Vision
To enrich the lives of people in China by developing Godly business leaders

Mission Statement
CEA will provide a platform for spiritually mature and accomplished Christian entrepreneurs to promote business practices consistent with Christian values, high ethical standards and integrity according to biblical principles.  

CEA will serve and guide entrepreneurs to integrate these biblical principles through mentoring, equipping and networking them both spiritually and professionally so that they can be successful and have a positive impact on the lives of the people in China.

Values
The Chinese Entrepreneur Association (CEA) is a non-profit organization of scientists, entrepreneurs and business professionals whose mission is to educate and guide participants to develop entrepreneurship with integrity and high ethical standards according to Biblical principles.

Our organization encourages its members to strive for high standards of ethics, integrity and values in their businesses, by emphasizing the principle-centered leadership embodied in the Bible.

We Value:
Creativity

Cooperation

Integrity

Service

Teamwork


The Chinese Entrepreneur Association [CEA] Manifesto

The Chinese Entrepreneur Association (CEA) is a non-profit corporation comprised of Christian scientists, businessmen, and professional people whose vision is to develop godly business leaders who will use their professions as platforms to enrich the lives of the people in China. CEA was formed in 1999 by senior men in the East Coast Chinese Churches to respond to the many young scholars from mainland China who were becoming Christians through the Chinese churches. After getting their PhD's from American universities, many of these new Christians chose to start their own companies instead of stay in teaching or work as research scientists (often in Bio-Tech). Thus, CEA was formed to help young entrepreneurs run their companies with a "Kingdom" focus. Since its inception, CEA has grown steadily with chapters in Boston, Philadelphia, Raleigh-Durham, Ottawa, Toronto, New York-New Jersey, San Francisco and Hong Kong. CEA provides networking opportunities, programs for training and the exchange of knowledge and technical expertise, mentoring and coaching programs, an annual national conference, and numerous technology and business seminars hosted by local chapters.

Besides wanting to be known as business and professional people who conduct their businesses in an ethical manner, we also want to be known as men and women who have a heart for China. It is apparent to us that the entrepreneur has a unique platform in China, and we want to encourage the entrepreneur to understand his unique calling as a "lay minister" and learn to utilize his business as a platform to represent Christ. Thus, the Mission of CEA is as follows:

The Cause of Christ

The cause of Christ is best articulated in "The Great Commission." It is important because:
* It represents everything that Christ stood for during His life on earth.
* It contains the last words of Christ before He ascended into heaven.
* It consists of veritable "marching orders" for those who are His followers.

Thus, utilizing this passage, the cause of Christ could be broken down into two parts:
A. Converting people to Christ ("baptizing them") and
B. Discipling people in Christ ("teaching them to observe all things").

For members of CEA to take this injunction seriously:
1) We must see a higher purpose for life than merely achieving worldly success.
2) We must view all that God has given us as instruments to be turned around and used for His purposes, and
3) We must see the business that God is in as the "People Business". Unlike the world which uses people to gain wealth, we would follow the call of Jesus and use wealth to gain people.

Developing Godly Business Leaders

Our method of developing godly business leaders involves nothing more than establishing a relationship with that person, then, helping him to grow up in Jesus Christ. We feel that "mentoring" is a relationship, not a program, and getting involved with us is not attractive to "short-term" thinkers and those who need regular recognition as they minister. Entrepreneurs are mostly "task-oriented" and often the intensity of their job leaves them with few meaningful relationships. Although many members of CEA are not entrepreneurs themselves, our goal is to make a difference in the lives of entrepreneurs through gaining relationships with them and inspiring them to help others also (II Tim 2:2).

We realize that it is tough being a Christian today, especially in todayÕs market environment. We also realize that men and women of God are produced and influenced by a variety of ministries. Therefore, CEA will endeavor to network members with other ministries and "functioning" layman from the United States, Canada and Hong Kong. We define a functioning layman as one who knows Christ, feeds himself from the Word, and gives himself away to others.

Natural Applications

Since CEA is composed of lay people, we come together to encourage one another to integrate our Christian faith "naturally" into our vocations and businesses. We decry the compartmentalization of business from our spiritual lives, where too often businessmen have come to think that Sundays are spiritual while Mondays through Fridays are secular. Instead, we often exhort one another to bring Christ into our workplace in particular and the marketplace in general. This should be done through natural applications in the workplace. How is this accomplished?

1) As representatives of God to a needy generation, we want to become the incarnation of Christ to the people we come in contact with at work.
* We are aware that the non-Christian world believes that in order for Christianity to work, it must "work" at work.
* This is best seen not through separatist prayer meetings or worship services but through the day-to-day conduct of the Christ follower at work, in such things as extraordinary service, forgiveness of wrongs suffered, humility and meekness of spirit, and a genuine interest in people.
* We can share hundreds of natural applications among us as a way to encourage one another to bring Christ boldly into our daily jobs.

2) We want to utilize every bit of credibility our secular positions will afford us. Indeed the entrepreneur is well-positioned to be used in the marketplace for the purposes of God.
* We believe that the best person to reach a businessman for the Lord is another businessman. The best person to reach a student for the Lord, another student and the best person to reach an entrepreneur for the Lord, another entrepreneur.
* Usually when a non-Christian gets together with a Christian, one of the two will feel uncomfortable because of the inevitable culture/worldview clash. Rather than making the non-Christian feel uncomfortable by dragging him to our Christian functions, we would rather put a premium on meeting him on his turf, preferring instead to be the uncomfortable one. Thus, it would not be uncommon to find a CEA person building bridges in secular venues to present the claims of Jesus Christ.

The Entrepreneurial Platform

The entrepreneurial platform is a coveted and "glamorous" platform because:
* The entrepreneur is more independent and has more flexibility.
* The entrepreneur has more autonomy to direct the resources of his company.
* The entrepreneur has many opportunities for networking
* The entrepreneur has opportunities for influence on the lives of his employees

The Christian Entrepreneur is therefore on a pedestal of sorts, and the non-Christian world takes notice. However, his is a lonely job, often attracting the brunt of criticism when things go wrong, but also inspiring jealousy when things go right. Thus, CEA has been formed to be available for the entrepreneur,
* to give peer support and encouragement
* to give executive coaching and Christian mentoring
* to be a sounding board for a sharing of perspective
* to provide a platform to promote Christian business practices
* to organize conferences and technology and business seminars
* to offer consulting and other tangible services

There are a myriad of ways that the Christian Entrepreneur can distinguish himself through his exemplary character and his general treatment of others:
* The entrepreneur has the opportunity to proclaim the veracity of the Gospel, not through oratorical skills, but through the astounding testimony of obedience to God's laws, even if it means disobedience to the "business laws" of maximizing profits.
* What gets the attention of people is when a businessman foregoes easy profits purely because of Christian principles. The Christian Entrepreneur thus has opportunities to "take a stand for Jesus" that regular employees do not, since he is the final decision maker.
* The Christian Entrepreneur eschews short-term profits in favor of long-term gain, even investing in the Scriptural promise of "Eternal Rewards".
* Thus, his company is bound to look different, especially in this day and age of scandal, misappropriations, and deceit. While the Christian entrepreneur will not necessarily have the most profitable enterprise on the New York Stock Exchange, he can nevertheless be confident in receiving his "just reward", never forgetting that the "prayers of a righteous man availeth much" (Prov. 15:29).

The Layman's Ministry

We believe in the priesthood of the common ordinary believer, and as such, believe that lay ministry has the mandate to represent God to the unbelieving world. Thus, the methods of CEA members will be "lay ministry" methods rather than the "seminary-learned" methods of the vocational Christian worker.

Lay Ministry Methods:

* The layman too often thinks that his only responsibility is to bring the unbeliever to church so that the pastoral staff can do the work of conversion and discipling.
* In the marketplace, the layman is God's primary agent, to represent the living God to his natural contacts and relationships.
* The Pastor's role is to see that the layman is fully equipped to do the work of the ministry. (Eph 4:11-13)
a) It is imperative that the lay person have a thorough, comprehensive view of the Scriptures. (cf. Paul's exhortation to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20)
b) Any imbalances that we have in our lives will be adjusted only as we avail ourselves of, and become obedient to, the whole Counsel of God.
c) Some of the spiritual disciplines that can be developed in the layman to deepen his spiritual life are: a personal quiet time, a two-way prayer life, scripture memory, and accountability that leads to attitudes of thanks-giving and surrender.
d) The depth of a person's walk with God will determine the quality of his relationships and lay ministry hinges on quality relationships.
* It is no easy task to be equipped for lay ministry, but the layman should never blame the church if he is not getting properly equipped in the Scriptures. However, if this happens to be the case, then the individual believer must learn to feed himself from God's Word.
* Methods of individual Bible study will be taught to members of CEA at work-shops and seminars as well as at the national conference; but we have found that such things are best picked up through one-to-one coaching and individual accountability at the local level.

Lay Evangelism Methods:

* Contrasting Lifestyles - When a pastor is "good", displaying Christian character, no one takes notice because people think he is paid to be good. However, when an entrepreneur is "good" the world takes notice, because he is being "good for nothing".
* Giving an Answer - Once this contrasting lifestyle evokes a response from the non-Christian, there are also methods involved to execute I Peter 3:15: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who ask you to give the reason for the hope that you have".
* Using the Tools - CEA can help its members learn to give testimonies, conduct evangelistic Bible studies (EBS), and practice apologetic techniques in answering the tough questions. CEA will afford many opportunities to learn and practice.

Lay Ministry Resources:

The Benefits of Nurture and Care
* The nurture and care of His people is extremely important to God; it is sobering to realize that this care has been entrusted to His servants. Thus, the leadership of CEA strives for in-depth involvement in the lives of its members.
* An in-depth involvement in the lives of others is quite costly so we will often gather together for mutual support and cross pollination (Heb 10:24-25).
* CEA will endeavor to set up discipling and mentoring relationships between our senior members and our younger ones to make sure that our network is suitably connected with one another.

The Benefits of a "Core Fellowship"
* Support: Entrepreneurs, above all, have a tendency to be loners and very independent. They are therefore vulnerable both spiritually and professionally. Members of CEA will strive to support one another through 1) giving objective counsel, 2) providing accountability, and 3) being people with whom to share confidentially, talk through problems, and explore options with.
* Accountability: In our November 2002 meeting in Philadelphia, we discussed the importance of accountability as outlined in Hebrews 13:17. It is important for all serious members of CEA to be functioning in a core fellowship.
* Vision: It is so easy to fall into a preoccupation with one's own church and have little time or appreciation for the work of Christ elsewhere. We would ask, "Lord, give me a clear picture of what You are doing in the world and the part You want me to play in it", because this is the heart's cry of the person with vision. The San Francisco Bay Area chapter has introduced us to Partner's International and the Hong Kong chapter has introduced us to "SALT" (Systematic Asian Leadership Training) to expand our vision.

(In China)
The Chinese Entrepreneur Association wants to serve the cause of Christ in general, but it has an undeniable China focus:
* It is the realization that China is the last great mission field before the return of Christ (Matt 24:14) that gives us vision - a vision that helps us to live for something more than building up of our own businesses and enhancing the quality of our lives in America.
* To be a Chinese Christian during these "latter days" is a tremendous privilege considering what God is doing in China today and considering the opportunities that we have to be "cut in on the action". We have both the right and the responsibility to carry the "Good News" to our homeland and to use our resources to help China.
* Given the fact that China is closed to conventional missions, we are struck by the strategic importance of the Chinese Entrepreneur. It is the Chinese Entrepreneur who currently has an unprecedented platform in China and unfettered access into China. Recently, the Communist Party has even allowed businessmen to join their ranks.
* In China, it is the Entrepreneur who, although he is supposedly the incarnation of the evils of Capitalism, conveys a powerful testimony when people observe the ethical way he does business.
* Today, more and more Chinese Scholars, after receiving their PhD's, want to become entrepreneurs instead of staying in academia to teach at a University or joining a big corporation to work as a research scientist. More and more also hope to return to China someday, as she ascends to its position of "superpower" in the world economy.

Preparation for Ministry in China:
* It is the goal of CEA to teach Chinese Christian Entrepreneurs how to share their faith and live for eternal purposes before they return home to China or while they conduct business there.
* It is one thing to maintain one's walk with Christ while fellowshipping in the confines of the church and within a Christian community, but a far different story to do it after one returns to China without a Christian support network.
* Preparation for that return to China on the part of Chinese Entrepreneurs must begin in the United States before their businesses bring them home.
* As members of CEA travel back and forth between the US and China, there should be more opportunities for the propagation of the "Good News" in China.