Innové

Good for the Gospel, Good for the World, Good for Idea-Makers, Good for the Church

Innové (participle, French), to have broken new ground. “Look! I am about to make a new creation; the former shall not be remembered nor come to mind.” (Isaiah 65:17) “According to God’s promise, we look toward a new creation, where justice truly resides.” (2 Peter 3:13)

Colonial Church invites proposals from idea-makers, 35-years-old and younger, residing in the greater Twin Cities region, to submit proposals for projects that “break new ground” for the sake of cultural betterment and human flourishing in accordance with gospel values of faith, service, grace, justice, love, redemption and reconciliation. Innové provides $250,000 toward project grants, along with human resources, expertise, time, networking, creative community, incubation and acceleration toward successful project launches .

Objectives

GOOD FOR THE GOSPEL

To heed with humility and by faith, God’s calling to be salt and light in the world, working toward the promised new creation where righteousness, justice and love fully reside. To promote Christian gospel values of faith, service, grace, justice, love, redemption and reconciliation.

GOOD FOR THE WORLD

To accelerate the successful launch of creative and faithful ideas that address major challenges in our world.

GOOD FOR THE IDEA-MAKERS

To enable faithful entrepreneurs to break new ground through identification, mentoring, creating, planning, funding, making, doing, growing, sustaining and celebrating.

GOOD FOR THE CHURCH

To excite and involve Colonial Church as incubators, innovators, accelerators and partners of new creative work in the world.

Motivation

Colonial Church is in the midst of discernment regarding its next chapter of mission. We seek the Lord’s will for our calling as a church; a calling that unites us to do that which no one of us could do individually.

Colonial Church received $1.85M proceeds from our land sale, 20% of which is designated for mission. We intend to be faithful stewards of this money for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Colonial Church has people resources, relationships, experience and facilities to assist and direct mission projects. We desire to unleash these resources for the sake of Christ’s work in the world.

Colonial Church desires to integrate a younger demographic into its congregational life. We enjoy a strong intergenerational community, but the integration between older and younger isn’t as rich as it could be.

Colonial Church also desires to be a place where people are drawn to develop and use their particular gifts, talents and skills.

Colonial Church is praying for a new vibrant chapter in its own congregational life. Historically, common mission works to generate enthusiasm, galvanize service, solicit deeper faith, necessitate prayer, build community and bear fruit for the kingdom of God. We seek to do that which will stretch us toward greater faith and dependence on Christ.

Foundational Values

Colonial Church views itself as a “place to grow in Christ and serve the world.” In other words, the energy Christians gain from their relationship to Jesus within this faith community is ultimately intended for the sake of others. Applied to entrepreneurship, the purpose of work is to serve. We serve the world by creating and providing goods and services that enable people and the earth to flourish. Often these goods and services will take on redemptive qualities. Rather than simply adding to a community’s stockpile of available products of supplying another new amenity for amenity’s sake, Christian entrepreneurship seeks opportunities where service or products may be used to help, heal, restore, redeem or bring hope.

In both creative and redemptive work, Christian entrepreneurship provides workers opportunities to express at least a portion of their God-given identity through meaningful and creative labor. We should strive to inject a sense of mission, purpose, meaning and joy into all we do.

St. Paul encourages that “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for people” (Colossians 3:22-24). When our tasks are done for a higher purpose, ultimately in service to God, they have their own integrity apart from anything else they might accomplish, for the labor itself brings honor to God. Moreover, if we perform our tasks “as working for the Lord,” we will want to pursue them with all of the skill, care, and quality we can bring. At the same time, when we engage our tasks as “working for the Lord,” there is a built-in safeguard against work ever becoming a source of idolatry for which we would sacrifice family, health or friendship.

[Ideas adapted from James Davison Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. (Oxford University Press, 2010.), and Jeff Van Duzer, Why Business Matters to God (And What Still Needs to Be Fixed). (IVP Academic, 2010).]

An Invitation to Innovate

Innové participants will:

  • Undergo a rigorous process and receive constructive feedback on a project or venture they have eagerly desired to pursue but for which funding and assistance has been unavailable.
  • Receive hands-on coaching from a team of mentors with a wealth of successful experience in a variety of marketplace and entrepreneurial ventures to improve and develop your venture idea for judging by a panel of experts.
  • As a semi-finalist, participate in a weekend workshop with marketplace and cultural leaders as well as other semi-finalists in order to build relationships, receive encouragement and further refine ideas.
  • As a semi-finalist, have an opportunity to “pitch” their venture to a panel of judges,
  • As a winning protégé, present their venture to an audience of prospective supporters and investors and the congregation of Colonial Church.
  • As a winning protégé, participate in an “incubation” internship with project mentors and Colonial Church staff, to receive consulting, financial and business planning assistance, start-up funding, a stipend and office space. This incubation will accelerate your project toward success in partnership with Colonial Church.