Pathways into BAM: Resources for Your Journey
by Jo Plummer
There are many different ways to get involved in business as mission and the BAM movement needs many types of people, skills, experiences and passions. If you are interested in engaging with BAM, there is a path and role for you!
The two broad pathways are:
1) Getting involved by doing business as mission yourself, in a BAM company context, or
2) Enabling, resourcing or connecting others involved in BAM — through activities such as mentoring, investing, praying, building networks, incubating, training, mobilising, and so on!
God has equipped each of us with various skill sets and backgrounds, leading each of us on unique paths. No matter how you’ve been equipped, what role you have in business as mission, or where you are on your journey, we hope you will find the resources on this website useful and encouraging.
This month we are starting a blog series that will explore different pathways into BAM and different ways to be involved. We begin this month with the topic of getting involved in doing BAM yourself. In the coming months, we’ll explore more ideas for enabling, resourcing and connecting others to do BAM. If option 2 is you, get ready… we’ll have blogs on resourcing others in BAM and building the BAM ecosystem coming soon.
Get Involved Doing BAM
If you are interested in getting involved in doing business as mission yourself, chances are you are thinking about one of the following options:
A: Starting up a BAM company
B: Joining a BAM company that someone else has started
C: Repurposing an existing company to integrate BAM principles into it
There is no right or wrong way to get involved in BAM, but here are some helpful ideas and a roundup of resources for whichever option you are exploring…
General Resources for Everyone
Whatever your approach or path, here are a few resources that will help you get a good foundation in BAM:
BAM Global Summit
Join us at our online BAM Global Summit on Thursday 9th May. With the tagline Accelerate… your journey, your business, the movement, together – the whole goal is to inspire, equip and connect you for your unique journey in BAM. Get a glimpse of what God is doing around the world in business as mission and discover how to be a part of it. Find out more here.
BAM Manifesto
The BAM Manifesto is our foundational document to frame business as mission; it shares in one page what BAM is all about. Read it here.
Start Here Page
Our Start page on this very website is designed to give you a brief introduction to business as mission and give you some pointers for some next steps. Go there now.
BAM A-Z Booklet
If you would like to learn your BAM ABCs, look no further than the BAM A-Z booklet that communicates the concepts of BAM with graphics, single words and short texts. Using the 26 letters of the English alphabet, Mats Tunehag has identified 26 key words and concepts related to BAM. They are accompanied by a brief explanation and a graphic. Download your copy here. Watch the BAM Global leadership team share about each letter in 1-2 minute videos here.
BAM Global Movement Book
If you’d like to get an introduction to BAM with one book purchase, this introductory book on business as mission by Gea Gort & Mats Tunehag is for you. It interweaves foundation-laying chapters on the concept of BAM with case study chapters, sharing the stories of real companies. Find out more.
Introduction to BAM Courses
Looking for a bit more BAM to study? Two of our partners offer great introduction to BAM courses:
ThirdPath Initiative offer a free 7 part course that will start you on your BAM path – check it out here!
YWAM Colorado Springs offer a more intensive 10 part Introduction to BAM Seminar that can be taken online or in-person in a cohort – discover more here.
A: Starting Up a BAM Company
Business Planning Blogs
If you are in the business planning and start-up stage, then we have loads of free resources on The BAM Review Blog for you, whether you already have an idea and are testing it, or are trying to identify a product-market fit. Start with Business Planning for BAM Part 1: Overview & Getting Started, then read through blogs on Business Planning for BAM Part 2: Product and Market and Business Planning for BAM Part 3: Financial Planning. You might find blogs on Launching and Landing and Integration are also good for foundation building. More Blog Topics here.
Praxis Course
Praxis offer a free course that will help you develop your mindset as a BAM starter. As they describe it, ‘Through a free six-session video and discussion series, the Praxis Course aims to help innovative leaders and builders to develop an imagination for what we call “Redemptive Entrepreneurship,” which means to leverage personal and organizational power for the sake of others, and to create products, services, and organizations that join God in the renewal of all things.’ Find out more here.
Lean Canvas Frameworks
Lean Startup concepts have taken the business world by storm over the past decade and more. Kingdom-minded business incubators and BAM trainers have taken these concepts and adapted ‘Lean Canvas’ frameworks specifically for missional business models. You can find resources at BAM Connect Business as Mission Model Canvas, ThirdPath Lean Canvas Course, and CO.STARTERS. For more in-depth training see the School of Business and Entrepreneurship and other training resources here.
Triventure Process
If you are looking for a bit more support to launch your BAM company, then Triventure has the resources for you. Triventure describes itself as ‘the Business as Mission Launchpad’ and offers a comprehensive package of Courses (by ThirdPath Initiative), Coaching, and Capital to help you get your BAM company off the ground. Discover more here.
B: Joining a BAM Company
Launching into BAM Blogs
If you are going to be a ‘BAM business builder’ then we have tons of blog content for you too. Get a strong BAM foundation with some of the resources above, plus BAM 101 blogs and articles on the Integration of Business and Mission. Our Launching and Landing series covers topics on successfully deploying into business as mission. More Blog Topics here.
Explore BAM Stories
We recommend reading a variety of BAM stories to get an idea of what kind of BAM company you’d like to join. You’ll find recommended Blogs and Books containing stories on our Stories page. The BAM Stories Podcast is another great source, and do come along to the BAM Global Summit where BAM case studies are shared every year and connections to BAM companies will be made!
Sending Organisations with a Business Focus
If you are looking to be equipped and sent out to join a BAM company, then training and deployment with a mission sending agency or ‘tentmaking’ training entity might be for you. Check out Antioch Partners, Interserve, World Venture, Navigators, Tent International, FaithTech and partnership initiatives Scatter Global and Arimathea. Most mission agencies have a BAM strategy integrated in some way, so find an organisation that resonates with you or works in the region you want to go to and enquire about their business initiatives.
Discover Internships & Jobs
If you are starting out in your career then we really recommend getting an internship or two under your belt. Any kind of experience is good, but learning about general business disciplines in a small to medium sized company context can be particularly useful. Ready to search for a BAM job or internship? Check out the Jobs boards at: Transformational SME, Scatter Global and the BGlobal Community and the Apprenticeship program at OPEN Network.
C: Integrating BAM Principles into an Existing Company
Integrating Faith & Business Foundations
If you’re looking to integrate business as mission into your company, but don’t know where to get started, we highly recommend reading Business for the Glory of God, a short book that sets out a biblical way of thinking about business. Other great resources to help you integrate faith and business and find your tribe, include: Faith Driven Entrepreneur, Theology of Work Project, Faith & Co., Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, LICC, and the Biblical Business Resource Center.
Integration Blogs
And yes, we have a whole series of Blogs for that too! Read foundational topics like BAM 101 and Biblical Foundations for BAM. Explore ideas and practical tips for integrating BAM into business with articles on Integrating Business and Mission. More Blog Topics here.
Wealth Creation Manifesto & Global Classroom
BAM Global and Lausanne partnered to produce a series of video resources and papers on the critical need for wealth creators, i.e. business people, to partner with God in mission. Watch the Video series here, read the Wealth Creation Manifesto here, and download the Report series here.
Rēp – Repurposing Business Training
Rēp specialises in training and resources to equip business leaders for marketplace impact. Rēp’s goal is introduced as follows, ‘God has long used work and business as vehicles for his plans on earth. In centuries past a fictitious divide between work & worship, business & ministry crept into our thinking. Our goal is not to get God into business, but to get businesses into God’s business.’ Check out their training courses here, including a free foundation course for ‘repurposing your business’.
Discover more great BAM resources at our online Business as Mission Resource Library and The BAM Review Blog.
Are we missing any resources that should be listed? Contact us to share them.
Jo Plummer is the Creative Director & Co-Founder of BAM Global and the co-editor of the Lausanne Occasional Paper on Business as Mission. She has been developing resources for BAM since 2001 and currently serves as Editor of the Business as Mission website and The BAM Review Blog.
Photo by Vladislav Babienko on Unsplash
