THE MISSIONARY, THE PROSTITUTES, AND THE COFFEE

Authors

  • Darin Gerdes Charleston Southern University
  • J. Maxwell Rollins Charleston Southern University

Keywords:

Ministry, not for profit, covid

Abstract

Brian Miller has a problem. He spent the last 20 years building one ministry after another, but circumstances have changed and now he has to figure out what to do next. His latest project is Casa Esther—a safe environment where homeless girls can get off the street. Most of them are involved in prostitution and many are pregnant. Because he is a missionary in Colombia, he began funding the girls’ home with coffee sales to the United States. This was very profitable, largely because he sent the coffee back to the United States with short-term missionaries who bore the expense of shipping. He would buy bags of coffee for $11.25, package them for pennies, and reap more than $38.00 in profits that were exclusively dedicated to the girls’ home. But COVID-19 destroyed his delivery system because short-term missionary teams were forced to stop traveling to Colombia. He still needs to fund this ministry as needs have not changed, but to do that, he must radically alter his delivery system or he will not be able to save these women and their children. What should he do?

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Published

2024-01-27

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 1 (2021)

Section

Cases

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