🌍 Bold Creators Newsletter: Issue No. 5

Hey Bold Creators!

This month we're looking at what it means to sharpen one another as leaders. In the newsletter:

Let’s dive in!

Joel Sonko built Victorious Fumigation & Cleaning Services Ltd. in Uganda with a clear vision, but like most entrepreneurs, he carried questions he hadn't yet found the right people to ask.

So when he heard that Bold Creators brought together business owners from Uganda and the United States, he was curious:

Do entrepreneurs in America face the same struggles as those in Uganda?

Sitting across from U.S. business owners and hearing their stories—the same cash flow pressures, the same people challenges, the same grind—something shifted for Joel.

If they were navigating the same things and still trying to build with integrity, so could he.

After the peer exchange, he came home with a sharper conviction about the kind of leader he wanted to be: someone who uses the right materials even when cheaper options exist, pays his team well and on time, and leads with genuine care for the people he works with.

"I need to love the people that I work with," Joel said. "By extending a helping hand, challenging them to become better every day, caring for them just like Jesus cared for and loved the church."

Watch Joel's story HERE.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" — Proverbs 27:17

I think this proverb is often misunderstood.

If you're like me, the image that comes to mind immediately is two swords clashing in combat. Applied to leadership, I guess that means that sometimes we'll butt heads with other leaders, but at least walk away better for it? That may be true, but in reality, fighting usually blunts our edges.

Sharpening happens off the battlefield before the fight. It looks like controlled friction. In relationships, that’s advocating for one another, complementing each other's strengths, providing accountability when needed.

One of my favorite biblical examples is the relationship of Paul and Barnabas.

Two giants in the early church. Barnabas may be one of the greatest connectors and developers of people to ever live. Paul one of the greatest intellectual minds in church history. There's probably a reason God called both of them to carry the Gospel to the Gentile world. They couldn't have done it without each other.

Their sharpening looked like this:

For the redemptive entrepreneur, sharpening can’t happens alone. It happens in sustained, honest relationships where both people are willing to be changed.

Who in your life is sharpening you? And who are you sharpening?

Thank God for our growing community! We had an overwhelming number of applicants for the 2026 Cohort.

Pray for wisdom as our team reviews applications and makes final selections.

"Father, surround us with leaders who can sharpen us into the best versions of ourselves. Not for our own benefit, but that we can do good work that expands your Kingdom.”

Do you have a prayer request? Let us know in this three-question survey.

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