Does Social Entrepreneurship Be Applied To Religious Organizations?

Rural-urban migration has been such a phenomenon that the migrants expect higher wage rates and more promising job opportunities in urban areas. However, it does not necessarily solve poverty problems since many people in urban areas still live in poverty. For example, some of the Pekanbaru City population - known for its abundant natural resources - are less fortunate and live as parkara-kara (scavengers). As a manifestation of God's presence in the world, the church gives attention to poverty alleviation. Diakonia, as one of the three vocations of the church, provides educational funding assistance to the poor and training to increase their knowledge. Social entrepreneurship is an alternative to solving social problems by improving the economy in demand by social and religious organizations. This study uses a qualitative method with a case study approach. In-depth interviews with informants became a source of research data, and documents became data to support interview data. This study aims to reveal the church's ministry as an effort to alleviate poverty in the congregation. The study results show that the church has become a social entrepreneur, helping the poor through educational funding. In addition, the church also provides training to increase the congregation's knowledge so they can have their own business. The church becomes a social entrepreneur and forms a congregation to become a social entrepreneur, which is an important finding in this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]