PROSPERITY Theology is the teaching that believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the “ sowing of seeds” through the faithful payment of tithes and offerings. However, the literature reveals that most adherents to the PROSPERITY gospel are not prospering financially and PROSPERITY preachers have been accused of feeding fat from the donations of church members. Even at that, millions of persons still cling to the PROSPERITY gospel. Employing Max Weber’ s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, a survey of 300 respondents was carried out aimed at examining the proposition that poverty and illiteracy are factors encouraging continuous adherence to the theology of PROSPERITY. It also examined the accusation that PROSPERITY preachers’ wealth is largely dependent on their congregants’ donations. The study reveals that poverty and illiteracy are associated with continuous adherence to the PROSPERITY gospel. It also indicates that PROSPERITY preachers usually enrich themselves largely from the donations of their congregants. Practical recommendations were thereafter submitted on how the problems gleaned from the study could be ameliorated.

Small and medium industries are considered as the critical platforms for entrepreneurship growth. Examining and identifying initiatives for developing small and medium-sized sports businesses in Iran can greatly contribute to the progress of this field. Therefore, this research aims to identify the initiatives for the PROSPERITY of small and medium sports businesses in Iran. This study is a qualitative and exploratory research. The participants included faculty members in sports management, marketing, and managers and other sports experts interviewed through a purposeful sampling approach. To collect data, in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted and finally theoretical saturation was achieved with 25 interviews. To analyze the data, the thematic analysis method was used. The results show that the initiatives for developing small and medium-sized sports businesses in Iran consist of five main categories, including “economic measures, communication-information initiatives, practical training, support structure, and internal organizational policies”. Finally, according to the initiatives for the PROSPERITY of small and medium sports businesses, it might be necessary to implement the necessary measures and appropriate programs in this field to deal with the situation efficiently.