‘A Call to Business’ (CTB): 
CTB is a growing community of business people who believe that God has called them into business, not just to work but to:
- Create resources
- Influence the sphere of authority around them
- See many people coming to faith
- And being ‘discipled’ in the context of their everyday working lives.
In November 2000 a journey began in the City of London, when a handful of businessmen organised a conference at the Gibson Hall which was to profoundly challenge and change the lives of many people. So powerful was that gathering that A Call to Business was breathed into life by demand, moving forward from one event on a journey that has changed lives and is now blazing its way around the globe.
Business people are blessed with many gifts - risk taking, analytical capacity, vision, drive and the ability to manage many roles among them. However, when these gifts are out of balance and with perspectives that are not Godly, over time we may become burnt out and disillusioned, or at least 'stuck' in a place from which we may need to move on. One of the main objectives of A Call to Business is to see people transitioning from 'survival mode', i.e. how to cope with pressure and daily demands, to 'transformation mode', being able to influence our businesses and those around us for God.
Basic to our message is the desire to see key Biblical principles understood and applied in everyday life, to be open to the Holy Spirit's leading at every moment in any day. We see the Bible's exhortation to "take dominion" as a mandate to build the Kingdom of God here on earth, here and now. We have been building relationships with those in the marketplace who have a faith and hope in Jesus and long to see that faith applied in their lives every day. We have also been building relationship with traditional church leaders who desire to equip and 'send' people into all the spheres of authority. We hold seminars, have workplace groups meeting each week and occasionally larger conferences. We produce films and write articles. We come alongside other business people to help them grow their businesses with a different perspective on wealth creation and Kingdom building.
Many people are receiving their own revelation and applying those insights and principles, seeing their own lives and businesses changed. Fruitfulness would include:
- A strong sense that the working environment is 'church' as believers pray and plan together
- Holy Spirit encounters, seeing staff and clients sensing something so different in behaviours that an openness to the Gospel prevails
- Those who are hard-hearted towards Jesus often moving on
- Business owners, seeing the stark reality of being 'unequally yoked' and breaking ties with the past
- Growing generosity
- Excitement prevailing instead of fear
- Wealth creation with a desire to use the wealth in wholly new ways and not simply to personally add to savings or assets
- A new understanding of security
In addition to our roles in the business arena business people also have a unique perspective of global events. Through international travel and trading we can see events unfolding in the natural that reflect the supernatural. In A Call to Business we spend time visiting other nations, taking the message of servant leadership and non-hierarchical structure to other streams of business, but also bringing practical support in terms of time, money or skills to the emerging world. In particular God has opened an amazing door into Sierra Leone.
Kingdom Building:
CTB is not about building an organization, it’s about prayer action, mobilising, equipping, sacrifice, building a new Kingdom - His kingdom here on earth. There's much to learn and much to share. We believe there are many keys to open new doors.
Vision:
What do we see in the early church? Believers believed!!! Christ was real, he was for now, he was powerful, he changed everything and against the background of opposition and suffering the message of the Gospel spread like wildfire. The real, visible, vibrant, militant movement of Jesus' followers shook the planet and truly, as Jesus said, so it was. A church built on the prophets and apostles, deeply contemplative, strongly practical.
God has equipped every man and woman to be a minister of the Gospel, all with the same mandate to "go into all the world and make disciples of all nations ....." not only within the structure of local church but in the walking out of our faith in the context of the 'ordinary everyday' shape of our lives, wherever we find ourselves located and whatever the 'work of our hands' comprises.
From a justice viewpoint, there is no doubt that the developed world is growing more affluent by the day, and yet perversely in this system known as Capitalism the poor systematically become measurably poorer each year. What the Bible describes as the Babylonian system has grown since the beginning of time based on luxury and power and continues to grow unabated - with ferocious consequences for the least well off, less capable, or those without opportunity or access to capital.
In contrast, the call of God to those who love him has always been to a life of self-sacrifice, service and witness. Whilst we have been busy organising our lives into self-contained compartments which function like separate worlds, the truth is that every Christian is called to be a minister of the Gospel, 24-7.
To put it another way, every believer is ordained by God to be an intercessor, a spiritual warrior, a soul-winner and a disciple maker in whatever situation they find themselves - for business people their business environment. Believers can be positioned in business to be counter-cultural, bringing justice, righteousness and excellence into everyday life.
Whilst recognising the value of the many resources available for the Christian in business, CTB also recognises the importance of learning through personal interaction and building relationships with others engaged in the same journey.
To this end the formation of small groups, plus opportunities to meet others at various events such as our monthly "Last Friday"breakfast provide a foundation for the growing community of business people desiring to see transformation in the marketplace.
David Hilton
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