Search
Close this search box.

Author: MergonAdmin

Posted on

Three ways to pursue in-Christ leadership

‘One of the greatest legacies leaders can leave is to invest in the depth of one’s relationships with God and one another,’ says leadership coach and Mergon Foundation board member, Johan Beukes.

Over the past year, Johan has contributed a wealth of insights about in-Christ leadership and played an integral role in crafting and co-facilitating a Mergon Foundation initiative called the Healthy Leaders Journey. This curated journey allows leaders to reflect on and grow in four key relationships: with God, with self, with team/family and with the world. This blueprint empowers leaders to weave these dimensions together, contributing to their overall leadership health and well-being.

In his work, Johan has found that many believers arrive at a place where their business, leadership and life are not integrated, or experienced that way. In this guest blog post, he unpacks the basis of in-Christ leadership which proposes a life-giving, holistic and integrated approach to leadership as an alternative. He gives Christian leaders a powerful perspective on the importance of continuously pursuing Christ and leading others into their God-given potential and explores three practical ways to embrace in-Christ leadership within your organisation.

The basis of in-Christ leadership: life-giving, holistic, integrated

According to Johan, in-Christ leadership is first of all life-giving. ‘Romans 8 is considered by many believers to be the Good News of the gospel summarised in one chapter. The assumption is that the Good News is also sustainably life-giving,’ explains Johan.

‘…Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.’ Romans 8:1-2 (MSG)

‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.’ Romans 8:1-2 (ESV)

‘This is the core idea of in-Christ leadership: you are in Christ which enables your leadership to be sustainably life-giving,’ he explains. ‘Leaders can however be rooted in many other things (what we seek) – things which are not necessarily life-giving. It’s good to become aware of these things and bring them before God.’

Tim Keller explains it like this:

WHAT WE SEEK

Price Willing to Pay

Greatest Nightmare

Others Often Feel

Problem Emotion

CONTROL

(self-discipline, certainty, standards)

Loneliness, spontaneity

Uncertainty, chaos

Condemned

Worry

COMFORT (privacy, lack of stress, freedom)

Reduced productivity

Stress, demands

Hurt

Boredom

APPROVAL (affirmation, love, relationship)

Less independence

Rejection

Smothered

Cowardice

POWER (success, winning influence)

Being burdened, responsibility 

Humiliation

Used

Anger

Secondly, in-Christ leadership considers the holistic nature of people. Johan explains that the dimensions of life (e.g. spiritual, physical, social, emotional etc.) are understood within the context of four primary relationships:

    1. Relationship with God: shapes the spiritual and physical dimensions.
    2. Relationship with self: forms the emotional and mental dimensions.
    3. Relationship with others: forms the social dimension.
    4. Relationship with the world: shapes the career, financial and meaning dimensions.

Says Johan, ‘When leaders are formed holistically, in the image of Christ, we see leaders with a life-giving conscience, life-giving character, life-giving care as well as life-giving compassion.’

Thirdly, in-Christ leadership is an integrated approach to leadership. He explains:

‘The assumption is that spiritual formation is the foundation. According to Prof Marius Nel, Paul referred to believers who received the Holy Spirit as ‘spiritual’ pneumatikoi (Gal 6:1; 1 Cor 2:13-15) to indicate that they were transformed by the Spirit. Secondly, he repeatedly refers to the spiritual transformation of believers by linking various words to the Greek noun ‘morph’ which refers to the ‘form’ of something. Thus, he expects in Philippians 3:21 that the humble bodies of believers will be conformed (summorphos) to the glorified body of Jesus. God has destined believers, according to Paul, to be conformed (summorphos) to the image of his Son (Rom 8:29). They will finally be transformed (metamorphoumetha) into the image of God when they behold his glory (2 Cor 3:18). Thirdly, the idea of being spiritually formed is also expressed by Paul through concepts such as being holy and blameless (1 Thess 3:13).

Johan reiterates that this formation is not an individual matter. ‘For me, leadership formation is rooted in spiritual formation, along with others. In my in-Christ leadership work with organisations for example, when we talk about teams, we use the term ‘Beyond Teamwork’. The reason for this is that it is a community of people who are becoming more and more aware of Christ’s life-giving presence among them. His presence inspires them to witness life-changing (metanoia) impact (fruit) wherever they pray and work. The result is life-giving cultures and organisations where different departments function in a life-giving way.’

Three ways to pursue in-Christ leadership

1. Growing deeper in Christ

As a Christian leader, it is critical to remain rooted in Christ. In John 15:15 Jesus says, ‘I am the Vine and you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in Me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.’

Johan explains that being constantly connected to the Vine will influence your mindset, perspective and approach as you lead through various seasons and organisational life stages. ‘An in-Christ leader doesn’t simply ascribe to Christian principles or moral standards. Instead, as you grow deeper into Christ, the fruit of the Spirit will become even more evident in your life and leadership, differentiating you as a leader who reflects the nature of Jesus. As you follow Christ, your leadership and example will become an invitation for others to follow Him too,’ he notes.

‘Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.’ Romans 8:1-2

2. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit

Johan notes that an in-Christ leader leads by example and bears the fruit of the Spirit, just as Jesus did. ‘This will never be possible in your own strength as a leader. It will be a challenging and refining process as you are faced with situations where you have to ask the Holy Spirit for strength so that His fruit can be evident in your leadership,’ he explains.

‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.’ Galatians 5:22 (NIV)

3. Staying in touch with reality

‘In-Christ leaders understand that they are ‘in the world, but not of it’,’ says Johan. We can’t separate ourselves from what’s happening in the world, but we can decide through which lens we look at it, and how we respond to it.

‘In an ever-evolving world, it is crucial for leaders to become even more compassionate. While you as a Christian leader may know much about applying the Bible to your daily life, it is your responsibility and a wonderful opportunity to guide future leaders through their own leadership suffering in order for them to build capacity for compassion,’ he says.

‘Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.’ Matthew 15:32 (NIV)

In conclusion, in-Christ leadership is a transformative journey that benefits not only you as a leader but also those around you. Remaining rooted in Christ shapes your character and leadership, providing a meaningful example for your team, family, and community. Your connection to the Vine and the lens of faith through which you view the world will infuse your leadership and personal life with compassion and understanding. This has the potential to serve as a source of inspiration and guidance for those you lead, encouraging them to follow in your footsteps and embrace the life-giving essence of this holistic and integrated approach.

Posted on

Strength in resilience: African women entrepreneurs

During their last At the Lake event, Ziwani’s community delved into the topic of female entrepreneurship, exploring both the challenges and opportunities that face women in Africa’s marketplace. The conversation was so rich that it led to a follow up podcast interview with At the Lake panelist and legal professional, Sylvia Kithiniji.

In this podcast, she shares her personal perspectives with Ziwani’s Keri-Leigh Paschal on the challenges, and specifically the underlying bias that women face in Africa’s workplace, shaped by a complex interplay of culture and worldviews.

As a partner and head of corporate and commercial law at Ashitiva Associates LLP, Sylvia offers valuable insights, particularly in the context of Kenya’s legal profession. With her extensive experience leading a team of lawyers serving a diverse client base ranging from government to non-profit, private equity firms to multinational corporations, Sylvia provides a unique and rich perspective on the subject. This article gives an overview of the conversation.

Unearthing gender bias in the workplace

Keri kicked off the conversation by asking Sylvia how she developed a passion for this subject. Whilst not dismissing the issue of gender bias in the workplace, Sylvia explained, she initially paid little attention to it, having grown up believing that ‘gender should not be an excuse.’ However, over time, she realised ‘the issue is not that simple.’ Years of experience revealed to Sylvia that an entrenched and unconscious bias faces women in Africa’s workplace, shaped by a complex interplay of culture and worldviews. The key to addressing this bias, she believes, is open dialogue and conversation, asserting that ‘change does not originate from policy or the systemic level, but rather from you and me, and the individuals we interact with daily.’

Navigating the challenges of Kenya’s legal landscape

Keri asked Sylvia to revisit an interesting point she had raised during the previous At the Lake event, where Sylvia had shared: ‘Currently 44% of legal professionals in Kenya are women’ – and I believe that number is rising. But the thing that is missing,’ she went on to say, ‘is women in positions that count. I am not speaking primarily about seniority but about influence; about having the authority to make decisions and influence appropriately, bringing all their strengths to bear.’

She pointed out that what contributes to this reality is the competitive and generally patriarchal landscape of the legal profession in Kenya. For women to take on an entrepreneurial venture, she noted, they need to have an exceptionally high appetite for risk. Without this appetite, it’s even more challenging to establish one’s footing and authentic voice within a male-dominated marketplace.

Sylvia highlighted another critical point: in the legal profession in Kenya, women often find themselves directed toward specific roles that are assumed to be ‘a better fit’. For instance, she noted, ‘it’s more likely that a man is given an energy transaction, whilst his female associate is assigned to a family matter, even if she has no interest in that field of law.’ Due to these unconscious biases underpinning the industry, women are held back in many ways from diversifying their skills and discovering their full potential.

Mastering the balancing act of work and family

Sylvia and Keri recognised that there is an added complexity that comes with raising a family while investing in your career. ‘Climbing the corporate ladder and climbing the ‘family ladder’ tend to happen at the same time,’ said Sylvia. ‘At some point women start asking themselves, do I have the bandwidth to spend a significant amount of time at work and be able to do it effectively while still managing my responsibilities at home? A difficult decision is often made at this point – and normally that decision is to take up a lesser role or even leave the profession altogether to be there for the family.’

‘In my mind, there has to be balance,’ she added, ‘a way that women can do what is fulfilling for them career-wise while at the same time, serving their families well.’

How can we facilitate this and move towards achieving this balance for those women who aspire to, asked Keri?

Within her own capacity as a law partner and team leader, Sylvia believes it starts with listening to her employees – seeking to understand their unique challenges and needs – and then complementing this insight with flexible HR that enable effective management and help women to thrive, both at home and in the workplace. ‘Support will look different for each woman,’ she explained. ‘It could include flexible hours, childcare or custom maternity leave. Maybe a woman is going through a major career or life change, and having access to a counsellor could help her navigate the season. My role is to understand what’s needed and support them through this process.’

Recognising the gift of diversity in leadership

Sylvia emphasised the importance of having diverse leadership styles on the team, stating, ‘There are times when a more assertive style of leadership is effective; other times an empathetic culture is required. Of course, men and women can embrace both styles – but there is a certain empathetic nature and relational strength that women tend to bring to a business environment. Knowing when to deploy which leadership style is crucial.’

She recognised the need for intuitive and open-minded leadership. ‘There is a reason why each of us was born into this world conditioned with a specific disposition,’ she reflected. ‘So, if business leaders look at these different styles in terms of strengths generally, and not weaknesses, we’ll start unlocking the best in one another.’

Sylvia added, ‘Oswald Chambers once said, ‘All of God’s people are ordinary people’. This means that all people – both men and women – who are everyday, ordinary people, have the potential to do extraordinary things through God’s grace and leading. This happens when there is dignity, and when we feel free to be all God has designed us to be.’ 

Listen to the full podcast here.

Posted on

Biblical training fosters healthy African churches

Africa’s population is unquestionably on the rise, so much so that by 2050, projections suggest that roughly a quarter of the global population will be African. Within this continental groundswell, nearly 60% of its people are expected to be under the age of 25, firmly establishing the continent as the youngest globally. Moreover, Africa is home to nearly 685 million Christians, with 760 million expected by 2025 – making it the continent with the most Christians in the world.  

Herein lies an extraordinary opportunity for the church: by investing in this vast population of next generation leaders, we have a chance to shape not only the future of the continent but also the trajectory of global missions and the church worldwide.  

The question then begs asking, is the church in Africa equipped to do so?  

Dr. Stuart Sheehan, CEO of World Hope Ministries International, suggests that we answer this question by evaluating the authenticity of the gospel being shared. A gospel that is undiluted and free, and comprehensive in its presentation, will catapult the African church to be a ‘missional, hope-exporting enterprise’ to the world. A gospel that is ‘marred and spiritually compromising’, on the other hand, will hinder the church’s ability to fulfil this crucial mission, ultimately limiting its impact.  

‘Therefore,’ says Mergon Foundation’s De Wet Spies, ‘the question we need to be asking is: how healthy is the church, and how can we ensure that new churches are being built on a healthy theological foundation? The church was God’s idea, after all – it is His primary plan for displaying and preserving the gospel for the generations to come. The scriptures are clear about Him coming back for His church, His bride… Not a fancy building or stately individuals, but a healthy body of people who are devoted to Him, have a love for His Word, who display the love of Christ to others, and who worship Him in Spirit and in truth,’ he adds. 

‘Our goal must be an Africa, trained and ready to reach the nations,’ says Sheehan. Whether we reach that goal, he asserts, ‘depends on the theological training of African pastors and ministry leaders across the continent.’ 

This is why, in the sub-Saharan region, one of the areas the Mergon Foundation focusses on, is equipping leaders in the indigenous church to be servant leaders with sound theology, a missional mindset, and vision for holistic transformation. Here is a deeper dive into our focus on biblical training: the rationale behind it and the approach we have taken to address its need.  

The need for formal theological training in Africa  

Within the context of predominantly rural and highly communal cultures in Africa, church growth unfolds organically. Small gatherings often engage in discovery Bible studies, reading scripture portions and reflecting on practical applications. However, as these groups expand into house churches or larger congregations, a pressing need emerges: the demand for equipping leaders with fundamental theological knowledge and pastoral skills. 

This has resulted in a surge of Christian leaders without formal training to adequately shepherd their people, accounting for a significant majority – roughly 90% of all church leaders across the continent.  

 ‘The need for true gospel-based training, resources and access to discipleship could not be more vital for Africa’s future,’ says De Wet. Real transformation can only take place when our leaders have a true grasp of the gospel – along with the tools and networks – to love God’s people well and share this love with their people and communities.’ 

Our partnership criteria for ministries engaged in theological training  

To address this significant need, the Mergon Foundation partners with a number of ministries who work into the theological training space.  

When choosing partners, we consider a few things:  

    • Where they are serving? Is it an under-resourced area where there isn’t access to training?  
    • What is their model and is it contextually relevant? 
    • Is the model catalytic in the sense that it can be reproduced? 
    • Are the trainers speaking ‘at’ the people or is there a healthy participation of people discovering for themselves? Just training for the sake of training has no lasting impact if they aren’t really getting to the heart issues of what people are grappling with. 
    • Discernment from the Holy Spirit.  

This approach has led us to incredible relationships with people who understand the need on the ground… who take the training to the pastors, recognising that the barriers that keep people from being theologically trained are usually finances, proximity and literacy. These partners are also aware of the fact that many pastors are running their own businesses to support themselves, so they keep it practical. They would typically do a short week or two-week module after which they are sent home for six weeks. They then come back to give feedback and start another module of training before they go back home again for six weeks. 

Some of the incredible ministries with whom we partner include The Word Transforms, Reconciled World, New Harvest Ministries International, Re-Forma and Judea Harvest, among others.  

The growing importance of theological training  

Theological training is becoming increasingly essential as more and more African countries are requiring pastors to have some form of certification in order to do their work. Some of these countries include Benin, Kenya, Rwanda with talks about it in Nigeria and South Africa. This list will likely keep expanding into the future.  

‘Oftentimes theological training unfortunately isn’t certified – especially in the challenging areas where our partners work,’ says De Wet. ‘To this end, we are working with one of our partners, Re-Forma, who is responding to the crisis of a lack of trained church leaders. Founded on outcome and impact-based assessment, Re-Forma provides recognised benchmarks for informal and non-formal biblically-based ministry through a programme which provides guidelines for evaluating the thousands of existing training programmes. We are exploring an opportunity where, if the training institutions are able to show certain outcomes, then Re-Forma is willing to award them with a Certificate of Biblical Training for Ministry. Underwritten by the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), this certificate provides the first-ever global standard for non-formal ministry training.’ 

 ‘Tackling the task of training this vast number of pastors across the continent is not easy, yet it is an incredible opportunity. And as a foundation that believes in the role and the power of the church as Christ’s body, we support ministries that work towards this end. Our desire is truly to see the church healthy and thriving across the African continent and we believe it well within reach,’ De Wet concludes. 

Posted on

Cultivating the wisdom of perspective

In this article, Mergon’s Ian Conolly speaks to us about the power of perspective, and how developing our focus can lead to greater clarity of purpose, unity and effective leadership. He unpacks three practical ways that we can nurture our perspective intelligence and cut through the complexities of leading an organisation to keep the mission front and centre. Here are Ian’s insights on the wisdom of perspective.

I entered the thick forest, snug along the mountain side, the many years of growth and cycles of seasons evident in its founded place. The aged trees pressed longingly towards the sky, letting the cool dampness of the air linger beneath, sheltered from the hot sun under their canopy of branches. Meandering along the winding autumnal leaf strewn trail I enjoyed the coolness of the air and the closeness of the impenetrable growth that crowded into the side of the route.

 Emerging from the wood into more open ground, I was momentarily blinded by the bright sun. As my eyes adjusted, I could at last see the trail winding its willful way up the side of the mountain and, in the distance, finally ascending to a glorious summit. I pressed forward towards the heights with a renewed sense of energy for my now visible destination.

In the thick of the woods there is so much growth. The air is denser, the soil richer and water retention greater. This is where life and the constant rhythm of work happens. The trees and plant life bring much richness; however, they also limit visibility and so the destination seems remote, intangible, perhaps even unattainable. When following the route, progress can be difficult to measure. There is no easy view of how far you’ve come or where you will end.

As leaders we spend significant chunks of time in the forest. It’s where we must plant ourselves and invest our energy, leading others through on paths that may be unfamiliar to them. When we spend time in the thicket of leading and growing organisations it can be very difficult to see the journey we have walked, the progress we’ve made, and to plot the route to our destination.

One of the traits of great leaders is that they clearly hold perspective: where have we come from, where are we now, what is our goal, and, vitally, what is our next step?

Perspective intelligence – an essential leadership capability.

If we can’t see the bigger journey and our next step, we become disoriented. It becomes difficult to know where to focus our time and energy now, and to be sure of which of the many demanding tasks I should give my attention.

Back on my hike through the forest, if my orientation was poor, I would have no idea where I was in the forest and, when meeting different route options, I might well have chosen poorly, resulting in the pursuit of a wrong route, lost time and possibly not meeting my goal at all. Limited perspective in leadership can quickly take an organisation off track.

So how do we keep perspective in the thick of the day-to-day? Here are three ideas that are worth considering applying:

1. Lift your eyes up

At the end of each week pause and remind you and your team of the destination, some key next steps to get there and why the world will be a better place when you arrive. Tell the stories of how what you are doing is making a difference. Learn to articulate the value of the destination well and most of all, make sure you remain passionate about getting there. If you don’t carry a fire for the goal, your team won’t either. Build a rhythm of meeting simply to lift your eyes, especially when launching a big project and you are under pressure.

2. Have a clear destination

Of course, we can’t talk about the destination if we don’t clearly know what or where the destination is. This is somewhat obvious. It is hard though, particularly as we are often learning and building clarity on the destination as we go. When I emerged from the forest I could see the summit of the mountain, but I couldn’t see what it looked like on the top. It’s not possible to see all the detail of the destination, so be wary of going into too much detail. Paint the picture with broad brush strokes but be clear about where you are going and why the world will be better as a result.

3. Define the next step

Looking ahead to the top of the mountain I could not clearly see the route to the top, but the path for the next few hundred meters was very clear. It is helpful to have 5-year strategic plans and longer term documents…without too much detail. We can’t map out each step to a 5-year goal so don’t spend too much time putting a very long term strategic vision document together. Do take time to map out a detailed route for the next 7 days and some specific goals for the next 90 days. Short term focus and clarity gives much more of a sense of agency.

There is power in focus! Looking up at a destination that is far away can be overwhelming but seeing something close by gives us a sense of its achievability. Before we know it, we have completed many short-term goals and suddenly the final destination begins to feel within reach.

If you are leading an organisation, take time to step back, gain perspective and remind yourself of the importance of the work you are all doing together. Without perspective intelligence it is difficult to break the journey into manageable bite size chunks and keep your team focused and happily on track.

Ian is currently involved in developing the FiftyFour Collective, an online learning platform aimed at supporting non-profit and ministry leaders in growing the health of their organisations. This initiative is a collaboration between the Mergon, 3W, and Maclellan Foundations, with plans for a launch in late 2023. Stay updated on its launch and discover what it has to offer by following our social media channels.

Posted on

Partnering for success and significance

In this episode of Our Mergon Journey podcast, Mergon CEO Pieter Faure, COO Gauché Radley, and director Almero Strauss delve into the details of our investment approach by taking us through the hallways of Mergon’s history to the pivotal year of 2008, when founder Francois van Niekerk handed over the leadership reigns to Pieter Faure. Inspired to nurture their entrepreneurial drive, the young team initiated the groundwork for partnerships and measurable impact through early-stage investments in South Africa. Here is an overview of this insightful conversation.

A fork in the road: choosing the entrepreneurial path

In 2008 the team found themselves at a critical T-junction: either to adopt a capital preservation approach, conservatively growing the portfolio over time, or to embrace a more entrepreneurial path and start reinvesting in younger, earlier stage businesses. They opted for the latter – a choice that required new faith and fresh eyes for opportunity. ‘Until that point, our investment focus was primarily on South African property,’ said Almero. ‘Although that remained an important part of the portfolio, we wanted to diversify and explore new investment opportunities beyond South Africa.’

At the same time, he explained, they also wanted to increase their giving through the Mergon Foundation. ‘After 28 years with the primary focus on growth in asset value,’ Almero continued, ‘the time had now come to drive growth in distributions. So, we embarked on a journey of aggressively growing the distributions to partners of the Mergon Foundation and added many new partners over the next few years.’

Navigating uncharted waters: a unique investment approach

In the coming years, the portfolio further diversified and grew – investments began to mature, along with an increase in distributions to the Foundation. However, as Gauché explained, this entrepreneurial approach was not without its challenges.

‘Typically, you have two investment scenarios,’ he said. ‘Either you have a high-growth portfolio with a lower yield, and the focus is on plowing all the returns or dividends back into the portfolio to ensure maximum growth. Alternatively, you have a lower-growth portfolio where the focus is on the yield, almost like an endowment fund.’

‘We decided to go for a high-growth, high-yield mandate,’ he added, ‘a decision which is ‘not really normal’ in the investment world.’

‘This strategy was incredibly dynamic and exciting,’ Gauché said, ‘but it did present some complexity when it came to cashflow.’ In order to generate liquidity and effectively manage the portfolio, he explained, they needed to depend on a complex blend of funding sources. This involved receiving dividends from some of the more mature or listed investments, making strategic reallocations within the portfolio, and using gearing to ensure gradual and steady results over time. It was a strategy that proved to be successful, allowing Mergon to significantly increase its distributions to the Foundation for over 14 years.

Adapting with purpose: embracing flexibility in strategy

In recent years, Almero went on to say, Mergon has adopted a more balanced approach by blending private business investments and more liquid assets. This approach has not only enabled the team to stay dedicated to investing in private businesses but also has ensured a careful handling of liquidity.

Pieter reflected on this strategic shift, acknowledging it as one of several adaptations that Mergon has made over the years. ‘I believe it’s crucial, as we steward capital, not to be overly attached to a fixed model or a specific way of thinking about the right or best approach,’ said Pieter. ‘Instead, we must create space for God to speak into our strategy and our hearts. Looking back at previous seasons, different models have been called for. We’ve never adhered rigidly to our thinking; we’ve always maintained flexibility. Our approach has consistently been open-handed and open-hearted, allowing us to hear what God is saying. The result of which, we’ve had the incredible privilege to be actively engaged on the ground, journeying alongside entrepreneurs in building businesses over the past 14 years.’

Nurturing Long-Term Partnerships

Because partnership is a core part of our approach, it has significantly shaped how we think about investments. This has led to an investment mindset and strategy that differs from the usual approaches often associated with venture capital. Gauché elaborated, ‘Unlike a private equity fund that engages in short-term buy-ins and exits within a five-year span, we take on a more long-term outlook. This aligns our values with building value alongside entrepreneurs, which requires a bit more patience. We ensure that we’re making the right decisions for the business, avoiding a rush to maximise value within a five-year window.’

He added, ‘But journeying with entrepreneurs entails more than just business – in the end, it’s about people.’ Pieter, Gauché, and Almero went on to share their views on what it means to stand by entrepreneurs, leveling power imbalances through partnerships and journeying through all of life’s challenges and victories. To learn more about our relational approach and listen to the full podcast, click here.

Posted on

Introducing ChristianHub.com – a uniquely African online directory

Something that has always knit followers of Jesus together is the pursuit of a shared mission of expanding God’s kingdom on earth – sharing His love, mercy, compassion and joy with those we meet and seeing them walk in freedom and relationship with Him.

This is the great commission. It’s simple, but in today’s environment it’s not always easy and we certainly can’t do it alone. Partnership has always been at the heart of the gospel. When Jesus gave us the great commission to ‘go out and make disciples of all nations’, He had every intention for His people to work together in accomplishing it.

There is an undeniable power that lies within the connections we build with one another, especially in the ministry and non-profit world. When left unutilised, they remain simply that – connections. But when we are intentional, these connections can foster conversations, ignite collaboration, and ultimately drive meaningful impact in our communities. At Mergon we have often seen this play out in our partnership journeys with ministries.

Discovering its roots: South African Christian Directory

In 1986, Marjorie Froise published the first South African Christian Handbook after many years of researching Christian ministry activity in the country. Over a fifteen-year period, the publication improved with each edition. For us at Mergon this was a wonderful tool to find out who did what in the Christian ministry landscape and to identify organisations with whom we could partner. It was Bybel-Media who first created an electronic version of the SA Christian Handbook. The idea, however, was to turn it into a fully digital search platform – a ‘Yellow Pages’ for Christian activity in South Africa to make connection and collaboration between churches and ministries easier. This is where Mergon got involved and the South African Christian Directory (SACD) was born.

We have seen over the years how the SACD has been a catalyst for Kingdom collaboration. Says Skip Krige, who has played an integral role in growing SACD: ‘We live in such an individualistic world. I realised that there were people in the same city and suburb – basically neighbours – that didn’t know each other but who were pursuing the same Kingdom projects and travelling all over the world without ever connecting or collaborating with one another. Our desire has always been that people will take hands, and it has been a joy to receive such positive feedback about people having discovered one another through the platform.’

A uniquely African resource

It’s been wonderful to see this platform grow over the years. With thousands of directory listings, it is an incredibly helpful tool for anyone looking to connect with believers across a wide range of industries. An in-depth analysis of the website revealed that engagement was high, with over 30,000 website visits per month! This was a clear indicator that there was a need amongst Christians for a platform like this.

Says Mergon Foundation’s Etienne Piek, ‘It was always our dream to potentially expand SACD to a resource hub that offers excellent biblical content and resources, in addition to the directory. With our findings about the usage of the website, we saw the immense potential and started conceptualising ideas for what this resource hub could look like. As a result, we repositioned and rebranded SACD and we are delighted to introduce the new platform, ChristianHub.com.’

True to the original DNA, ChristianHub.com remains an online directory connecting Christians across various sectors and industries. The updated platform is not only easier to navigate but is now also a uniquely African voice offering enriching biblical content which we have curated with our content partner, RightNow Media. These resources are great for small groups, families, students, leadership development, and more, to help you equip and disciple others.

In addition to the video resources and Bible reading plans, ChristianHub also offers helpful legal documents and charters for churches and ministries as well as a ‘Praying for Africa’ section with specific prayer points per country.

Power in the collective

What started as a resource directory for South Africa, ChristianHub.com aims to become a platform that serves the wider African network.

‘There are so many resources out there, but people aren’t aware of one another’s resources, or they don’t have access to it,’ explains Etienne. ‘What excites me most about ChristianHub.com is the potential for it to become a powerful aggregating platform for contextual Kingdom resources from across Africa. We see ChristianHub playing a catalytic role in empowering under-resourced ministries by connecting them with well-resourced ministries who make their content available through the platform. The power of the platform will truly lie in what everyone brings to it,’ he explains.

Visit www.christianhub.com to access the new website where you can explore the wide range of high-quality Christian resources and add your organisation or church to the directory.

Mergon is an entrepreneurial investment company that exists to create Kingdom impact and equip others to do the same.

+27 21 816 1111
[email protected]

Foundation

Invest

Integrate

Follow

© 2024 Mergon Group. All rights reserved.