one cell, but splits and multiplies, becoming more than a trillion cells. This concept can be applied to business through a variety of business models.

Multiplication models include franchising and licensing. These days, thanks to digital marketing, you can multiply your business rapidly for a fraction of the price. Social media multiplication is really just word-of-mouth on steroids!

Why multiply? For the simple reason that if you multiply your business then you can multiply its impact.

Cultural Change

Jesus’ short life and three year ministry changed the world forever. Your business could too. Think of some of the world’s mega corporations and the impact they have on our culture. Large media outlets, social media businesses, fast food chains and more have had a significant impact on our culture; be it for good or evil.

Wouldn’t it be great if we saw more Christian businesses multiplying and having a significant influence over our culture and bringing restoration to people’s lives?

Your business does not need to be big to influence culture or to significantly impact people. As individual Christians, we are called to reach out to people one life at a time. Be a good steward of your business today and let God use it for his glory.

Intimacy with your Father

In Genesis 3:8, we read about how God walked in the Garden of Eden. Often, we think of God as being in heaven and us on earth. However, when we read about the Garden of Eden before the fall of man, we see that God’s original design was for fellowship with Man. While the sin of Adam and Eve disrupted this, Jesus came to restore it.

A Kingdom Business is completely dependent on God. To be dependent on God and to trust Him, you need to spend time with Him. God is the ultimate business partner. If He created the world, do you think He might share a few creative business ideas with you? He is reliable, trustworthy and a loving Father that wants to help you to advance his kingdom.

Two successful Christian entrepreneurs I admire take each Wednesday off to spend a full day with God. They read the word, pray and cry out to God for wisdom and help, and guess what? God always answers their prayers!

For the past 20 years, I get up most mornings, read the Word and pray, but it has always been too rushed. Now I read and pray each morning, albeit for longer periods, but I also take a half-day each week just to spend time with God and be in his presence. The best thing about it is that the more you do it, the more you want to do it. You will end up loving God even more!

Business is consecrated to God

We read in Psalm 24 that everything in the world belongs to God. Many Christians acknowledge that we are stewards of God’s resources, but how many think that their business belongs to God?

Hand your business over to God. Become his general manager and let him be the CEO. Your business will do better, you’ll be less stressed; and in partnership with God, you will fulfill the calling that he has for your business.

Where is your business at on this journey?