Question: What marketplace ministry and church planting model has the potential to turn gang members, prostitutes, drug addicts, and nonbelievers into bi-vocational franchisee owners and pastors themselves?
Answer: One that is so unique that it is able to impact entire communities, while transcending age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and even religion.
Before I begin to tell you about this model, I would first like to honor my late wife, Nicole Rosato, who went on to be with the Lord in 2014 at the early age of 35. She helped develop this marketplace ministry and church planting model from the ground up. She was one of the first converts and success stories of this ministry, and without her, I would not be sharing this God-breathed model with you today.
Twenty-five years ago, I bought the barbershop that I had managed, built up, and established over a five-year period. However, not even a month later, I was radically converted from death to life on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), marking not only the beginning of a new year but also, more importantly, a new life
Not even two weeks after that, the Lord took me up in an open vision and said to me, “Your shop will be the light in the darkness and the Jews will leave you, except those I deem to stay.”
The catch was that this business was planted in the heart of Lakewood, New Jersey, home of Beth Medrash Govoha, the largest Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in the world. Therefore, it made absolutely no business sense to preach Jesus in a town where nearly 80 percent of my clientele were Orthodox Jews. For all practical purposes, attempting to fulfill the Great Commission in a town full of modern-day Pharisees was business suicide.
Within a year of sharing the Good News daily with the community, a boycott letter was drafted, signed by every prominent rabbi, and posted in almost every local Jewish school, business, synagogue and newspaper. This single act caused me to lose nearly 99 percent of my Jewish clientele and roughly 80 percent of my business. For months, my faith was tested as I had to take money out of my own pocket just to keep the business afloat. Below is a copy of the actual letter that was circulated.
In spite of all the lies, misunderstandings, spiritual warfare, and opposition that resulted from my transformation, I stand here today celebrating 25 years of success as a marketplace minister, church planter, and pastor. We now have four marketplace ministry locations, each owned and operated by either a pastor or minister. From these have come two churches, multiple ministries, and countless salvations. Even greater than this, the strategy for success that was revealed to me can be replicated in any marketplace ministry or church.
The Zebulun Marketplace Ministry and Church Planting Model is simply a modern-day continuation of the Pauline Cycle, which:
- Fulfills the Great Commission
- Empowers missionaries and expects to establish marketplace ministries in every major city in America, and eventually worldwide
- Plants churches out of these respective marketplace ministries
- Trains leaders in all faith-based marketplace ministries to use the Zebulun Ministry Model in their respective spheres of influence
- Seeks to bring cohesion to marketplace ministry and the church, in hopes of strengthening and leveraging our influence, authority, and power to fulfill our Kingdom mandate
Note, I did not design this model – God did!
The truth is I had no idea what I was doing. I merely was the recipient of this revelation, and I leaned not to my own understanding but in all my ways acknowledged Him, so that He would direct my path (Proverbs 3:5-6).
I was completely oblivious to the Pauline Cycle until 2022, when I enrolled in a master’s program at The Antioch School of Church Planting and Leadership Development. To my astonishment, I began to see how this ministry model God gave me directly paralleled the 10 steps demonstrated through the Apostle Paul in Acts. This seminary emphasized the need for the Body of Christ to return to the way of Christ and his apostles – the very thing that this marketplace ministry embodied. As such, this model is biblically grounded, tested, and proven to work even in postmodern culture, and it can be used and duplicated in any marketplace ministry worldwide.
Here is an outline of the Pauline Cycle, as well as the direct parallel of The Zebulun Ministry Model alongside it:
Now, in the same manner which God told me my shop would be the light in the darkness, He also told me during a time of prayer to change the name of the shop to Zebulun. I later came to understand that Zebulun literally means “where God dwells,” and prophetically signifies “the light in the darkness,” as prophesied in Isaiah 9 and Matthew 4.
In fulfillment of the name, Zebulun has been just that – expelling the darkness in countless lives, and impacting entire communities by becoming a beacon of light, hope and love to those who would normally never set foot in a church.
One amazing example is one of our very first converts, Nicole Harris, who came through our doors on Friday, October 5, 2001, supposing she was just coming in for a job interview. But God had different plans in mind.
Instead of being interviewed, the Spirit of God revealed the secrets of her heart and life, showing her that He had carried her even in times when her innocence was repeatedly stolen from her at the tender ages of five, seven, and nine. He also revealed that He was present even when she was working as a stripper and attempting to make men pay her for what they selfishly took from her as a child. After finding herself lying prostrate on the floor under the power of the Holy Spirit, she rose radically saved, filled with the Spirit, and on fire for God. Two months later, she married a man she just met, became a marketplace minister and pastor, and eventually helped to build the very ministry model you are reading about today. This dynamic woman, as mentioned before, was not only one of Zebulun’s very first converts but also my late wife, Nicole Rosato.
Another powerful story is that of ex-Latin King Ermelindo Daniel Roman, who walked through the doors of Zebulun Jesus Is Lord Barbershop in 2006 for a job. He was the product of rejection, entitlement, father wounds, and a host of excuses. I initially confronted him as a stereotypical boss. However, the Spirit of God convicted me and led me to apologize to him. The Lord taught me to love him unconditionally like a father and to ask how I could help him rather than cast stones at him and point out his flaws. As a result, a strong bond of respect, honor, and trust was formed. He soon went from my worst employee to my best, eventually rising to manager and then franchise owner. From there, he began a Bible study out of his marketplace ministry and was ordained and released as the founding pastor of The Gathering in 2020.
Leadership multiplication continued: from me, to my late wife, to Danny, and then to Jamaal Ameen Harris. Raised Muslim, Jamaal was a mixed martial arts instructor and had been a client of ours since 2006. We gave him the nickname “Karate Black” and intentionally exposed his to the gospel – whether through movies and sermons we played in the shop or through casual conversation. So when his boss sold the business to another instructor, we persuaded him to consider barbering as a career change.
The problem was that Jamaal had never cut hair before. Yet he loved the atmosphere of Zebulun and decided to take us up on the offer. It wasn’t too long before he was saved while working for Danny. Like Danny, he rose to management and in 2024 because a franchise owner himself. Today, Jamaal serves alongside Danny in ministry at The Gathering and is preparing to duplicate the very work through which he himself was won and discipled.
We have hundreds of testimonies like these, but space does not permit me to share them all.
That’s why we are so excited about the Zebulun Ministry Model. As long as Jesus tarries, souls need to be saved and churches need to be planted – and this model has proven effective regardless of barriers.
Its results are measurable, reproducible, and sustainable. Its infrastructure enables it to function as a business that can support its staff while simultaneously planting and developing churches through bi-vocational or co-vocational ministry.
The heartbeat of this ministry is souls. We stress the importance of waking up each morning, seeking God’s face, and thanking Him for sending in customers – not for earthly gain but for soul salvation and treasure stored up in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20).
What makes this marketplace missions model even more appealing is that it is designed to empower marketplace missionaries at little to no cost to them other than a surrendered soul, full of the Holy Spirit and godly character. Every Zebulun is gifted to its franchise owner with the promise of upholding the character of Christ and the integrity and vision of the mission in which they were discipled.
Since the average devout believer gives at least 10 percent of their income to tithes and offerings, our marketplace ministry model runs on the same principle. Our mission is continually funded through the tithing of each location’s monthly corporate gains – which they would have tithed anyhow – in place of additional franchise fees.
This is no small undertaking, since every location starts with three barbers leaving the main hub in Howell, just like they did in Antioch. That means three employees, many customers, and much revenue walking out the door that must be regenerated. It takes faith, hard work, and about three years to regain equilibrium and return to the same level of business – only to do it again with the next plant. It’s a walk of faith but its rewards are priceless.
The biggest challenge is obtaining the necessary start-up collateral to take this model nationwide.
Just imagine if every neighborhood had a Zebulun Jesus is Lord Barbershop, where God’s love, power, and presence could be heard, witnessed, and experienced. Just imagine!
This ministry was featured at the NEXT Ventures Pitching Deck at Exponential Global 2025, where it received a grant. For more information about NEXT Ventures, please visit https://exponential.org/ventures/.
