November 1997 Update

Scruples magnifies resources available to Marketplace Christians.
The most comprehensive Information and Reference Guide for Marketplace Christians on the Internet can be found at www.scruples.org!. The Resource page lists more then 225 resource titles for Marketplace Christians, everything from Bible Study guides to audio and video resources to your favorite Marketplace Authors. .  The Ministry Directory now lists over 160 Marketplace Ministries serving Christians in the Marketplace. In addition, Scruples offers articles, book reviews and discussion forums for Marketplace Christians. The notes for the Seminar Planning A Successful Small Business are now available online as well. Please bookmark, browse and feast to your heart's content!

Youth With A Mission launches Small Enterprise Initiative
At the Bi-annual meeting of the University of the Nations, the Centre for Entrepreneurial and Economic Development (CEED) was formally organized.  During meetings in Seoul, Korea, in early September, a group of YWAM staff and representatives from the YWAM University agreed to work together to develop business enterprise as a means to disciple the nations. CEED will provide the YWAM University with a structure for developing small businesses and training entrepreneurs to take the gospel to the nations of the world.  For more information about CEED please contact: CEED_UofN@compuserve.com.

Community Bank operated by Christian Ministry helps poor women start small businesses.
A community bank operated by a Christian ministry in Cambodia helps poor women provide for their families. The project is operated by World Relief, the relief and development arm of the National Association of Evangelicals. Through the project, poor women can obtain money to help them climb out of poverty.
...Ham Sary, a widow woman, was once so poor that even the village moneylender would not give her money and she was forced to forage for food. With a loan from World Relief she purchased a cooler and several blocks of ice. Now she sells up to 400 pounds of ice every day and is able to provide for herself and her daughter. Her regular income has made it possible for her to repay the loan and start a savings account, the ministry said. (Source: http://www.religiontoday.com/summary.html,October 18th, 1997.)

YWAM Business and Missions Initiative reaches High Caste Hindus
High-caste Hindus in Madras, India, are hearing the gospel in computer-training courses. Brahmins, who disdain Christianity because they associate it with the lower-classes, value education and are willing to let teachers at a Youth With A Mission training school tell them about Christ. Up to a dozen students at a time attend the two-to-three month courses, which feature instruction on software and Internet programs.
...Students are given three tracts explaining the gospel and are offered a free New Testament if they want to study further. Instructors and helpers often find opportunities to share their faith with the students. "Many have acknowledged that Jesus Christ is the only true God, but have held back from following Him due to the cost that they would have to pay to do so," said YWAM's Alex Harris. YWAM also runs a ministry for street children and slum dwellers in Madras. Source: http://www.religiontoday.com/summary.html November 6th.) For More information please contact Dr. Alexander Harris at appiusforum@geocities.com or visit his web site at: www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/2104.

The Ethics of Shrewdness
Don't be ethically naive, the marketplace needs shrewd Christians. Check out Scruples latest publication on the Ethics of Shrewdness from Matthew 10:16. How can Christians survive in an unethical marketplace? Only by being ethically shrewd! Some would say that shrewdness and ethics are opposites but to Jesus it is the calling of the Marketplace Christian.

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Please bring to our attention other news worthy items of interest to Marketplace Christians by sending us an email: scruples@csi.com. Thank you.