The College of Business Administration has announced the creation of a nonprofit organization named NiMA that emphasizes the importance not only of sharing the gospel but also of enabling communities to have a sustainable living.
NiMA gives students an opportunity to use their skills in the mission field by working on projects in Central America. With the help of Walton Scholars who are from the region, NiMA is creating projects that will allow communities to be self-sustainable.
Josiah Pleasant, deputy director of NiMA, said he saw a need for a program in which students can learn how to apply their specific skills to ministry and economic development. Students will gain hands-on experience with “business as missions” and will help people in other communities hone their skills.
“The goal is to set a model for missions that empowers local communities to use their collective and individual skills to answer God’s call,” Pleasant said.
The word “nima” comes from the Mayan language of K’iche’, which was once the civilization and culture of Central America and Mexico. It also means “river of blessing.” In Hebrew, it means “blessing,” “a thread that’s a part of a greater garment” or “a part of a greater song.” According to Pleasant, the lowercase “i” symbolizes that the individual is not as great as the greater cause that it is a part of.
Students are already getting involved with NiMA in many different ways. Senior Daniel Avelar advises Smiles for Christ and NiMA on how to find the resources needed to build a school for mentally challenged adults in Apanje, Honduras.
“It’s a great partnership and we’re happy that we could find an organization like NiMA, which has a mission of helping communities around the world,” Avelar said.
A new degree, Global Economic Development, has been created and is linked to NiMA as well. According to Pleasant, this new degree is taking students with their specific skill sets and working with them to give them an understanding of “how to utilize their specific and unique talents to impact community development wherever they go, serving and glorifying Christ holistically with their vocation.”
Students will gain an understanding of the nonprofit sector and what it takes to start a nonprofit organization or ministry from scratch. Pleasant said he hopes that students from all departments will take one or two courses from the Global Economic Development program so they can use their skills in a “developmental scenario.”
Pleasant said the goal of NiMA is to connect all the departments on campus to start a collective movement.
In an effort to achieve this, there is a Global Economic Development internship that is available to students with any major.
The internship will use the student’s major and individual skills to help a specific need in a community.
As part of the internship, students receive course credit that can be applied to their Global Literacy requirement. Interested students can visit Pleasant in his office, Mabee 244, with their questions or ideas about a project.
