Dan Ghinn

Ever since Jo and I started out in business, we wanted to put Christ at the center of the businesses we were involved in as He is in the rest of our lives. We couldn't dream of being in business without knowing Christ was in it with us-and we wanted to use the business for His purposes. At one time some years ago, during a time of financial testing, we were losing money every month, surrounded by debt, for a while unable even to fuel our car to get to the office. When I cried out to God about our financial situation, He clearly told me, "It's not about the money." This was hard to hear, given that all we could see around us was the challenge of our financial situation. Still, we knew we were called to this business. And as anybody in business knows, it's difficult to operate a business without cash! But God was showing us through what we were experiencing that what we were doing in the marketplace was not dependent on how much money we had, or on how much we “needed” to operate a business in the marketplace. Rather that our eyes must be fixed first on His purposes for us as ministers to the marketplace. So we looked around us at what we were doing in the marketplace, and saw that God had already started working through us in spite of ourselves and our struggles with finances: * I was actively involved in our local Chamber of Commerce, and have since joined the board and been made Chairman (when most of my co-directors have many more years experience in business than I do!). This leadership role means I can bring Godly principles right into the heart of the local business community. * We had set up a movement, beginning in our own city, called Business for Christ, through which we began to envision and equip others who God had called to the marketplace. Through this we have provided resources to people all around the world who are setting up or running “Kingdom businesses” with the purpose of taking God's kingdom to the heart of the marketplace. * We ran “Marketplace Ministers,” a year-long course for couples in business and the marketplace, where we shared the principles of prayer evangelism and marketplace ministry that we had learned through Ed Silvoso and his team at Harvest Evangelism. Some of the couples on this course have since gone on to start a new business or a marketplace prayer movement in their own areas. * We created a course, “Training for Transformation,” to help God's people in the marketplace discover the five pivotal paradigms for nation transformation (see "more by clicking here":http://www.transformourworld.org/distinctives) and apply them to the area of their calling to the marketplace. Many of the people passing through this course have since actively applied the paradigms to bring transformation to their own sphere of influence in the marketplace. * We planted a new Kingdom business, The Wonderful Creative Agency, which is now growing and making an impact in the local and national marketplace. Realizing that God wasn't going to let our financial situation stop the advance of His Kingdom in the marketplace through us allowed us to see our own situation in a new light. Growing to understand more of His purpose for us in business brought clarity to our vision for the primary business we operated and allowed us to shape a more effective business model. Today, Creation Interactive is a consultancy serving the healthcare and government sectors, with a team of consultants located all around the world. We are seeking to apply the principles of prayer evangelism to every area where we operate. So we have a vision to impact cities and nations by first praying into a city, seeking to know God's heart for it, and looking for needs we can meet. From this point, any business growth in the area is underpinned by a heart to see real transformation through the Kingdom of God at work. After twelve years in business, it still feels like we're just at the start of the journey, and there are many giants yet to be conquered! But we've learned that God can and does use His people in business to bring the Kingdom of God to the marketplace, and we're excited about the future as we look to take the business, and the Kingdom of God, into new nations. Dan Ghinn Maidstone, England December 2009