East Meets West: The Four Bottom Lines

He met with the Chateau’s director and NorthStar Alpine Lodge leaders. This assembly was the first of its kind. He called it “The East Meeting the West”. Nestled in the mountains of Japan, the NorthStar lodge offers its many guests a variety of activities year-round. In the winter, there is snowboarding and skiing, and in the summer hiking trails and mountain bike trails become accessible. With so much to attract visitors, NorthStar serves as a relational bridge to transform the community with the Gospel of Jesus. Similarly, the Chateau of St. Albain is a relational bridge in its community. Since it was purchased in 1964, the Chateau has been a retreat center and a place of recreation for the people of St. Albain. It continues this legacy today as a place of beauty and peace. Both centers were brought to the same table to join in a new partnership. The Chateau and NorthStar, though on opposite ends of the world and engaging with different cultures, both aim to be a transformative work that serves the mission of God to bring many peoples to Christ. There is so much to be gained by an exchange of knowledge and experience in this critical work. At the meeting, the TWN director discussed what he calls the Four Bottom Lines. These are the four elements of a transformational work: environmental, financial, social, and spiritual. He hopes all of the workplaces in the network will maximize their effectiveness in these areas in a way that serves the Great Commission well.

The Four Bottom Lines

Environmentally, the two retreat centers should show an active responsibility as stewards of God’s creation in the way they operate. Financially, both the Chateau and NorthStar should always be striving to become more self-sufficient and stable. Money and resources are vital to the operation, so it naturally has precedence. Socially, each operation should continue to be focused on transforming the community it finds itself in. Since the main objective is to reach people, it only makes sense to be invested in the local communities. Spiritually, everything should be done to glorify God and call people to Christ. For obvious reasons, this the central bottom line on which all the others stand. The TWN director hopes to have many more meetings and partnerships like this one. Both parties were very encouraged by the discussions and hope to continue the exchange. His desire is to be a readily accessible resource for them and for the other workplaces in the network, encouraging them to be strategic with the four bottom lines and letting them know that they are not alone in their work. “The Encompass Transformation Works Network is made up of committed individuals who are intentional about living out their faith in the most practical of ways for the sake of the Great Commission. Using their talents, passions, and professions to invest in communities, the Network aims to ultimately reach people for Christ. Currently, the major focuses are in Business, Education, Health-Care, and Justice.” –Transformation Works Network