Many leaders of missional enterprises have been entrusted with the entrepreneurial gifts needed to launch new ventures. Starting something new often comes naturally to them—dreaming, creating, and boldly charting a new course when needed.

But lasting impact requires more than a good beginning. It also calls for the steady strength to persevere. To keep showing up. To keep going when the path grows hard.

Today, we revisit the topic of perseverance1 and feature five thoughtful perspectives from a variety of sources to help encourage the steady endurance needed on the missional enterprise journey.

Perseverance in the Face of Obstacles

The Institute for Faith, Work, & Economics identifies perseverance as one of the “Five Christian Traits Every Entrepreneur Needs,” emphasizing the need to persevere when facing the obstacles entrepreneurs inevitably encounter:

Entrepreneurs often face obstacles. Prevailing thought and common wisdom tend to … resist change and fear it. Many see progress and innovation as threatening, and anyone offering to change the status quo will be challenged … Perseverance is tied directly to faith, of course. It takes a large measure of faith to stand firmly for something when others, including friends and family at times, tell you it cannot be done.

Not Giving Up

An article on Perseverance on the Blog site of Convene, a Christian Business Forum organization, provides this observation from interactions with business leaders:

One of the questions I ask [business leaders] is: “To what do you attribute your financial and business success?”  The most common response across all respondents is: perseverance. … Although each person may describe the process slightly differently, the theme is the same: “not giving up”, “sticking to it over the long haul”, “continuing to do what we knew was right”.

Removing Rocks

Speaking specifically to Business As Mission (BAM) efforts in pioneering regions around the work, the GoLiveServe organization paints this vivid picture of the need for perseverance:

“Business is hard work. In developing countries resistant to the Gospel, BAM is even harder. It takes great perseverance to remove rocks, sand, and toxic substances before the soil could be ready for sowing. There is no short cut to harvest.”

Deeply Held Beliefs

Even the secular world recognizes this principle: An article in Entrepreneur.com, titled “In Order to Persevere, You Need Deeply Held Beliefs,” notes:

There is no five-point program, or simple set of principles, that can provide the conviction necessary to truly persevere. That type of resolve requires a mission. A simple, but unwavering belief in what you’re doing. … the more one believes in a mission, the more resilient an individual or company will be when it’s tested.

Add to Your Faith

Finally, the apostle Peter indicates that our perseverance is built on our faith in God and our knowledge of him. He exhorts his readers to add perseverance to the sequence of qualities starting with our faith:

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.2

May we all, with our missional enterprise ventures rooted in our faith in Christ, and equipped with knowledge and self-control, receive grace to persevere in his calling, for his glory.

Verse of the Week:

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

Lord of the Harvest, give grace this week for us to persevere in your strength, in your work, for your glory.