Here in one of SE Asia’s poorest countries, our Sunday evening fellowship just finished a teaching series through the book of James. There we were reminded of how faith and deeds always go together and are never mutually separate (James 2).
I work part time out at an organic farm that tries to not only keep this balance but to also do this in a way that is sustainable for the long term – so we also strive to be profitable. By being profitable we aren’t so dependent on outside support that can fluctuate and it means we can plan to be a faithful presence to the community here for many years to come.
However, the challenge is to do all three aspects really well… and that is the hard part. Typically we find there are seasons where one aspect tends to suffer while the other two flourish…
So at the moment, after being a faithful presence in this poor region for over 8 years, we are seeing an increase in people coming to faith. One guy came to the farm after being tormented by dark dreams. He knew we didn’t have a spirit house on the farm so how did we appease the evil spirits and sleep so well at night? He was then told of the power that Jesus has, was prayed over and that night had the best sleep ever. He is now attending a local fellowship that has sprung up in one of the nearby villages.
We are also seeing people’s lively hoods and income increase. Parents have money for school fees, kids have more clothes to wear and families have more food on the table due to the farm being able to pay staff a fair and God honouring wage.
But…
Are we profitable? Is this model sustainable for the long term? We believe it is but this aspect is currently this season’s weak point. As new markets open up for our organic products, we are slowly seeing the farms profits rise. Currently the farm is at about the 80% mark for it being self-sustaining. We still need to find another 20% in order to really see this endeavor be sustainable for the long term.
Doing all three aspects well, that is the challenge…
Share the Gospel.
Improve peoples well being.
Be profitable/sustainable.
By the grace of God, we will get there!
Written by a Partner in South East Asia
