A guy writing on (in)courage… kind of strange and a little awkward.

That’s likely what you’re thinking and that’s certainly what I was thinking when Holley suggested I write this post.

But as I considered the idea, I started to get excited about the opportunity to share the heart of DaySpring, the company behind (in)courage.

My personal relationship with God and understanding of His heart really began to grow while I was in college. As I started to study the Bible, my life was turned upside down by this God that loved me enough to send His son Jesus to earth to suffer, die, and defeat death for me. I was blown away by His love and the fact that He calls me His son and has a plan for my life.

During this time, I realized that a life devoted to anything except Him and His glory would fall short of the purpose I was created for. My heart’s desire became to see His name lifted up in every tribe, tongue and nation. I knew God had called me to ministry and I quickly began to look into seminary as a next step in that direction.

I originally went to college to get my business degree because I’ve always enjoyed marketing and I felt strongly that God had given me a natural inclination toward business; but I never really understood why.

As I planned out my future at seminary and in ministry, I had one ever-present question in my mind: “Why did God give me a passion for business if it wasn’t a part of His plan for my life?” I wrestled with this question for several months.

Thankfully, through prayer and various circumstances, God began to show me that He was intentional in giving me a love for business and that He planned to use it as an essential part of my ministry. In incredible ways, God started to reveal to me that business could be a very effective and valuable way to do missions and ministry. I won’t go into detail about that here, but this topic of “Business as Missions” or “Kingdom Business” is what I write about on my blog, and I believe there is an exciting movement happening around this concept in the church today.

With college graduation and my wedding coming quickly, I found myself on my knees telling God “If you want me to do this Business as Missions thing, you’re going to have to provide an opportunity, and fast.”

He was faithful, as always, to provide something better than I could have imagined myself.

As I interviewed at DaySpring, I was amazed at the heart of the company. The product, halls and offices were all covered with scripture. The people and the culture were unlike anything I had experienced. But more than anything, the mission and vision of the company captivated me.

Written on the wall in one of our conference rooms is a quote from our president James Barnett that says “Our motivation is ministry, our method is business, our message is Jesus”.

This quote sums up my personal calling and that of DaySpring as a company.

DaySpring was founded by pastors who were called to use business as a method for ministry and it’s an honor to work for a company that is still doing that 40 years later.

My role as the Internet Marketing Manager has given me the privilege to work alongside many of you on product reviews & giveaways, through our affiliate program and at conferences like Relevant and Blissdom. Today I want to invite the whole community, if you haven’t already, to partner with us in our ministry and our business. We love working together with bloggers and others online to help people share their heart and God’s love.

We’ve seen God do amazing things through this (in)courage community and I’m excited to see what He has in store for the future!

If you are interested in partnering with DaySpring or (in)courage, sign up below and let us know…

{if you can’t see the form below, click here}

Thanks to all of you that partner with us already… and if you’re new to (in)courage or don’t know much about DaySpring – Welcome! Here are some links to learn more:

• Did you know you make a difference?
• Read today’s Guest Post
• More from Kristen on Bloom
• Connect with DaySpring on Facebook & Twitter

If you have any questions for me or others from DaySpring or (in)courage, feel free to post them in the comments!

By Jesse Lane, DaySpring

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