Vision:
Economic and financial support for CBC ministries through the implementation of income generating business activities.
Objectives:
- To provide financial resources for CBC missions and ministries;
- To serve as an instrument to develop the head, heart, and hands of church workers and leaders for the ministry;
- To provide an avenue for Christians to support God’s work.
Goat Trading Project Dynamics:
 | Goats are considered affordable and manageable asset which can provide meat, milk, and other products with acceptable risks. They are much cheaper to buy and maintain than other farm animals (like cattle) and they reproduce at an earlier age and more frequently.
As there seems to be a saturation of the market in breeding animals, more entrepreneurs are going into fattening goats for slaughter. According to industry leaders, there is a dearth of goats for slaughter. Industry studies show that some 1,500 goats for slaughter are brought to Manila every week from Masbate, Bacolod, Batangas, and other places in the south. |
The CAM Goat trading project involves the selling of live native goats as well as goat meat to retailers and consumers. Weekly supply of goats comes from Masbate and Albay and temporarily housed in a rented farm lot in Quezon City. Daily food intake is primarily ‘cut and carried’. Two retail outlets are currently maintained to sell the produce.
To fulfill the first objective, a portion of the profits earned is deposited to the CAM Mission capital fund that supports the CBC mission churches and mission partners. For the second objective, members of CBC, especially mission workers and CBMS students are encouraged to visit the farm and to render their services so that they may be able to replicate the project in their God-given ministry area or to learn of ways to support the ministry indigenously. Initial start-up capital came from a group of six Christian families and two Christian ladies, who are members of CBC. After a year, other Christians, as well as CBC mission churches, also invested their money or donated funds to support its operations. Providing a fixed rate of return to these investments, the Project serves as an avenue for Christians to both earn and support God’s work. This fulfills the third objective.
Future Plans:
Currently, there is a 20% price discrepancy between the per kilo live weight of upgrades and native goats. This is due to the higher carcass recovery and meat-to-bone ratio of upgrades compared to native goats. Also, upgrades grow much faster and with more muscle.
With this in mind, the Project aims to enter into the trading of native as well as upgrades in the future. As the Lord provides the needed funds, the Project will start fattening operation of these upgrades to augment the supply bought from the provinces. Marketing of other goat products, other than meat (e.g. milk, cheese) will also be looked into in the future.
Accountability:
The Project is under CBC CAM. Its leadership is committed to be good stewards of God’s resources – using it to further His work and give Him the utmost glory. The Senior Pastor of CBC will be updated of its progress regularly and will be consulted prior to major decisions being taken. Financial reports will be presented during CBC’s Annual Missions Conference and Leadership Planning Seminars in October and December, respectively.
After hearing an account of the spiritual needs of India, the secretary of the
meeting remarked: "There is a gold mine in India, but it seems almost as deep as the center of the earth. Who will venture to explore it?" "I will venture to go down," said Carey, "but remember that you must hold the ropes."
WILL YOU HOLD THE ROPES WITH US?