A vested interest... venture capital in the God's eyes

A few years ago, a group of Campus Crusade for Christ staff flew down to the Silicon Valley and met with several teams of internet experts. Guided by a Christian man who had a vision to use the internet for God's work, they toured the headquarters of familiar software and internet companies...

I wasn't along on the tour, but my friend told me the impact it had on him to sit in the board room of a venture capital company - the company that heard the pitch for Google. It made me think of what it would be like to have been in the room the first time there was an opportunity to invest in what is now the world's largest media company.

A venture capital company is simply a company who matches investors with investment opportunities. These professionals listen to young companies, like Google, pitch their ideas and they decide whether or not they want to recommend investment in these new upstarts.

Can you imagine being one of the first investors in Google? Back in the 90's search engines weren't really understood - and revenue from a search engine made little or no sense at all. Wouldn't you be glad you invested? Wouldn't you have a "vested interest" in the little Google startup?

What is a "vested interest"?
Wikipedia says this: A vested interest is the state or condition of having a special interest in protecting or supporting something for the purpose of self-interest, gain or benefit, often financially or politically.
Dictionary.com says this: a special interest in an existing system, arrangement, or institution for particular personal reasons.

The first funding for Google as a company was secured in the form of a $100,000 contribution from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, given to a corporation which didn't yet exist. Around six months later, a much larger round of funding was announced, with the major investors being rival venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital.

At their initial public offering, Google shares were offered at $85 per share. On March 22,2007, Google shares were offered at $460.21 per share, a gain of 540%.

When our church decided to renovate the basement as phase one of our building updates, Gary and I decided to have a "vested interest". We decided, like many of you, to invest in a "startup" idea. We heard the "pitch" and although we didn't understand all that could happen with a renovated building, we took a step of faith to invest.

Don't get me wrong - I don't feel like a Venture Capitalist. I didn't even know what that meant before I forced myself to read the Financial Post every week. I don't feel like I have hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting around waiting to be invested.

But, in some ways, each of us is like a venture capitalist. We have some "capital" (our money) and are asked by the Holy Spirit to "venture out". The Holy Spirit speaks to us about His work in this world and invites us to invest. We don't know what the outcome of our investment will be. There are no guarantees that it will ever be known to us in this lifetime, either. We hear the "pitch" and have the opportunity to invest.

Once you invest, you become "vested", or interested. You feel like an owner, you care. It doesn't matter numerically what your investment is, but a percentage of your earnings does make you feel invested, whether you make hundreds of thousands of dollars annually or thousands or hundreds. Investing 10% puts everyone on an equal playing field as far as feeling "invested" in the work of the church.

After yesterday's service with the spanish church, I felt like our "stocks went up" - it was a glimpse of what God is doing with our investment. I could barely contain myself, I was so excited. It was a bit like the quarterly report from a company to their shareholders - this is what your investment is doing... it is building a spanish church, it is completing a long-yearned for vision for a pastor who is aching to have a congregation, it is establishing God's Kingdom here in Chilliwack.

That's how I feel at baptisms, too. When I watch one person after another show their commitment to follow Jesus, sharing their story of how God got a hold of their life... it's like a "stock report".

There are many other times that I've been moved by the work of God in Broadway church, but it was yesterday's service that had me feeling very glad that I'm a venture capitalist in God's work in this church in this city.