Multi-level marketing gets such a bad rap, even on it’s own. But when someone in ministry steps into this business model, the negativity can go *next level* very quickly.
So, is there any way to do both in the same season while avoiding all the negative noise? Is it possible to move powerfully in ministry and while also growing a thriving and impactful MLM business?
My husband and I planted a church in Tampa ten years ago, and we co-pastor that church to this day. About six years ago, I stepped into a network marketing opportunity as part of the holistic health coaching business I was building. Almost immediately, the doubt crept in for me. Would I be able to honor the calling I had to pastor the people, while not misusing my authority or influence as I offered products and services to the public? What would people think if they saw me selling things out on the internet during the week, and then in the pulpit preaching on a Sunday? Truth be told, most of the things I feared the most during this season were things I made up in my own head!
Are you a Christian who’s wanting to step into a network marketing opportunity (or you’re already in an MLM business), but doubt and concerns about what people think about your choice are holding you back? Do you feel the overwhelming need to *explain* why you’ve chosen this business model? Do you worry that you’re going to come across as “salesy” (at best) or that you’re “taking advantage” of your relationships (at worst)? Are you having a hard time believing you can be truly successful in sales as your dreams of a thriving business are relegated to “just a hobby” status?
If you’ve felt any of these things, but what you really want is to step into your ministry AND your networking marketing business in the same season with boldness and confidence, THIS is the episode for you! I’ll be sharing four things the Lord had to remind me of at the beginning of my ministry and MLM season that brought me back to my full purpose and got me moving in a powerful way. I’ll also show you three key things you must do if you want to move in both ministry and your sales business in the same season in a way that glorifies God and honors people. So, if you’re ready to get into a truly edifying discussion about how you can minister and do MLM in the same season — I want you to grab your Bible, your journal and a pen, and . . . Let’s Go!
Scripture References mentioned in this episode:
Acts 18:1-4 —
After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.
1 Corinthians 9:3-11 —
This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?
1 Corinthians 9:13-14 —
Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
Links to Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Towards the end of this episode, I invited listeners to join me in my free Facebook group, The Oiliversity, and/or on my Oiliversity email list to see how I sell by serving, and how I prioritize and nurture relationships before I ever offer my products and services. You can click on images below to get connected, and to see how you can serve in a social selling business without being salesy or weird.
Erica co-leads a local church alongside her husband, Doug, in Tampa, Florida called REVIVE Church of Tampa. You can visit the church’s website for more information about who we are, what we believe and how we show up as the Church in the heart of West Tampa and beyond.
REVIVE Church of Tampa streams services live on Friday nights at 7pm ET and Sunday mornings at 11am ET. You can find those livestreams on our church Facebook page:
Live Services – Fridays at 7pm ET and Sundays at 11am ET
If you’re interested in joining the online campus of REVIVE Church of Tampa, you are welcome to join our community group on Facebook where we offer weekly discussion around the Friday and Sunday messages as well as discipleship Zoom groups and the opportunity to host others in your home as you stream services. You can find us here:
The ROCC: REVIVE Online Campus Community
About this podcast:
Positioned to Prosper is a weekly podcast that covers the ins and outs of what it means to live a lifestyle of breakthrough and victory in your relationships, health, finances and beyond. Your host, Erica Pyle, is no stranger to jumping without the proverbial parachute while maintaining a firm grip on godly wisdom. A self-described slayer of pragmatism and a “walk by faith” kind of girl, Erica is an unabashed believer in the power of God to radically transform lives. Front-footed in faith as she offers straight-up truth, strategies, and wisdom for living victoriously, and equipped with her love for the word of God, her certification as a holistic health coach, and years of experience in personal finance and taxation, Erica is ready to help you get positioned to prosper.
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