Faithventure Forum

For the last 21 years, Belay Enterprises and Bud's Warehouse have been serving the Denver community by creating transformational jobs for people rebuilding lives from addiction, homelessness and prison. This beautiful video created by Timothy Euken, a friend of Belay, shows how jobs change lives at Bud's Warehouse: Jobs Change Lives at Bud's Warehouse and Belay Enterprises from Belay Enterprises on Vimeo . With the end of the year approaching, would you consider making a tax deductible donation to Belay Enterprises as we seek to raise $100,000 as we have to move our warehouse in a challenging real estate market? Learn more about our necessary move because of the I-70 redevelopment here . All contributions are eligible for an additional state enterprise zone credit, the final year we are able to offer this special Colorado state tax benefit. There are two ways to contribute: Donate Securely On-line : Visit here to make a gift. Or mail your gift post marke...

I was asked to pray for jobs and businesses this Easter Sunday at Denver's City Park Sunrise service. While searching the web, I discovered there are no prayers addressing this particular topic for any city which is surprising to me. It's something that is much needed in light of what Jesus' resurrection means for our world:   Lord God, on that first Easter, you broke the disciples grief and hopelessness with the surprising news that Jesus was alive. Life could never be the same again because death had forever lost its power. This Easter surprise us and speak to us about what it means to live as resurrection people, confident in the truth that how we live today makes a difference forever in God’s world. Lord, show us what it means to live as resurrection people in our daily lives of earning a living as we sell, create, cook, clean, build, code, counsel, heal, advertise, fix, design, book-keep, troubleshoot, advise, insure, engineer, analyze, manage, and market. Lord God...

Addiction is a tough enemy for people rebuilding lives in our employment training businesses. And in Colorado, it’s clearly getting harder with the growing culture-wide celebration of drug use from the recent legalization of marijuana. It saddens me to see the apparent rising relapse rate for people in our program. A couple of thoughts: Relapses are infectious. When one person succumbs to addiction in a community of people, it raises the odds of others following. It increases the need for employment-training social enterprises to have firm drug policies with testing and clear consequences. Relapse rates decrease when individuals understand the rules. Relapses cause stress for others in the program. No one likes to see another fall. When it happens, leaders must be sensitive to the anxiety it causes. They must take special steps to set a positive and encouraging atmosphere. People need to be reminded that individuals do overcome addiction, that God restores lives. When relapses ...

But work well done is also bounded by times of rest. As we ready to start a long Labor Day weekend, this prayer reflects the beauty of both work and rest: Let me but do my work from day to day,    In field or forest, at the desk or loom,  In roaring market-place, or tranquil room;  Let me but find it in my heart to say, When vagrant wishes beckon me astray, “This is my work; my blessing, not my doom;  Of all who live, I am the one by whom  This work can best be done, in the right way.”  Then shall I see it not too great, nor small,  To suit my spirit and to prove my powers;  Then shall I cheerful greet the laboring hours,  And cheerful turn, when the long shadows fall  At eventide, to play and love and rest,  Because I know for me my work is best.   Poems of Sentiment: VI. Labor and Rest Henry van Dyke 

This month, Sunshine Gospel Ministries opened Greenline Coffee , a new high-end coffee shop in the disadvantaged Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago’s South Side. Sunshine hopes the new coffee shop combined with its business incubator, Sunshine Enterprises , will start growing jobs in the neighborhood with traditionally high rates of unemployment.  Greenline hires young adults from the neighborhood who have completed the Sunshine Summer Jobs Training program. Sunshine's Executive Director,  Joel Hamernick, explained in an interview in DNAinfo Chicago his thoughts behind the creation of Greenline: He said two years ago, he and others at the nonprofit were frustrated that five years of teaching kids entrepreneurial skills had not produced a single business in the neighborhood. He said they switched to asking some of their supporters for investments instead of donations and started thinking about how many jobs a coffee shop would create in the glazed-brick building....

I had the pleasure to present to a social enterprise gathering hosted by a fantastic new organization in our community, The Denver Institute for Faith and Work . I've been meaning to write a post on this topic for awhile so it was timely to be able to present the following: People don't like ex-offenders coming into their home The social enterprise business needs to lead the mission A lot of people enjoy talking about social enterprise but very few actual practitioners (And a bonus point) Social enterprise is hard work Be sure to check out the Denver Institute's website here . Three Things I've Learned After 20 Years of Social Entrepreneurship - Jim Reiner from Denver Institute on Vimeo .

Later this fall, Belay Enterprises  celebrates its 20th Anniversary of offering employment and job-training in its home improvement thrift store, Bud’s Warehouse and its five other employment training business start ups. Over the years, Belay has served hundreds of individuals looking to rebuild their employability while dealing with addiction, homelessness or prison. The organization plans to mark this 20 year milestone by growing employment opportunities for the people it serves and by hosting an anniversary banquet. Like any new social enterprise, the Belay story is one of ups and downs. In 1994, a group of Christian businessmen and urban pastors, all with a heart for urban Denver, began meeting under the leadership of  Mile High Ministries . Out of these discussions grew Belay and its desire to impact the employment side of poverty. The organization's first project was Bud's Warehouse, a home improvement thrift store that recycled leftover construction and home...