Be Part of the Solution: All Businesses are an Environmental Business

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All businesses are an environmental business; and we need BAM to lead the way in recognising this!

We can stimulate a new wave of creation care-oriented business owners and entrepreneurs to being part of the solution with a ‘Kingdom of God’ approach to sustainability issues. It is no accident that encouragement, generosity, leadership and mercy go hand in hand in Romans 12:8. If BAM businesses can show these virtues to their clients, suppliers and employees, they will surprise and delight all with whom they come in contact, building collaboration to address these health, humanitarian and environmental challenges and help build sustainable supply chains.

Some people view businesses as negatively impacting the environment. However, it does not have to be this way. For example, businesses can be solutions in the needed areas of clean energy, wastewater treatment plants, plastic waste recycling plants or modern agricultural practices. A good profitable business model and good environmental stewardship can go hand in hand as BAM companies meet the market need for environmental technologies and solutions. Affordable and accessible clean water, clean energy and clean air technologies should be a priority. BAM practitioners can thus be stewards of a sustainable livelihood and the planet for God’s people around the world.

Those in the BAM community should not regard creation care as separate to financial sustainability or spiritual and social impact, but as a cross-cutting theme interwoven with the other three of these ‘bottom lines’ of business as mission. This intentionality of integrating creation care into the core of the business model and goals of the company can be vital in countries that are closed to traditional mission work, but where business is welcome. This is especially true if they are businesses that offer solutions to pressing environmental problems. Read more

Business as Mission is a Concept, Practice and Learning, Growing Movement

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We often say that Business as mission is a concept, practice and a global movement.

Business as mission (BAM) is an idea, a concept, that is deeply rooted in biblical principles and our Judeo-Christian tradition. We see in scripture that business is part of God’s design for human flourishing. We can point to powerful impact through the intersection of business and mission throughout church history.

BAM is also a practice, a set of real-life daily operating procedures for companies around the globe. In every continent today there are business as mission practitioners intentionally demonstrating God’s kingdom in daily business life. They are bringing the ‘whole gospel’ in word and deed, aiming to have a positive environmental, social, economic and spiritual impact.

Furthermore, BAM is a global movement of leaders in business, church, missions and academia. The idea and practice of business as mission does not belong to one organisation, company network, or region. It is a move of the Holy Spirit stirring among Christ-followers in the marketplace, in every corner of the world. And it is part of a much bigger picture of God establishing his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

BAM Global has been developing the concept of business as mission, and connecting people around it, since 2002. Through global conversations and meetings, we have gathered and shared social and intellectual capital. Over 500 people from around 50 nations have participated in BAM Global Think Tank groups that have reviewed and discussed BAM from theological, historical, practical, ecclesiological, missiological, ecological, economical and global perspectives. Read more

5 Principles Learned from a BAM Journey: Matt’s Story

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by Larry Sharp

This past month we have been featuring stories from Larry Sharp. Larry’s new book ‘Mission Disrupted: From Professional Missionaries to Missionary Professionals’ tells 27 stories and is out now!

Matt lives in a crowded city in Asia’s largest country where his business demands a driver to take him from place to place. Naturally he has become close friends with the driver, Wang Wei who had plenty of opportunities to observe Matt’s family and he saw something quite different from what he was used to, and he wanted that for his family too. He kept watching and then began talking to Matt about what he was seeing. There were plenty of conversations before Wang Wei became a true follower of Jesus. Matt now is privileged to disciple him in his new life in Christ.

I had visited a mid-sized business in this same country some years ago and observed how God had used Matt to help a business flourish with clear Quadruple Bottom line results.  He returned to his home country to complete an MBA and renew his interest and experience in property sales and management. I knew that he would be a success in this new endeavor so my conversation with him turned to questions related to his journey, his driving passion, and how he got to where he was in his faith-work understanding and in the integration of his mission in life with workplace success.

During that conversation he shared five noteworthy principles:

1. Spend Time with God-Fearing People in Church, Family and Community

Matt is a multi-talented guy with various skills. He had learned another language and he had lived in another culture. And he wanted to make a difference for God in the world, so he asked people to pray with and for him. As he talked with family and friends, an opportunity opened to work overseas, and they advised him to move in that direction. And he did. Read more