Business Plan Competition, Ukraine: Report from Ivan Papish, Director of RCE-Ukraine

Dear friends:

As you all know during the year 2008 we had 3 seminars of Biblical Entrepreneurship (Principles of BE, Practices of BE and Planning Biblical Based Business). After the end of the third seminar we asked people to write there own business plans; it could be eitherer for a new business or for the growth of an existing business. At the end of the year of work, our Center had a celebration and invited all of the people that worked with the Center in one way or another, whether through La Red training, Biblical Entrepreneurship training, or the business symposium last year. At the celebration we gave certificates to everyone who finished all 3 seminars.

We had 51 participants in each of the 3 Biblical Entrepreneurship courses this year (and two of the students came to Christ in BE 2). Thirty-one individuals made it all the way through the third level of BE (Business Plan Development), and we had 14 BE Students present Business Plans at the competition last week. The next day we held the business plan competition.

Friends from America came to be with us and served as judges for the competition. We also had judges from the local Ukrainian business community: Tkachuk Grigory (Director of Car Dealership), Dutka Igor (a successful businessmen in several businesses), and Cherniy Evgenia (restaurant business); and Kucher Galina participated as a representative from Operation Blessing, Kiyv. From the US were Jason Benedict (RCE Strategist), Tim Judy (IMB Kingdom Business Missionary), and Mark Boyce (Kingdom Business Investor), and Tom Stansbury (RCE Entrepreneur-In-Residence). They were able to see some of the business of the BE Students.

The Business Plan competition was held in the office of the Center

People were presenting their business plans from 9 am to 6 pm. Judges had opportunity to see business plans and give their feedback and advice (all of the business plans were translated into English). We had 14 business plans, such as: a print shop, celebration planning (2 people), a kindergarten for children with intellectual and physical developmental challenges, concrete fencing, plastic window development, a fitness club, curtain rod production, Ukrainian traditional shorts, building cottages, furniture production, a tourist company, and English training (study in America).

Seven participants received the highest scores form the judges! All of those seven received souvenirs from Regent University

Top Business Plans:

Atamanyuk Dmitriy and Yulia # 1 (concrete fence production--pictured at right)
Karpik Oleg # 2 (Celebration planning)
Mamus Yuriy # 3 (Furniture production)
Kharkovsky Volodumer # 4 (Fitness club)
Tsibulsky Olexander # 5 (Cottage building)

Drevnitsky Oleg # 6 (curtain rod production)
Gumenyuk Mukola # 7 (Plastic windows)

We would like to thank all of who prayed for us and supported us. We pray that God will provide for all of your needs and bless you many times more.

Sincerely,

Ivan Papish
Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship “Success”, Ternopol, Ukraine

Business Plan Competition, RCE Ukraine: from Tom Stansbury

Greetings my friends,

For the past 10 days, I have been back in Ukraine on a mission. As you know, this past year the Regent Center for Entrepreneurship - Dr. John Mulford and I - have forged the development of a business development center with my good friend, Ivan Papish – whom I met 12 years ago while here with YWAM. Jason Benedict and I arrived on Monday, December the 8th. You have probably realized how passionate I am about Kingdom Business. I believe with all my heart that the primary reason we are in business is to change lives.

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I first came to Ukraine back in 1996 - over 200 people made decisions to follow Christ with their lives but I realized that while many had come to know the Lord in a personal relationship – their lives were in dire need of help in generating incomes to support their families and creating businesses that could provide employment in this region of Ternopil.

Today, this is summarized in discussing the difference between the Gospel of Salvation and the Gospel of the Kingdom. It is not enough to only encourage those God brings into our lives to come to Him – to be saved. I believe we are called to go beyond and serve in a more holistic way – to be salt and light in the marketplace and to replicate our entrepreneurial spirit in the lives of those we have made deposits into – teaching them how to fish, so to speak, so they can provide for their families and the families who will eventually work for the companies and businesses they will launch.

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This past week, this dream of ours at RCE to see Kingdom Business transforming lives and nations took one more step to fulfillment. On Thursday and Friday, December 11th and 12th, RCE held its first Business Plan Competition in Ternopil, Ukraine!

RCE and its 'Founders' have invested over $30K this year to bring Biblical Entrepreneurship – 3 entire courses that teach believers in a developing nation how to launch a Kingdom business – to Ukraine. The final component of the year program is a Business Plan Competition which we held in the 'Center for Entrepreneurial Success' which John Mulford and I helped my good friend Ivan Papish launch last year here in Ukraine.

The Christian Center for Entrepreneurial Success has served over 300 emerging business leaders here in the Ternopil region of western Ukraine. CBN Kiev helped produce a short video on what the Center has accomplished (which will be up on RCE's website shortly). We had 51 Ukrainians participate in each of the 3 Biblical Entrepreneurship courses this year (2 leaders came to Christ in BE 2). While 31 made it all the way through BE 3 (Business Plan Development) – we had 14 BE Students present B-Plans at the competition last week. Several have already launched their own small businesses (SME's) and many are in process. We had the pleasure of having Galina from Operation Blessing in Kiev serve as one of the judges in the competition – OB is looking to provide initial start-up funds for Ukrainians to launch their own small businesses.

We had 3 local Ukrainian businesspeople serve as judges in addition to Galina, along with Jason Benedict (RCE Strategist), Tim Judy (IMB Kingdom Business Missionary), and Mark Boyce (Kingdom Business Investor), and myself.

This Center in Ternopil has impacted so many lives and we have won the respect of the local community – a feat in and of itself because it takes a lot to earn trust in this society where Communism ruled for over 70 years.

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The first evening I arrived in Ukraine, I had the opportunity to visit a dear friend in Kiev that I had gotten to know this past summer while working with one of the largest banks here in Ukraine on a consulting project--I'll call him Victor.

Victor and I became friends while launching a national company here in Kiev with Tony & April Creed. He is a leader in the business community and has worked as the CFO of several national companies here in Ukraine – currently developing his own investment capital firm ARPA Investments. We spent many hours together last summer – even a few 'all-nighters' while preparing for several Board Meetings to present our business plan to the shareholders of Eurostandard. During that time, I was able to share my faith with Victor and we talked at length about the Kingdom of God and how Christ came to the Earth.

I am excited to say that Victor dedicated his life to Jesus Christ a week ago Monday, my first night back in Kiev! The seeds that were sown through this Kingdom business opportunity brought my good friend to Christ! He contemplated this decision for months and I know his seed of faith has been deposited on fertile soil.

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I wanted to share the news with all of you, and ask you to be praying for me. I return to the states Dec 22nd.

Hoping this holiday season brings you much joy and peace - even in the midst of trying times. Remember that our hope is in Him, not in the things of the world.

In Him,
Tom Stansbury

We Won!

by Patrice Tsague, RCE Partner

And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" Luke 24:17

To win means to obtain the advantage over the opposition. Another definition is to successfully achieve set goals and objectives. When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was sent to earth by His Father, His assignment was to give up His life in exchange for the salvation of all those who would believe in Him. He came to establish a family of believers called the body of Christ who would continue to carry out His message.

To accomplish His mission, He recruited 12 disciples. He trained and equipped them to carry out His message throughout the earth after His return to His father. Although one of the disciples betrayed Him, which was a part of the plan, Jesus accomplished His objectives. After His death and resurrection, He found His disciples perplexed, sad, and confused because it was the third day, and they had not seen Him. They concluded that the goal He set forth was not accomplished. He did not rise as He said He would. The disciples must have thought, "Everything He taught us was not true. What are we to do now?"

As they were having their pity party, Jesus Himself drew near them and began to listen in. "Why are you so sad?" He asked. "Why are you talking so negatively?" They responded by reciting to Him what happened; how the Christ was supposed to rise after His death, but it had not happened. He responded by rebuking them and reminding them of the scriptures and then revealing Himself to them as the risen Christ. Here He was! Jesus' disciples had been walking around defeated, sad, talking negatively in unbelief, and thinking they had lost, when they had actually won!

Many of us may currently have the same attitude. Because of what we are seeing, hearing, and experiencing in the current economic crisis, we conclude our fight is lost. But I have news for you: We have won!

Yes, winning is an attitude, and the person who has a winning attitude will be the ultimate winner. Jesus said in John 16:33, "In this world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." The Psalmist said in Psalm 34:19, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." No matter what you are going through right now, you must maintain the attitude of a winner. Remember, a high price was paid for your victory.

Maintaining a winning attitude is not easy, given the fact that although we are called in scripture to live by faith, many of us are continuously led by sight. We allow what we see, feel, and experience to influence our state of being, thus determining the outcome of our objectives. In order to maintain a winning attitude, you must practice the following mental disciplines:

1. Focus on your relationship with the Lord: The most precious and valued asset you have is your relationship with the Lord; do not allow anything to interfere with that.
2. Keep a consistent mental diet of the Word of God through personal study and hearing the word: Our attitude is shaped by the information we receive. Put the word of God in you through your personal devotions and listen to Bible-based teachings, because faith comes by hearing.
3. Maintain a steady prayer life: Pray without ceasing. Constant communication with your Father is essential to achieving a Kingdom assignment.
4. Keep your eyes on the prize: Your ultimate reward is not here but in eternity.
5. Stay on mission: Your mission is the unique calling that God has placed on your life. Your personal mission rarely changes although the strategies for achieving your mission certainly can change. Do not confuse your mission with your strategy.
6. Change strategies when necessary: Be flexible and adjust your plans based on new information and circumstances. When things are not working, seek the Lord for a new direction; one where you can experience His grace and blessing. Do not stay stubbornly committed to a strategy that may have been a good idea at one time, but the Lord is not blessing it now. This is not giving up; it is merely being flexible. Giving up is allowing life's challenges and circumstances to cause you to abandon the pursuit of God's plan for your life. Never give up on your mission.
7. Walk by faith and not by sight: Do not allow external circumstances to influence your feelings and emotions. Be directed by your internal belief and the Word of God.

These seven things will keep you on the winning side every time. Remember, in spite of how you feel and what you are going through, we have won. All you have to do now is execute. As you execute, stay away from losers and surround yourself with other winners. A loser is someone who allows circumstances to determine his outcome. A loser maintains a negative and defeated attitude that is contagious. A winner is someone who has an attitude of success. The winner knows that no matter what, he has the advantage-because he has already won!

Copyright © 2008 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

We're Moving!

The Center for Entrepreneurship, along with the School of Global Leadership and Entrepreneurship, is moving down the road to the "MetroPlex". Everything in the office has been boxed up and moved to our new location, and I just had a few things to clean out of my desk today.

Interesting what you find when you're cleaning up--and how much can be thrown away! I need to do this more often, that's for sure. I'm sure there's a spiritual lesson in this, but at the end of the afternoon, at the end of a long week, all I can say is, I'm glad to be starting out fresh next week!

Hope you're enjoying the holiday season. Next week, from the MetroPlex!

The Good Fight

by Patrice Tsague, RCE Partner

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I Timothy 6:12

In these volatile economic times, some individuals and businesses can be tempted to be distracted from their primary missions or to give up on their assignments altogether. They ask themselves, "Why continue when the forecast looks so bleak and the indicators such as rising unemployment, negative growth, foreclosures, decreased sale revenues, and much more are not very encouraging?" It is in these times that Kingdom businessmen and women need to remember that they started their businesses to meet market needs for profit while fulfilling the Great Commission in the marketplace.

If the focus of your business has become simply to make money, or if your business model is purely transactional, your business could falter during these tight financial times. Your business must promise the delivery of a product or service that meets clear needs in people's lives with a passion, or you will not survive these tough economic times. You may ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?" or "Is there a higher purpose than just making money?" My question to you is, "Are you involved in the good fight?"

Life is a fight and no matter what you are doing you are fighting, either for something or against something. You have to make sure that you are fighting for the right reasons and against the right enemy. The good fight is a battle against the works of darkness for the soul and destiny of humanity. In the marketplace, this battle is waged through the venue of commerce.

Great battles are won or lost not based on the might of an army, but based on the magnitude of the mission and the selflessness of the army's purpose. If an army goes to war just for the treasures of victory and the joy of destroying an enemy, the soldiers will not remain inspired during the difficult times of the war. If, however, their mission is significant and their cause is greater than themselves, then no matter how difficult the war, they are prepared to die for what they are fighting for and that gives them a great advantage.

This is a time to reflect on the reasons you entered into business in the first place. Review your purpose and mission and ensure that it is for a cause bigger than yourself, then realign your activities with your purpose and mission.

Those who are engaged in the good fight cannot lose. The fight was already won at Calvary by our Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ. The battle is not ours, it is the Lord's. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). What are you fighting for? Make sure you are fighting the good fight, then you will have the stamina to make wise business decisions in tough times that will produce profitable dividends-physical and eternal.