Momentum

“With glad and humble hearts [they were] praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved.” – Acts 2:46b-47

Running a business is hard. It requires a great amount of energy to achieve real results. And it also takes time, money, intellect, spiritual focus and perseverance to truly succeed. The early stages of business should demand more from us then the later–that is, if we are pointing in the right direction!

Successful businesses are those who, over time, are able to increasingly generate better results while proportionally exerting less energy.

All great organizations must reach a point of exponential growth if they are to ever reach their God-given potential. Momentum happens when a business passes a “tipping point.” Think of the natural momentum of a newly-planted seed: it will require extra care and energy as it begins to grow, but with each passing season of wise pruning, fertilizing and care, you will see a greater yield with less proportional energy.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” – John 12:24

In the book of Acts, the early church began with the death and resurrection of one man who gave it all, and generated a short term yield of 120 committed disciples who were also willing to give it all. After Peter’s first sermon, the 120 followers grew to 3120, and they continued to grow from there to over 2 billion today. One of the things that led to the growth of the church is the fact that they were able to reach a point of momentum. This was a point where they began to experience exponential growth due to a proper foundation being laid and a clearly articulated vision, which propelled them forward. The fruit of this early momentum is evident even today. Even when the momentum would sometimes loose steam over the years, the early seed planted was so strong and the foundation so firm that it would easily regain momentum again and grow even faster then before.

Sometimes, those in the United States lose sight of the strength of this momentum of church growth across the world because it is hard to see. Though the growth of the church has slowed down at this time in America, other places (such as Iran, Afghanistan and Cambodia) are experiencing explosive growth in recent years. Even when it may be hard to see from where you’re standing, the seed of growth in the church has been so firmly planted that now nothing can stop it from growing until Jesus comes back!

Momentum is described by the dictionary as “the strength or force that allows something to continue to grow stronger or faster as time passes.”

It is also the grace to continuously grow stronger and faster with better results and utilizing proportionally less energy. Greatness cannot be achieved without reaching the point of momentum. Achieving momentum requires the following:

1. A clear call and mission.
2. A clearly defined vision and focus.
3. A willingness to sacrifice.
4. Holy spirit engagement.
5. The right team, properly aligned.
6. A clear strategy with build-in rewards and accountability.
7. A wise and effective use of technology.

The best illustration of momentum might be when a plane takes flight: as the plane comes down the runway to take off, it requires significant amounts of energy, but once it reaches the right altitude, it is able to achieve greater speed with less energy. It has reached the point of momentum. What stage is your business in? Is it going down the runway? Is it still at take-off? Or is it going up…but still waiting to reach the right altitude? One thing to note with planes is that the most difficult period is at take-off: if it does not have the right speed or the right foundation, it will not take off…it could even crash. Another dangerous period with planes is mechanical error in flight–depending on the error, it can be life threatening. The same is true when it comes to business.

Wherever you are in your entrepreneurship journey, know that God can do the impossible and enable you to reach momentum.

My prayer for you is that God will grant you the grace to reach momentum so that you can be a better steward in realizing the vision He has given you in the marketplace.