Generally it has to do with wealth creation. As Christians, we recognize that it is our responsibility to engage in wealth creation. It is therefore high time Christians took up this role more seriously in order to see a more prosperous nation.
Our God given mandates which are embedded in Deuteronomy 8:18, 2 Cor 9:8, Ephesians 4:2, Philippians 4:10 remain un-tapped.
What is the Economy Mountain?
The Economy Mountain comprises of production, processing, manufacturing, importing, exporting, and internal buying and selling of goods and services. The economic activities are undertaken at individual, household and community or group levels at any scale and form the core of human engagement as we often engage in them at any one point or the other.
It has been observed that currently majority of Christians engage in these activities for subsisting only; not taking the advantage to commercialize our engagements as a vehicle to combat poverty, improve our living standards and contribute to the gross domestic product of Uganda.
One of the seven tribes encountered by the Israelites on the way to Canaan was the Canaanites. “The Canaanites represented the love for money” (IFU, 2023) and represent the business community.
They embodied idolatry, witchcraft, greed and corruption- contrary to Christian calling. To date these vices characterize this mountain of influence; hence the call for Christians to step up their influence in this sphere as the ‘light and salt’ of the world (Mat 5: 13-16).
The Principality on the Economy Mountain?
The principality on this mountain is the mammon, representing Babylon and convinces people that money is everything- perpetuating greed and poverty. We need kingdom resource people for the transfer of wealth – Rev 5:12.”(IFU Resources).
Another of the seven tribes the Israelites encountered on their way to Canaan were the Hittites. “The Hittites were famous for their skill in building and using chariots. They also pioneered the manufacture and use of iron.”
The Hittites were business – oriented and also indulged in practices which are pretty much prevailing in most businesses to date. They represented the business men and women of today!
Call to Purpose:
- The economy mountain therefore sounds a wakeup call to Christians to arise and take up key positions in order to light the world and shine in it. Ironically, it is a sphere believed to be with least number of practicing Christians even though it has a direct bearing on the standard of living of each household.
No wonder that most Christian households live hand to mouth, struggle to educate their children and pay for high institutions of learning and are grappling with their mandate to take care of orphans and widows.
- The AKBF economy mountain team meets regularly to network and talk about their various businesses – history, current status, challenges and how to handle them, marketing opportunities, resource mobilization, plans, as well as possible policy input and to pray for the right direction of this mountain in this country.
Ultimately they seek to ensure that the Ugandan economy complies with the plan of God for doing business by overcoming the major obstacles for this sector to thrive.
- The goal of the mountain is to influence the economy in such a way as would give glory to God and prosper his people. The economy terrain is currently difficult for many Christians to navigate due to the existing practices that do not conform to biblical principles and hence obstruct the participation of Christians.
In addition, many Christians are not aware of existing opportunities they could seize and hardly network to address challenges they could overcome. So rather than back off, Christians have increasingly realized the need to get involved so as to influence from within by having their voices heard.
Enablers: The current government of Uganda has created an opportunity for businesses to thrive and improve households’ standard of living and contribute to economic growth of the country. Some enablers include:
- Increased market access
- Improved road network,
- Availability of market information,
- Improved communication,
- Improved infrastructure coupled with the
- Opportunities for seed funding or business expansion through the various government programmes such as the NSSF Hi-Innovator programme, Emyooga, NAADS, PDM, engagements with Uganda Development Bank etc.
As another opportunity, Uganda provides monthly forecasts of its economic outlook and the details can be accessed at https://www.afdb.org/en/countries/east-africa/uganda/uganda-economic-outlook. and there are weekly updates by the world economic forum on issues driving the global economy- which are important to follow if we are to position ourselves well enough to be of influence on this mountain.
There are several opportunities for Christians to participate in the economy sector. Christians can participate in manufacturing sector, processing, imports, provision of services, championing government policies and dialogue with government to achieve an environment most appropriate for businesses to thrive.
There are networking opportunities for Christian business men and women, funding opportunities from which they too can benefit and most importantly the social capital that Christians have is unequalled and a very big asset.
Objectives of the Economy Mountain
- To network and update one another on their respective areas of business and identify potential opportunities to engage in.
- To create a one-stop information centre for Christian businesses.
- To provide a platform for collective action for advocacy, policy, resource mobilization, investment ventures, research, marketing etc.
The mid-term goals
- To grow the income potential of members on the platform and offer support to others.
- Increase the number of Christian businesses for regular and intentional inter-business cooperation and referral.
- Help start-ups or struggling members to stabilize in their business by providing probono or subsidized services.
- To create linkages for business growth.
The broader goal
- To promote increased networking in order to strengthen the mountain economy among Christians.
We enjoin you to be a part of this great move. You can also subscribe to all our media handles for current news of what’s taking place in Ministry, plus registering for our monthly newsletter below.
For more information about the economy mountain, click on the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5Ne_Azcii0
