For over 10 years Vital Seed Ministries has trained, counseled and invested in Kingdom-centered businesses on nearly every inhabited continent. Australia you’re next! As I write this we have a team departing for our third mission to Cuba and our Bethlehem Project, which trains Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem, is ready to launch another new business. The Bethlehem Project, in addition to identifying and training leaders in Bethlehem, also organizes collaborative projects that give creatives and business owners in the US an opportunity to partner with Palestinians.
Our heart is to empower the local church through global missions and Kingdom-centered businesses. Usually, Vital Seed partners with local churches to organize international outreaches that include Kingdom-centered business training. These training opportunities are open to the public and attended by business owners and entrepreneurs from the host nation. Last month, something very unusual happened.
The tables got turned when a billion dollar company came to us! Each year that company hosts an international sales incentive trip for employees and their destination for 2017 was Costa Rica. Vital Seed has been advancing the Kingdom in Costa Rica for several years and the company learned about how the Lord has used Vital Seed in that country. This Kingdom-centered, Texas-based company wanted our help to facilitate the vision they had for the upcoming employee event.
The company’s vision was to provide an opportunity for their employees to be a blessing to the local community. This was an optional event for the employees and the response was overwhelming with over 100 employees taking time out of their paid vacation to serve total strangers with no ability to do anything in return. They wanted to add a hands-on Kingdom building opportunity for their employees….and build they did!
Vital Seed, working with YWAM and our Costa Rica Mission Director, Tony Del Rio and the scores of volunteers from the company built a home for a family in need. The entire community came out to watch as a group of “tourists” took a family from homeless to homeowners in three short days! In addition to the new home, Bibles were distributed to over 100 homes and at least 2 people came into the Kingdom and surrendered their lives to Jesus! Vital Seed Founder, Steve Samaniego, was there when the family was presented with the keys to their new home and had this to say, “I’m grateful to the company for being a world-changing company and for the amazing Kingdom organizations that partnered with the Holy Spirit to make this possible. A family received a new home and the family of God welcomed new members into the Kingdom! Some received keys to a home on earth, others received keys to a home in heaven.”
Michael Onifer
Founder, The Bethlehem Project
Director, Vital Seed Ministries
Author, God, Israel & You
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