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A CHRISTIAN BUSINESS MAGAZINE

VOL. I NO. 2 WINTER 2012

on A BReeZY MonDAY in March 2010, David Tonen was sitting across the table from his boss at a local coff ee shop. He’d just been informed he’d been let go — the company had restructured and his position was no longer needed. He was unemployed eff ective immediately. Most people would have panicked, overcome with fear and worry from this unexpected blow. But not David.

“i was absolutely bursting with excitement, joy and a sense of blessing,” he said. it was an unexpected response that makes you wonder, “what makes this man tick?”

THe pRoDiGAL sonDavid grew up in Dartmouth, nova scotia, attending a Catholic Church with his family every sunday. As a teenager, going to church was a mere routine that lacked relevance in his life. so by the time he got to saint Mary’s university, he stopped going to church altogether. Like many of his peers, he embraced drinking and a life of partying.

By Shannon McKeough

KingdomBusiness

(con’t of “God Speaks Our Language”)

The Other

ofFaithSideFaith

David Tonen was part of the church planting team of LifeBridge Community Church in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The church launched on Easter Sunday 2005. He serves as chair of the board.

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The subsequent years of fl eeting highs and hangovers left him feeling increasingly empty and alone. one day, he found himself asking, “what’s the purpose of my life? isn’t there more to life than this?” He was sure there was more, but he didn’t know what it was or where to fi nd it.

During his second year of university, he was invited to go church with one of his friends. There was a group of young adults from this church that would get together and socialize. But during their gatherings, they’d also talk about the Bible and how it could apply to their everyday lives. in this setting, David was beginning to see that church wasn’t about routine or religion, but about embracing a very real and personal relationship with Jesus Christ, one that was life-changing.

on one weekend, he heard the story of The prodigal son, and it moved him profoundly. He knew then that he wanted what the prodigal son had. He wanted to ask forgiveness, be a part of God’s family, and make Jesus the Leader of his life. so he prayed the simple prayer and released control of his life to God.

His new and pivotal relationship with Jesus had begun to answer his questions about life and give him purpose and meaning he’d never before experienced. He realized he was created to love and be loved by God, and to represent His love to the rest of the world.

THe GReATesT sToRY on THe pLAneTDavid graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing in 1990. He spent the next 20 years of his career in a variety

of marketing and sales positions in the educational publishing industry. He always had a strong entrepreneurial spirit, but he struggled with the fear and insecurity of being out on his own and leaving the comfort of his corporate salary and benefi ts.

He eventually satisfi ed some of his entrepreneurial drive by starting JesusAtlantic.com in 2001 and being part of the church planting team of LifeBridge Community Church in 2005. JesusAtlantic is a website to help churches in Atlantic Canada promote their upcoming events and share news across denominational lines. The site quickly grew to reach over 2500 unique visitors every month and continues today so any church can post their events in the events calendar for free.

LifeBridge Community Church was a church plant started primarily to reach the unchurched in the Dartmouth/Halifax region. its core purpose is to help people get connected to God and live out His purposes for their lives. “it has been the most exciting ministry experience of my life,” he says. “To start with a team of six, and partner with God to reach people who don’t know Jesus... to walk along side of them and watch them commit their lives, be baptized, and to then help disciple them and watch them grow... is awesome!”

in 2008, David felt God encouraging him to step out of his corporate comfort zone to start a company to help churches be better communicators — something bigger and more strategic than JesusAtlanic. He has always believed that the church has the greatest story on the planet to tell: the life-transforming story of Jesus. And it’s his passion to help churches craft their stories more

David delivering the new EBC: The MEETing Place website to pastors Rev. Dr. Lennett Anderson (right) and Michael Fisher (left) in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia. www.EBCMeet.com

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strategically, so they can communicate with greater eff ectiveness, impact and excellence. He was obedient to God’s prompting and started his company Ministrystory.com to acomplish just that.

Be sTiLLDavid was still working full-time at his corporate job as an executive marketing manager in one of Canada’s leading publishers, managing the growing clientele of Ministrystory on the side, running JesusAtlantic, and serving as an elder and ministry leader at LifeBridge. But in october of 2009, he began to unravel from the stress and exhaustion of this impossible schedule. His body began to rebel under the heavy load, manifesting several distressing physical symptoms.

David fi nally pulled himself in to see his doctor, who quickly recognized the problem and sanctioned him to a 30-day leave. But rest was not something he knew how to do very well. initially, the leave seemed to only make things worse. unable to work, he began to wrestle with a sense of displacement. He also wrestled with feelings of guilt, weakness and humiliation at having to take a leave of absence. “i thought i should be able to handle everything — i thought i could control all this,” he explains. But his 30-day leave turned into four months, and David ultimately learned that God didn’t create us to sustain such a high-speed, crazy agenda. He learned how to accept his weaknesses, draw closer to God, and fi nally — how to rest.

His four-month sabbatical was extremely therapeutic, reviving him physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally. Before returning to work, he decided to do a two-day prayer retreat without phones, computers or technology — just Bible reading, praying and listening to God. During this time, he felt God calling him to leave his corporate job and work at Ministrystory full-time. But this gripped him with doubt and fear. He didn’t want to lose his steady paycheck and benefi ts, and he feared that most churches had no room in their budgets for his marketing services at Ministrystory. “How could i ever make a living at this?” he pondered.

He grappled with this daunting challenge from God for a while. At the same time, he mulled over psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that i am God,” one of his favourite Bible verses. Then God spoke to him clearly, telling him he was buying into a lie — because churches absolutely do have the money for marketing. David just needed to educate them as to what marketing really is, why it’s necessary, and how their church, the Kingdom of God, and the lost, could benefi t from it. Armed with this insight and the support of his wife, shelly, Dave was prepared to end his short-term leave and resign from his corporate marketing job.

eXpeCT THe uneXpeCTeDit was a breezy Monday in March when David ended his leave. The senior vice president of the publishing company was fl ying into Halifax because he said he had some things he needed to discuss with David over coff ee. David’s plan was to listen to what his boss had to say and respectfully resign the next day. His boss had no idea David was going to resign, and David had no idea his boss was about to terminate his position and off er him a severance package. when the senior Vp sat down and gave him the “bad” news, David was blown away. There he was, one day away from giving his two-week notice, and he was being off ered a severance package that was going to help fi nance the start-up

of his new business, to help him do what he always wanted to do: help churches tell the story of Jesus. in his mind, it was an unquestionable affi rmation from God that He was blessing this venture with his new company. “in the midst of my own fear and scheming,” David says, “God already had a much bigger, much more spectacular, more encouraging and providing plan than i could have ever imagined!”

eXpAnDeD BoRDeRsso at long last, after 20 years under the wing of corporate life, David Tonen was offi cially a full-time entrepreneur. But he was by no means out on his own. Acutely aware that God is watching out for him and sending clients his way, he continues to be amazed each day at the irrefutable divine strategies and connections at work in his business.

David continues to seek God’s guidance and wisdom through prayer and follow His promptings. And it’s paying off . At one point, he sensed God was telling him to write out his prayers on paper, to formulate a bigger vision for his business and ministry, and to specifi cally include “international impact” in his business mission statement. He felt God encouraging him to ask, as Jabez did in 1 Chronicles 4:1-10, to “enlarge his territory.” so, he wrote it down. He asked God to use him beyond the scope of his geography and his network.

shortly after doing this, God began to open doors outside of Atlantic Canada — fi rst, a church in Amsterdam, then a ministry in new York, and then one in Quebec. Month after month, God has opened up opportunities to serve ministries internationally. He is now working for a church in Chicago, helping a new ministry start-up in Japan, and most recently, he started working with a national ministry with a mission focus that is coast-to-coast in Canada. “God makes the contacts,” David explains, “God motivates current clients to refer their network contacts that need help too.... He just keeps using me and i just keep being available. This is simply nothing short of awesome!”

David Tonen meeting with the Communications team of New Covenant Church in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia: Garth Holmes (left) and Dan Eddy (middle). www.NewCovenantChurch.ca

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MinisTRY pAssionCurrently, 70 percent of his client base are churches or ministries and the rest are Christian business owners. He thoroughly enjoys working with entrepreneurs too, especially if their goals embrace living out their faith through their business, something David is passionate about. He uses the second division of his company Marketing integrity to work with small and medium businesses. A simple overview of how he helps his clients is by:

• Creating a communications strategy and plan.• Clearly helping them defi ne who they are.• Identifying who they are trying to reach.• Creating outreach tools.• Building their technology hub — their website and social media strategy.

David feels that a key component of what he does is to educate church leaders on what marketing is within a church context, so he writes a church marketing and communications blog at navigateYourMarketing.com and publishes the only church marketing and communications podcast at Ministrystory.com/podcast.

He shares that if he could do only one thing, he would help churches exclusively. He wants to see them thrive, reach out to their communities and touch those in need. He says he knows his life is on the right track if he’s helping churches reach more people for Jesus. And if you ask David what the future holds for Ministrystory.com, he says he has no clue. “i’m not the boss; God is... i’m not in control, and for the fi rst time in my life, i really like it!”

Business inTeGRiTYTo operate a business according to biblical principles is challenging and countercultural. David admits it’s been an ongoing battle to do so because he’d been conditioned by his corporate experience to separate personal life from business life. However, he’s already learned some valuable lessons.

Three times in the fi rst year of business, he was presented with what he calls “easy money.” each of these opportunities happened fast and he didn’t pause

to pray about them. instead, he immediately took on the projects without asking God for wisdom, justifying his decision by saying, “This is ethical work for easy money, so i can make more and be more successful.”

in each instance, the joy and synchronicity with the business owner began to dissipate as the weeks progressed. David realized he’d made a mistake. Then he began to pray about the situations and God provided a harmonious way out for each one. no relationships were damaged. no harm came to his business or reputation, and there was a mutual parting of ways in each case. now, David prays and asks for God’s wisdom before accepting any clients. if the client is a Christian business owner or ministry, he asks them to pray too. if it’s clear that it is a God-ordained partnership, he will then accept the project.

David overfl ows with heartfelt humility as he expressed deep gratitude for having the opportunity to be a partner in God’s plan. “i want people to know none of this is about me,” he explains. “i’m not special. i’m no diff erent than anyone else. if God can use me like this, He can use you too!”

Knowing how Ministrystory came into existence, how David lets God shine through his work, and not just the safe and cozy corners of his life, is a much-needed reminder in today’s world that stepping over the fence of fear and being on the other side of faith and obedience is always a better place to be. Are you ready for what God has in store for you — on the other side?

Shannon McKeough is a poet and writer living in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. She has been following Jesus for fi ve years, and serves in music and children’s ministry at LifeBridge Community Church. She believes God has called her to “write for His Kingdom,” with a special focus on reaching the lost and nurturing deeper intimacy with Christ through art and creative writing. She is a hopeful romantic and believes the Bible is one giant love story between God and His people; it’s her passion to refl ect that in her work. She treasures spending time in nature with her nephews Nick and Samuel. You can connect with her online at ShannonMcKeough.com

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