How BAM Global is Nurturing the BAM Community: A 10-Year Retrospective
BAM Global is celebrating its ten year anniversary in 2024, having been formally founded in 2014 on the foundation of earlier network-building efforts. This month BAM Global leaders are looking back, taking stock, and then looking forward – exploring how the worldwide business as mission community has been flourishing and continues to grow.
by João Mordomo
Over the past decade, Business as Mission (BAM) has evolved into a vibrant global movement, playing a pivotal role in the integration of business with mission to address spiritual, economic, social, and environmental challenges. BAM Global, at the heart of this movement, has been instrumental in fostering a community that is not only committed to business excellence but also deeply rooted in Christian missions. Let’s explore how BAM Global has built and strengthened the BAM community over the last ten years, reflecting on key milestones, challenges, and future directions.
The Foundations of BAM Global
BAM Global’s origins are closely tied to the Lausanne Movement, which has significantly influenced modern Christian mission strategies for 50 years. Since its inception, BAM Global has focused on leveraging business as a powerful tool for holistic transformation, guided by the belief that business activities, when conducted ethically and missionally, can serve as a conduit for the Gospel. This approach, which integrates faithful ministry with good business, seeks to fulfill the Great Commission through sustainable and scalable models.
One of the foundational moments for BAM Global was the 2004 Lausanne Forum in Pattaya, Thailand, where the concept of BAM was formally recognized and endorsed. This event produced the Lausanne Occasional Paper on Business as Mission (LOP 5) and the BAM Manifesto, both of which have become cornerstone texts for BAM practitioners. These documents have articulated the theological and missiological foundations of BAM, providing a framework for how business can be used to advance the Kingdom of God.
The Lausanne Forum in 2004 brought together over 70 people from all continents at the conclusion of a year-long virtual consultation process. This first truly international, collaborative effort also marked the beginning of BAM’s journey as a global movement and set the stage for the later creation of BAM Global as an organization dedicated to advancing this mission-focused approach to business.
Building a Global BAM Ecosystem
Over the past decade, BAM Global has played a crucial role in building a global ecosystem that supports and nurtures BAM initiatives, mobilizes involvement, and deepens understanding in business as mission. This ecosystem includes a diverse network of businesses, churches, mission agencies, educational institutions, BAM networks, and other organizations that share a commitment to integrating business with mission. BAM Global has facilitated this through many key activities, including creating and connecting networks, hosting global forums and events, and creating and curating BAM resources.
One of the most important activities for us historically has been facilitating consultations and publishing research and reports. BAM Global, as a permanent entity, was born 10 years ago after the conclusion of the BAM Global Think Tank, a two year project (from 2011 to 2013) that produced a new wave of BAM Global Reports. These reports, such as those on BAM and the End of Poverty, BAM and Human Trafficking, and BAM and Creation Care, among many others, have provided deep insights into how BAM can address some of the world’s most pressing issues.
Think-tank-type processes and consultations continue to be a vital activity for BAM Global, allowing us to explore critical topics that inform and guide the BAM movement, ensuring that it remains responsive to global challenges and opportunities.
The past decade has seen significant milestones in the growth of BAM Global and the broader BAM movement. One of the most notable achievements has been the expansion of BAM networks, which now include over 45 networks globally, categorized into geographical, issue-focused, and industry-specific groups. This growth reflects the increasing recognition of BAM as a viable and impactful approach to mission work.
These days BAM Global outworks its mission to accelerate the business as mission movement globally through three our core functions:
- Nurturing Partner Networks
- Creating Global Forums
- Delivering Essential Resources
My BAM Global colleague Mats Tunehag will unpack a little more about what we are doing today in each of these three areas in part 2 of this series.
Challenges and Opportunities
Despite its successes, BAM Global as well as the BAM movement at large have faced several challenges over the past decade. One of the primary challenges has been navigating the complexities of different cultural, regulatory, and economic environments. BAM initiatives, which often operate in challenging contexts, require a nuanced understanding of both business and mission strategies. BAM Global has addressed this by promoting adaptable business models and encouraging innovative solutions that are sensitive to local conditions.
Another challenge has been the skepticism from some traditional mission practitioners and business leaders. On the one hand, some mission practitioners have questioned the integration of business with mission, fearing that profit-making activities might detract from spiritual objectives. On the other hand, some business leaders have been hesitant to fully embrace the missional aspect of BAM, concerned that it might dilute business goals. BAM Global has responded to these concerns by promoting a balanced approach that emphasizes the complementary nature of business and mission.
Conclusion
The last ten years have seen BAM Global emerge as a central player in the global BAM movement, building a strong and vibrant community of practitioners committed to integrating business with mission. Through its efforts in network building, resource provision, research, and thought leadership, BAM Global has significantly contributed to the growth and impact of BAM worldwide.
As the BAM movement continues to evolve, BAM Global will, Lord willing, remain at the forefront, catalyzing new initiatives, addressing global challenges, and envisioning the next generation of BAM leaders. We see a bright future for BAM Global, and we commit to humbly seeking to make an even greater and more profound impact on the world for Christ in the decades to come.
If you want to go deeper into the subjects mentioned here, this article is adapted from a longer paper, which you can find here.
>> Read Part 2 by Mats Tunehag
The BAM Review Blog is an initiative of BAM Global.
Celebrating 10 Years of BAM Global
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Dr. João Mordomo loves to help start and lead anything — mission agencies, churches, businesses, networks — that helps fulfill the Great Commission. He is a founding board member and Executive Director of BAM Global, and Catalyst for Business as Mission at the Lausanne Movement. João serves variously as owner, managing director and board member of several BAM companies, and designs and teaches BAM and other courses at several universities.
Photo by Zoe Schaeffer on Unsplash