As founder and director of Valley Orchard Group, I want to share the why for what we do what we do and I hope these insights will implore you to partner with us and others.

In the United Nations sustainable development partnership guidebook page 10 holds an image of the 17 goals on the 2030 agenda broken up in tiers and doughnuts. Image copyright Stockholm resilience centre.

I hope to encourage other Christian business leaders and entrepreneurs to invest in the shared vision of sustainable development through partnerships between public and private sectors and where better to start then through a compelling framework established by thought leaders in the Socio-economic and development space.

Pros and cons; a biblical observation

For the Christian entrepreneur I seek to make an obvious relation between your business approach and the biblical narrative you likely seek to base your lives on. The creation event begins with God forming the earth, separating the seas and clouds, and the land comes forth (Genesis 1). In each of these domains He fills with life; with fish, and birds and vegetation. We see that in the lowest tier of the doughnut, the healthy environment tier(biosphere) segments; life on land, life below the water, clean water and sanitation and climate action. In the UN’s 2030 agenda, the base of the infographic lines up to the base of the Christian creation narrative found in Genesis 1 and 2. As we see God creating man, we step into the next tier, a thriving society. Throughout the other early Old Testament books we see more themes coming up of peace and justice, equality, health and care for the poor. In approaching all these factors appropriately, we come to a prosperous economy. In the Jewish- Christian historical narrative, I believe this is perhaps found most convincingly during the reign of David and Solomon.

Cons: The risk of partnership

Aside from giving a general overview this framework lines up well to the biblical narrative, my fundamental purpose is to encourage us towards a move of partnership in our businesses today. Let us look more intently at the reign of Solomon (1 Kings 1-11). Solomon was a wise king and Israel prospered under his reign. His greatest flaw was the multiple wives and concubines he had as a testament of the partnerships he developed to establish peace in the kingdom. His 700 wives were princesses, and these were the ones who turned his heart away from the lord (1 Kings 11:1-8). We must learn a lesson from the life of Solomon then. The wisest King in Biblical history (aside from Jesus) made agreements to benefit the economic and political standing he was responsible for but took it at the cost of not joining with those who held the same values as him. For the Christian entrepreneur this is our biggest threat and leads to our biggest fear.

Pros: Assurance by the Spirit and mission

There are two encouragements I want to give to the faith driven entrepreneur.

First is that we have a helper who stands with us and guides us. The Holy Spirit can speak to us and guide us in our business decisions to know what route to take. Not every decision we discern from God will mean increased profitability for our business. For some it may mean giving up the business altogether. Look to partner with those who are also led by the Spirit. What does that look like? You may ask. My advice simply means two things.

1.Do they seek to imitate Christ or show something of the kingdom of God through their business?

Or

2. Do they in their personal character and identity show something of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)?

The second encouragement is a partnership through a shared mission. I believe if the business partnership you are considering is based on shared values and the same desired end goal. It is probably a good sign. To further comment on this I would urge your shared mission to be in line with the UN’s sustainable development Goals. No, I am not a UN representative but when I look at the 17 goals, I can see that they are outwardly focused, they prioritise human dignity and improved quality of life. They honour the God given task of stewarding the earth well. An aside to note, I do believe we can partner with non-Christian businesses to pursue a very biblical end goal.

My recent experience of developing partnerships

During my time working for an NGO in service in Senegal, I began raising questions around how to maximise the sustainability and impact for the local workers who were working for the NGO. With my background in recruitment, I considered a plan to help these volunteers find work after the service period in Senegal. At the same time within the same organisation, another person with a recruitment background was thinking on similar terms. His idea however, was to push for entrepreneurship. To help train and coach SMEs to boost the economy after our service period ended with the NGO. We very clearly had a shared vision, and being both christian we had the same heart too. We prayed together along with a wider team which we formed. So the project began.

Our biggest struggle was probably a more personal one, than business or spiritual. I had held on to the notion that this was my idea and so I should be the one to lead. In my pride and arrogance and probable search for validation as a professional, I wanted to be the one in the limelight. So I share with you perhaps the unspoken difficulty of partnership. Sharing the stage, dying to self.

I trust that God has done a work in me, and have since developed the project further. For details on our impact and what we are looking to do next, visit our website: valleyorchardgroup.com

Summary

My appeal to you is to count the cost (Luke 14:28-30). Consider the potential risk of the partnership but also be encouraged that we have the Holy Spirit to help us discern. We have a shared biblical vision to lean into. I am a strong advocate for faith driven entrepreneurs and investors to be leaders of goal 17, the goal of partnership. We can be an example of how to do this well in business because we live it out everyday in partnership with the Spirit.

The Importance of Partnerships for Sustainable Development