God Owns My Business

One of the greatest moments in my life was having the opportunity to interview a great man and Christian entrepreneur, Dr. R. Stanley Tam on the My Father’s Business Broadcast. I was first made aware of the works of Dr. Tam through a message given by Pastor David Ireland.

In the message, R. Stanley Tam was a young aspiring businessman in the early 1940’s.  However, he was at the point of what seemed to be the sure failure of his business, Tamco.  He had tried everything in his power and still could not see the manifestation of success in his business.  It was at this point that he decided to turn his business over to the Lord.  No longer would he be concerned with the affairs of the business but he committed everything to the Lord.

I will turn my business over to you.  Take it, God, and if You’ll make it succeed, I’ll honor You in every way I can. I promise!

He formalized this commitment by structuring ownership of the business so that God was his senior partner. He accomplished this by allocating 51% of the equity ownership of his business to a private foundation setup by he and his wife, Jaunita.

The Stanita Foundation would receive fifty-one percent of the profits generated by all his business.  And the sole purpose of the foundation was to provide financial support for missionary work throughout the world.

As a result of his obedience, his business took off and he never suffered a year of loss.  How many businesses would love to have both growth and profit each year?  For Dr. Tam, each year was profitable and his business grew into a multi-million dollar enterprise.

In subsequent years, while on a missionary trip, he was moved by the Holy Spirit to give the remaining 49% of equity of the company to the foundation – the full 100% of his business now belonged to the Lord.  Dr. Tam elected to become an employee in God’s company – God truly owned his business.

The impact Dr. Tam’s commitment has  furthered the spreading of the Gospel throughout the world. Through the years,  Dr. Tam’s businesses have sown into the Stanita Foundation over $120 million which has been used for God’s work in the missionary field.

Over the years, God gave Dr. Tam the anointing to win souls for Christ.  Over a twenty-three year period, he averaged three souls a day.  This is over 25,000 people that have been led to the Lord through Dr. Tam and his businesses.  You can read about this great man through his books entitled:

• God Owns My Business;
• God’s Woodshed; and
• Stanley Tam’s Incredible Adventures with God.

These books have had a tremendous impact on my life and are a must read for Christian entrepreneurs.

The message about Dr. Tam reverberated in my heart and I yearned to met this man who gave all to God when he had nothing.  I wondered if Dr. Tam were still alive since he started his first company in the late 1930’s.  By conducting a search on the internet and making several phone calls, I was able to locate Dr. Tam.  Yes!  The 92 year old was retired and still at work in God’s business. After a brief conversation with him, I was then able to schedule a phone interview with him for the following week.

Here are a few nuggets of wisdom from our interview:

As my burden for loss souls grew, my business grew.

Lay up your treasure in heaven – Matthew 6:19-21 (pay your wealth forward so that you can get to enjoy it for all of eternity)

Do not ever use debt to finance your business.  Look to God as the Source and He will meet every need.

The best time to make a decision for Christ is when you do not have anything.  Then He gets all the glory.

Many people have been saved through the sign on our building that says, “Christ is the answer.”

We also put gospel tracts in our catalog that is shipped to businesses and many people have come to know God by reading the tracts.

You can hear the full interview on the My Father’s Business website by clicking on the Featured Broadcast message link.

My life has truly been impacted by getting to know Dr. Tam through his books and the interview.  I knew that God wanted me to do something different regarding the way I conducted my business.  Steps we have taken include:

• tithing on every dollar that comes into the company;
• setting aside a portion of the ownership to be given to a private foundation; and
• setting an exit strategy where 100% of the company would be owned by the foundation.

We look forward to see how our companies will impact eternity by structuring the ownership so that God truly owns them.