Talk a great game. Don’t play a great game. Don’t hate the game, hate the player.
Money and mouth go together. Game and player go together. Walking and talking go together.
I have wanted to be an enabler of entrepreneurs and do direct support of ministries overseas and at home. Now in a very tough economic situation, personally, I have decided to stop talking and start walking. And I want you to join me.
I have started a team on Kiva. Maybe you have heard of Kiva. Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe and their mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Yesterday, I lent $25 to George Maiko Onyancha, a clothing salesmen in Kenya. He was asking for $675 to buy an embroidery machine and add to his stock of embroidery materials through Kenya Agency for Development of Enterprise and Technology (KADET), a partner of World Vision International. As of yesterday, he received the entirety of his loan and has a repayment schedule already in place. When I get paid back, I will re-invest that money in another entrepreneur, possibly with some additional funds.
I am asking you to join my team and make a loan to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses and get out of poverty.
But, wait, there’s more. I want to invite you to be part of our 2009-2010 Water Challenge.
Here is how it works:
Give it Up: Make water your only beverage…for 2 weeks.
Collect Your Savings: Take the money you would have spent on soda, juice, sports drinks, bottled water etc., and put it aside to give clean water. Collect your savings in a any container you wish.
Continue your sacrifice for 2 weeks: If you are heading toward the soda machine, head for the water fountain instead. If your family goes out to dinner and you usually order iced tea, ask for water. It’s free. You’ll be amazed at how the savings add up. Encourage your whole family to participate.
Give it Away: After 2 weeks, calculate the amount of money saved by your sacrifice and give water through The Water Project, Inc. It will be used to drill new water wells in Kenya or India…you choose!
I would like to start this on Monday, September 14, 2009 and have it go for two weeks, with money sent by September 30, 2009. It can be mailed as a check or sent via paypal. I would love to be able to send at least $100 to help provide clean water for people whose water we would refuse to drink. I actually think we do better than $100, but I’m being realistic. I’ll have more details on this soon.
In addition, every other month, 10% of my profits from Missional Press, my publishing company, will go to help support entrepreneurs at Kiva or projects like the Water Project. I ask you to join me.
Let’s let our mouth and money come together for a Christ-focused, missional impact of our world.
If you would like to join my Kiva team, please click here. If you would like to be part of the Water Challenge, leave a comment or contact me.
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David is an entrepreneur, pastor, coach, and author. He has his doctorate from George Fox Seminary where he studied under Len Sweet, his M.Div. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and has done post graduate work in communications from the University of Alabama and the University of South Florida. He lives with his wife Brenna Phillips in Smyrna, DE. 
New blog post: Mouth, Meet Money http://bit.ly/CxIyZ