Description
Detailed breakdown about entrepreneurship in church and community.
!
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary CUME 90 Warren St, Roxbury MA 02119 Spring 2014
Please note special application/registration procedure
ET638 Entrepreneurship in Church and Community
Tuesdays, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
David W. Gill (Workplace Theology & Ethics Specialist) [email protected] 510-919-5043
& Larry Ward (Entrepreneurship Training Specialist) [email protected]
Office hours: Tuesdays, 5:00-6:00 pm & by appointment
DESCRIPTION:
The purpose of this course is to learn how pastors and congregations can promote and support new
business formation. Rather than looking to existing businesses or to government agencies to create
jobs, this course asks “what can the church do?” The absence of work opportunities is not just a factor in
poverty; it entails a loss of human dignity and a squandering of the gifts and abilities God grants to each
of us. Within our churches are simultaneously many who need and want to find meaningful work --- and
others with skills, experiences, networks, resources to help their brothers and sisters find or create new
business and work opportunities.
The course will lay the foundations for entrepreneurship in serious biblical study, theology, and ethics.
What does the Bible teach about the reality and purpose of work, leadership, money, communication and
related topics? And what does Christian ethics teach us about building a healthy workplace culture,
resolving difficulties, and doing the right thing in God’s eyes? Based on this robust theological foundation
this will be a practical workshop course for current and future pastors and church leaders to help their
people create jobs and companies.
This course, supported by a grant from the Kern Family Foundation, will be limited to eighteen (18)
students upon approval of the Instructors (special application form required and attached at end of this
syllabus). The grant will contribute $600 toward the tuition bill of each of the 18 students.
The eighteen students will meet with the Instructors for 3 hours of class each Tuesday evening during the
Spring semester at the CUME campus. Each of the eighteen students will recruit and accept one
promising, committed, prospective entrepreneur from their congregation or nearby community. Students
will be assisted in the recruiting, review, and acceptance process for their prospective entrepreneurs.
Students should expect to invest roughly 3 hours in class, 4 hours of outside study, and 3 hours of
coaching their prospective entrepreneurs each week. Entrepreneurs must be able and willing to invest at
least eight hours of work per week in building their businesses. Each of the eighteen entrepreneurs will
have available $500 in a seed money grant to help launch their business. These funds will be distributed
upon creation and approval of business plans, budgets, and accounting processes. At the end of the
summer of 2014 additional financial awards will be given to the best entrepreneurial projects among the
eighteen.
OBJECTIVES & LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students who complete this course will be able to
1. Define the basic concepts and terminology of entrepreneurship.
2. Describe and apply Christian ethical values and guidelines to entrepreneurial concerns and
challenges.
3. Recognize, recruit, and train prospective entrepreneurs in a congregation, including budget
planning, basic marketing, and personnel management.
4. Evaluate business and leadership performance and provide wise counsel.
#
.
REQUIRED READING:
Entrepreneur Media staff, Start Your Own Business (Entrepreneur Press, 5
th
edition, 2010), 780pp;
ISBN: 978-1-59918-387-9
Chris Guillebeau, The $100 Start-Up: Reinvent the Way You Make A Living, Do What You Love, and
Create a New Future (Crown Business, 2012) 304pp; ISBN: 978-0-307-95152-6
Selected Readings ---to be distributed in class.
RECOMMENDED READING
Vikram Akula, A Fistful of Rice: My Unexpected Quest to End Poverty Through Profitability (Harvard
Business, 2011), 190pp.; ISBN 978-1-4221-3117-6
Steven C. Brandt, Entrepreneuring: The Ten Commandments for Building a Growth Company (Mentor,
1982) 195pp.; ISBN 0-451-62703-2
Chip Conley & Eric Friedenwald-Fishman, Marketing that Matters: 10 Practices To Profit Your Business
and Change the World (Berrett-Koehler, 2006) 216 pp; ISBN: 978-1-57675-383-5
Peter Drucker, Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Practice & Principles (Harper & Row/Perennial, 1985),
277pp.; ISBN: 0-06-091360-6
Floyd Flake & Donna Marie Williams, The Way of the Bootstrapper: Nine Action Steps for Achieving Your
Dreams (Amistad, 2000) 272 pp.; ISBN: 10-0062515969
David W. Gill, It’s About Excellence: Building Ethically Healthy Organizations (Eugene OR: Wipf & Stock,
2011) 222pp; ISBN-13: 978-1610976091
Michael Gerber, E-Myth Mastery: The Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World Class Company
(HarperBusiness, 2007), 464pp.; ISBN 13- 978-0060723231
Richard J. Goosen & Paul Stevens, Entrepreneurial Leadership: Finding Your Calling. Making A
Difference (Downers Griove IL: InterVarsity, 2013)181 pp. ISBN: 978-0-8308-3773-1
Craig Hall, The Responsible Entrepreneur: How to Make Money and Make a Difference (Franklin Lakes
NJ: Career Press, 2001), 285pp.; ISBN 1-56414-581-6
Judith B. Harrington, The Everything Start Your Own Business Book, 4
th
edition (Avon MA: Adams Media,
2012) ISBN: 978-1-4405-3877-3
Michael Hyatt, Platform (Thomas Nelson, 2012) 288pp.; ISBN-13: 978-1595555038
Guy Kawasaki, The Art of the Start (Penguin/Portfolio, 2004), 226pp; ISBN 1-59184-056-2
Jay Conrad Levinson & Shel Horowitz, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve
Your Profits and Your Planet (John Wiley, 2010) 236pp; ISBN 13 - 978-0470409510
Kevin Lynch & Julius Walls, Mission, Inc., (Berrett-Koehler, 2009) 187pp.; ISBN 13- 978-1576754795
Bill Murphy, Jr., The Intelligent Entrepreneur (New York: Holt, 2010) 336pp.; ISBN 978-0-8050-9166-3
Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu, & Simone Ahuja, Jugaad Innovation (Jossey-Bass, 2012), 275pp.; ISBN:
978-1-118-24974-1
Mark L. Russell, The Missional Entrepreneur: Principles & Practices for Business As Mission
(Birmingham
AL: New Hope Publishers, 2010) 312 pp.; ISBN: 978-1-59669-278-7
Jeff Van Duzer, Why Business Matters to God (and What Still Needs to Be Fixed) (InterVarsity Press,
2010)., 206pp.; ISBN 978-0830838882
Muhammad Yunus, Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty (Public
Affairs, 2003), 273pp.; ISBN: 978-1586481988
WEB SITES
Christian Entrepreneur Association www.christianentrepreneurassociation.com
Nehemiah Project www.nehemiahproject.org
New Venture Lab. “Equipping Christian Entrepreneurs” www.newventurelab.com
$
ASSIGNMENTS:
(submit all papers in electronic form as Word documents with your last name as the first word in the file
name attached to e-mail to [email protected])
1. Eight Weekly Idea Summaries from Assigned Readings Each of the first eight weeks you
complete the readings before coming to class and write up a careful summary or list of the key
ideas to share with your entrepreneur as you help them create a plan for that business functional
area (marketing, business plan, financial management, etc.). (5% each, 40% total grade)
2. Core Mission, Core Values, Business Name, & Start-up Business Plan you help your
entrepreneur prepare, map out, and articulate a basic start-up plan to get the business off the
ground by launch day. (10%)
3. Basic Marketing & Technology Start-up Plan you help your entrepreneur create and articulate a
basic start-up marketing plan and technology plan (computers, web site, etc.) for the next three
months (10%)
4. Launch Presentation: you help your entrepreneur prepare and deliver a first rate launch day
presentation (10%)
5. Consultant’s Report to Entrepreneur: careful evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the
entrepreneur’s performance; suggestions for next steps and how to improve business and its
leadership; include a biblical/theological/spiritual perspective (15%)
6. Summary Paper: lessons learned and course takeaways for you and for your future work helping
people find work and create businesses in church and community (15%)
Schedule (Tuesdays 6-9 pm) Note: Students are encouraged to bring their entrepreneurs with them to
our class sessions; Lectures & presentations will be accompanied by discussions and workshop
exercises; Periodic guest presentations will be given by local entrepreneurs and subject matter experts.
1. Jan 28: Introduction to Course; Recruiting A High-Potential Entrepreneur
What is work? business? Why are they important? What is the purpose of business? Biblical
basics. Characteristics of successful entrepreneurs; Strategy for finding promising entrepreneurs
Read & Review: $100 Start-up Chs 1,2,3;
2. Feb 4: Mission, Products, & Services: Figuring Out What Business To Start
Identifying problems, needs, opportunities in my community that could be met by a new business:
how? Is there a sustainable way to meet this need through a business I might form? Identifying
my passion, values, skills – and recruiting/building business partners with essential
complementary skills for my business. Biblical basics on calling and character.
Read& Review: $100 Start-up Ch 5; Start Your Own Business Chs 1-4
Feb 7: (Fri; 11:30-1:30 in Alumni Hall, Hamilton) Entrepreneurship Seminar (Optional)
3. Feb 11: Business Planning: Sketching Out How to Make It Happen
Components of a business plan including but not limited to market assessment, financial viability,
preparation and launch; production and distribution; marketing and advertising, rules and
regulations In the rest of the course, we will fill in the details of each of these areas
Read & Review: $100 Start-up Ch 6; Start Your Own Business Chs 6-10
4. Feb 18: Money & Finance: Funding, Budgeting, & Accounting
Basics of budgeting, income/funding, expenses, credit, bank accounts, accounting and book-
keeping; the financial dimension of getting started, gaining access to funding, measuring
progress. Assessing costs including pay, facilities, etc. Understanding profit and its role.
Proverbs on honest, wise, diligent finance.
Read & Review: $100 Start-up Ch 10; Start Your Own Business Chs 12, 37-40
%
5. Feb 25: Marketing & Advertising: Promoting and Selling
Identifying and expanding your network; personal, print, and electronic promotion and advertising;
using social media and church network; Carrying out market research to qualify the pricing and
features of your offering. Biblical persuasion and communication
Read & Review: $100 Start-up Ch 7, 9; Start Your Own Business Chs 29-33
6. Mar 4: Computers & Technology: Minimum, Basic Needs to Get Started
Minimum and optimum use of websites, computer business and accounting and design
programs; networking and communications; considering the role of technology in creating a
wider, perhaps even global, reach for your business.
Read & Review: Start Your Own Business Chs 25-28, 34-36
7. Mar 11: Human Resources: Hiring, Training, Managing, & Leading People
Human resources; recruiting, training, promoting, disciplining work associates and partners;
internal communications; fair and realistic compensation, effective incentives; record-keeping, job
descriptions and evaluations; difficult personnel issues; Biblical leadership and people
management/development
Read & Review: Start Your Own Business Chs 23-24
8. Mar 18: Legal Matters: Permits, Business Structure
Dealing with government, laws, regulations, and bureaus; taxes, fees, permits, audits; Dealing
with proper financial accounting. Biblical approach to government and regulatory rules
Read & Review: Start Your Own Business Ch 9, 11
9. Mar 25: Launch Day One
Nine of our 18 entrepreneurs will each have eight minutes to present their new business and sell
us on its value and importance and on becoming customers; seven minutes of questions from the
audience; written evaluations from all audience members to the entrepreneur and coach.
Read & Review: $100 Start-up Ch 8;
10. Apr 1: Launch Day Two
Nine of our 18 entrepreneurs will each have eight minutes to present their new business and sell
us on its value and importance and on becoming customers; seven minutes of questions from the
audience; written evaluations from all audience members to the entrepreneur and coach.
Apr 8: no class meeting--- field work on business; get it up and running!
Apr 15: no class meeting --- field work on business; get it up and running!
11. Apr 22: Progress Reports; Trouble-shooting; Assessment & Audit: Internal & External
Brief reports on status and progress; prayer and consultation
Internal and external auditors, reviewers, and critics; timing and objectives; self-improvement and
employee training and development; Continuous quality improvement. Biblical correction and
growth in the business environment
12. Apr 29: Phase One Wrap-up; Taking It the Next Level
Planning for the next stage of the business. Seeking God’s will for my business and career.
When and how to close a business down; when to hang in there; when to ratchet it up.
Read & Review: (recommended) $100 Start-up Chs 11-14; Start Your Own Business Chs 13-15
Summer meetings monthly in May, June, July, August; awards dinner in September
These meetings cannot be mandatory because the course is officially over; but they are highly
&
valuable, even critical, in incubating and nurturing our infant businesses along toward survival
Instructional Team
David W. Gill, Ph.D., is Mockler-Phillips Professor of Workplace Theology and Business Ethics and
Director of the Mockler Center for Faith and Ethics in the Workplace at Gordon-Conwell. His books
include a Christian ethics text Doing Right: Practicing Ethical Principles and a business ethics text It’s
About Excellence: Building Ethically Healthy Organizations. He has taught Christian and/or business
ethics for more than 30 years and lectured across North America and Europe. He is an experienced
business and organizational ethics consultant and trainer.
Larry Ward, M.Ed.,is Pastor of Abundant Life Church in Cambridge MA. He is a certified trainer for the
National Foundation of Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and is a trainer for Financial Education
Associates, training people in financial literacy and homeownership. In addition, he is a member of the
American Society for Training Development and is a veteran entrepreneurship training specialist.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Academic credit for a course requires regular attendance, not just completion of the assignments. Your
personal participation and contribution is essential to the program. Attendance means being present for
the entire scheduled class meeting, not just some part of it. In the event of an excused absence, for any
reason, you are responsible for any information or class content missed and may be assigned additional
make up work because of the absence. If you are absent from a significant portion of the course, or if you
are frequently late for class meetings, even due to extenuating circumstances, this may result in a lower
or even failing grade for the course. Please inform your professor well in advance of any urgent
circumstances that may necessitate your being late or absent.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Students are expected to review, understand, and comply with the academic integrity standards and
commitments of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Our community values serious intellectual
engagement and personal faithfulness more highly than grades or degrees. We are committed to being
above reproach in our academic work as a reflection of our Christian faith and character. We are
committed to honesty in all aspects of our work. Ask for help from your professor or your counselors and
support group if you find yourself tempted to engage in any of the following violations of academic
integrity --- or are just having great difficulty in your studies: Any of these violations will result in a failing
grade in the course and a report to the dean.
• Submitting the your own same work, in whole or in part, in more than one course without explicit
permission from your professor/mentors;
• Plagiarism, i.e., large and/or multiple unattributed, uncredited quotations or paraphrases of ideas
from published or unpublished sources; Submitting as your own work paper(s) obtained from
other sources or writers;
• Unpermitted collaboration with fellow students or others in preparing assignments.
doc_761059115.pdf
Detailed breakdown about entrepreneurship in church and community.
!
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary CUME 90 Warren St, Roxbury MA 02119 Spring 2014
Please note special application/registration procedure
ET638 Entrepreneurship in Church and Community
Tuesdays, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
David W. Gill (Workplace Theology & Ethics Specialist) [email protected] 510-919-5043
& Larry Ward (Entrepreneurship Training Specialist) [email protected]
Office hours: Tuesdays, 5:00-6:00 pm & by appointment
DESCRIPTION:
The purpose of this course is to learn how pastors and congregations can promote and support new
business formation. Rather than looking to existing businesses or to government agencies to create
jobs, this course asks “what can the church do?” The absence of work opportunities is not just a factor in
poverty; it entails a loss of human dignity and a squandering of the gifts and abilities God grants to each
of us. Within our churches are simultaneously many who need and want to find meaningful work --- and
others with skills, experiences, networks, resources to help their brothers and sisters find or create new
business and work opportunities.
The course will lay the foundations for entrepreneurship in serious biblical study, theology, and ethics.
What does the Bible teach about the reality and purpose of work, leadership, money, communication and
related topics? And what does Christian ethics teach us about building a healthy workplace culture,
resolving difficulties, and doing the right thing in God’s eyes? Based on this robust theological foundation
this will be a practical workshop course for current and future pastors and church leaders to help their
people create jobs and companies.
This course, supported by a grant from the Kern Family Foundation, will be limited to eighteen (18)
students upon approval of the Instructors (special application form required and attached at end of this
syllabus). The grant will contribute $600 toward the tuition bill of each of the 18 students.
The eighteen students will meet with the Instructors for 3 hours of class each Tuesday evening during the
Spring semester at the CUME campus. Each of the eighteen students will recruit and accept one
promising, committed, prospective entrepreneur from their congregation or nearby community. Students
will be assisted in the recruiting, review, and acceptance process for their prospective entrepreneurs.
Students should expect to invest roughly 3 hours in class, 4 hours of outside study, and 3 hours of
coaching their prospective entrepreneurs each week. Entrepreneurs must be able and willing to invest at
least eight hours of work per week in building their businesses. Each of the eighteen entrepreneurs will
have available $500 in a seed money grant to help launch their business. These funds will be distributed
upon creation and approval of business plans, budgets, and accounting processes. At the end of the
summer of 2014 additional financial awards will be given to the best entrepreneurial projects among the
eighteen.
OBJECTIVES & LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students who complete this course will be able to
1. Define the basic concepts and terminology of entrepreneurship.
2. Describe and apply Christian ethical values and guidelines to entrepreneurial concerns and
challenges.
3. Recognize, recruit, and train prospective entrepreneurs in a congregation, including budget
planning, basic marketing, and personnel management.
4. Evaluate business and leadership performance and provide wise counsel.
#
.
REQUIRED READING:
Entrepreneur Media staff, Start Your Own Business (Entrepreneur Press, 5
th
edition, 2010), 780pp;
ISBN: 978-1-59918-387-9
Chris Guillebeau, The $100 Start-Up: Reinvent the Way You Make A Living, Do What You Love, and
Create a New Future (Crown Business, 2012) 304pp; ISBN: 978-0-307-95152-6
Selected Readings ---to be distributed in class.
RECOMMENDED READING
Vikram Akula, A Fistful of Rice: My Unexpected Quest to End Poverty Through Profitability (Harvard
Business, 2011), 190pp.; ISBN 978-1-4221-3117-6
Steven C. Brandt, Entrepreneuring: The Ten Commandments for Building a Growth Company (Mentor,
1982) 195pp.; ISBN 0-451-62703-2
Chip Conley & Eric Friedenwald-Fishman, Marketing that Matters: 10 Practices To Profit Your Business
and Change the World (Berrett-Koehler, 2006) 216 pp; ISBN: 978-1-57675-383-5
Peter Drucker, Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Practice & Principles (Harper & Row/Perennial, 1985),
277pp.; ISBN: 0-06-091360-6
Floyd Flake & Donna Marie Williams, The Way of the Bootstrapper: Nine Action Steps for Achieving Your
Dreams (Amistad, 2000) 272 pp.; ISBN: 10-0062515969
David W. Gill, It’s About Excellence: Building Ethically Healthy Organizations (Eugene OR: Wipf & Stock,
2011) 222pp; ISBN-13: 978-1610976091
Michael Gerber, E-Myth Mastery: The Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World Class Company
(HarperBusiness, 2007), 464pp.; ISBN 13- 978-0060723231
Richard J. Goosen & Paul Stevens, Entrepreneurial Leadership: Finding Your Calling. Making A
Difference (Downers Griove IL: InterVarsity, 2013)181 pp. ISBN: 978-0-8308-3773-1
Craig Hall, The Responsible Entrepreneur: How to Make Money and Make a Difference (Franklin Lakes
NJ: Career Press, 2001), 285pp.; ISBN 1-56414-581-6
Judith B. Harrington, The Everything Start Your Own Business Book, 4
th
edition (Avon MA: Adams Media,
2012) ISBN: 978-1-4405-3877-3
Michael Hyatt, Platform (Thomas Nelson, 2012) 288pp.; ISBN-13: 978-1595555038
Guy Kawasaki, The Art of the Start (Penguin/Portfolio, 2004), 226pp; ISBN 1-59184-056-2
Jay Conrad Levinson & Shel Horowitz, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve
Your Profits and Your Planet (John Wiley, 2010) 236pp; ISBN 13 - 978-0470409510
Kevin Lynch & Julius Walls, Mission, Inc., (Berrett-Koehler, 2009) 187pp.; ISBN 13- 978-1576754795
Bill Murphy, Jr., The Intelligent Entrepreneur (New York: Holt, 2010) 336pp.; ISBN 978-0-8050-9166-3
Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu, & Simone Ahuja, Jugaad Innovation (Jossey-Bass, 2012), 275pp.; ISBN:
978-1-118-24974-1
Mark L. Russell, The Missional Entrepreneur: Principles & Practices for Business As Mission
(Birmingham
AL: New Hope Publishers, 2010) 312 pp.; ISBN: 978-1-59669-278-7
Jeff Van Duzer, Why Business Matters to God (and What Still Needs to Be Fixed) (InterVarsity Press,
2010)., 206pp.; ISBN 978-0830838882
Muhammad Yunus, Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty (Public
Affairs, 2003), 273pp.; ISBN: 978-1586481988
WEB SITES
Christian Entrepreneur Association www.christianentrepreneurassociation.com
Nehemiah Project www.nehemiahproject.org
New Venture Lab. “Equipping Christian Entrepreneurs” www.newventurelab.com
$
ASSIGNMENTS:
(submit all papers in electronic form as Word documents with your last name as the first word in the file
name attached to e-mail to [email protected])
1. Eight Weekly Idea Summaries from Assigned Readings Each of the first eight weeks you
complete the readings before coming to class and write up a careful summary or list of the key
ideas to share with your entrepreneur as you help them create a plan for that business functional
area (marketing, business plan, financial management, etc.). (5% each, 40% total grade)
2. Core Mission, Core Values, Business Name, & Start-up Business Plan you help your
entrepreneur prepare, map out, and articulate a basic start-up plan to get the business off the
ground by launch day. (10%)
3. Basic Marketing & Technology Start-up Plan you help your entrepreneur create and articulate a
basic start-up marketing plan and technology plan (computers, web site, etc.) for the next three
months (10%)
4. Launch Presentation: you help your entrepreneur prepare and deliver a first rate launch day
presentation (10%)
5. Consultant’s Report to Entrepreneur: careful evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the
entrepreneur’s performance; suggestions for next steps and how to improve business and its
leadership; include a biblical/theological/spiritual perspective (15%)
6. Summary Paper: lessons learned and course takeaways for you and for your future work helping
people find work and create businesses in church and community (15%)
Schedule (Tuesdays 6-9 pm) Note: Students are encouraged to bring their entrepreneurs with them to
our class sessions; Lectures & presentations will be accompanied by discussions and workshop
exercises; Periodic guest presentations will be given by local entrepreneurs and subject matter experts.
1. Jan 28: Introduction to Course; Recruiting A High-Potential Entrepreneur
What is work? business? Why are they important? What is the purpose of business? Biblical
basics. Characteristics of successful entrepreneurs; Strategy for finding promising entrepreneurs
Read & Review: $100 Start-up Chs 1,2,3;
2. Feb 4: Mission, Products, & Services: Figuring Out What Business To Start
Identifying problems, needs, opportunities in my community that could be met by a new business:
how? Is there a sustainable way to meet this need through a business I might form? Identifying
my passion, values, skills – and recruiting/building business partners with essential
complementary skills for my business. Biblical basics on calling and character.
Read& Review: $100 Start-up Ch 5; Start Your Own Business Chs 1-4
Feb 7: (Fri; 11:30-1:30 in Alumni Hall, Hamilton) Entrepreneurship Seminar (Optional)
3. Feb 11: Business Planning: Sketching Out How to Make It Happen
Components of a business plan including but not limited to market assessment, financial viability,
preparation and launch; production and distribution; marketing and advertising, rules and
regulations In the rest of the course, we will fill in the details of each of these areas
Read & Review: $100 Start-up Ch 6; Start Your Own Business Chs 6-10
4. Feb 18: Money & Finance: Funding, Budgeting, & Accounting
Basics of budgeting, income/funding, expenses, credit, bank accounts, accounting and book-
keeping; the financial dimension of getting started, gaining access to funding, measuring
progress. Assessing costs including pay, facilities, etc. Understanding profit and its role.
Proverbs on honest, wise, diligent finance.
Read & Review: $100 Start-up Ch 10; Start Your Own Business Chs 12, 37-40
%
5. Feb 25: Marketing & Advertising: Promoting and Selling
Identifying and expanding your network; personal, print, and electronic promotion and advertising;
using social media and church network; Carrying out market research to qualify the pricing and
features of your offering. Biblical persuasion and communication
Read & Review: $100 Start-up Ch 7, 9; Start Your Own Business Chs 29-33
6. Mar 4: Computers & Technology: Minimum, Basic Needs to Get Started
Minimum and optimum use of websites, computer business and accounting and design
programs; networking and communications; considering the role of technology in creating a
wider, perhaps even global, reach for your business.
Read & Review: Start Your Own Business Chs 25-28, 34-36
7. Mar 11: Human Resources: Hiring, Training, Managing, & Leading People
Human resources; recruiting, training, promoting, disciplining work associates and partners;
internal communications; fair and realistic compensation, effective incentives; record-keeping, job
descriptions and evaluations; difficult personnel issues; Biblical leadership and people
management/development
Read & Review: Start Your Own Business Chs 23-24
8. Mar 18: Legal Matters: Permits, Business Structure
Dealing with government, laws, regulations, and bureaus; taxes, fees, permits, audits; Dealing
with proper financial accounting. Biblical approach to government and regulatory rules
Read & Review: Start Your Own Business Ch 9, 11
9. Mar 25: Launch Day One
Nine of our 18 entrepreneurs will each have eight minutes to present their new business and sell
us on its value and importance and on becoming customers; seven minutes of questions from the
audience; written evaluations from all audience members to the entrepreneur and coach.
Read & Review: $100 Start-up Ch 8;
10. Apr 1: Launch Day Two
Nine of our 18 entrepreneurs will each have eight minutes to present their new business and sell
us on its value and importance and on becoming customers; seven minutes of questions from the
audience; written evaluations from all audience members to the entrepreneur and coach.
Apr 8: no class meeting--- field work on business; get it up and running!
Apr 15: no class meeting --- field work on business; get it up and running!
11. Apr 22: Progress Reports; Trouble-shooting; Assessment & Audit: Internal & External
Brief reports on status and progress; prayer and consultation
Internal and external auditors, reviewers, and critics; timing and objectives; self-improvement and
employee training and development; Continuous quality improvement. Biblical correction and
growth in the business environment
12. Apr 29: Phase One Wrap-up; Taking It the Next Level
Planning for the next stage of the business. Seeking God’s will for my business and career.
When and how to close a business down; when to hang in there; when to ratchet it up.
Read & Review: (recommended) $100 Start-up Chs 11-14; Start Your Own Business Chs 13-15
Summer meetings monthly in May, June, July, August; awards dinner in September
These meetings cannot be mandatory because the course is officially over; but they are highly
&
valuable, even critical, in incubating and nurturing our infant businesses along toward survival
Instructional Team
David W. Gill, Ph.D., is Mockler-Phillips Professor of Workplace Theology and Business Ethics and
Director of the Mockler Center for Faith and Ethics in the Workplace at Gordon-Conwell. His books
include a Christian ethics text Doing Right: Practicing Ethical Principles and a business ethics text It’s
About Excellence: Building Ethically Healthy Organizations. He has taught Christian and/or business
ethics for more than 30 years and lectured across North America and Europe. He is an experienced
business and organizational ethics consultant and trainer.
Larry Ward, M.Ed.,is Pastor of Abundant Life Church in Cambridge MA. He is a certified trainer for the
National Foundation of Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and is a trainer for Financial Education
Associates, training people in financial literacy and homeownership. In addition, he is a member of the
American Society for Training Development and is a veteran entrepreneurship training specialist.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Academic credit for a course requires regular attendance, not just completion of the assignments. Your
personal participation and contribution is essential to the program. Attendance means being present for
the entire scheduled class meeting, not just some part of it. In the event of an excused absence, for any
reason, you are responsible for any information or class content missed and may be assigned additional
make up work because of the absence. If you are absent from a significant portion of the course, or if you
are frequently late for class meetings, even due to extenuating circumstances, this may result in a lower
or even failing grade for the course. Please inform your professor well in advance of any urgent
circumstances that may necessitate your being late or absent.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Students are expected to review, understand, and comply with the academic integrity standards and
commitments of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Our community values serious intellectual
engagement and personal faithfulness more highly than grades or degrees. We are committed to being
above reproach in our academic work as a reflection of our Christian faith and character. We are
committed to honesty in all aspects of our work. Ask for help from your professor or your counselors and
support group if you find yourself tempted to engage in any of the following violations of academic
integrity --- or are just having great difficulty in your studies: Any of these violations will result in a failing
grade in the course and a report to the dean.
• Submitting the your own same work, in whole or in part, in more than one course without explicit
permission from your professor/mentors;
• Plagiarism, i.e., large and/or multiple unattributed, uncredited quotations or paraphrases of ideas
from published or unpublished sources; Submitting as your own work paper(s) obtained from
other sources or writers;
• Unpermitted collaboration with fellow students or others in preparing assignments.
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