BAM Global is celebrating its ten year anniversary in 2024, having been formally founded in 2014 on the foundation of earlier network-building efforts. To celebrate, we are posting a new 10 x Series this month; sharing some of our top 10 favourite BAM-related resources and inspirations.
10 favourite resources from global BAM network leaders
We asked some of our partner network leaders to share a BAM resource that has helped them on their BAM journey… and inspired them to create resources of their own.
1. Lausanne Occasional Paper on Business as Mission
Christian scholars claim that the number of Christians in China has increased from less than 1 million in 1949 to over 80 million in 2010. Hence, the Chinese church has a growing potential to participate in global missions. Having the Lausanne Occasional Paper on Business as Mission translated into Chinese has been so important and meaningful for the sending churches in Chinese communities to prepare for their missionaries. – TY, East Asia
Materials like the BAM A-Z help us better communicate what BAM is. In Brasil we’ve translated the BAM A-Z and shared it with the network of entrepreneurs, giving them biblical and practical knowledge on the subject. This helps entrepreneurs on their BAM journey, as many have no references on how to carry out this work and still struggle with the dichotomy. – SB, Brazil
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BAM Global is celebrating its ten year anniversary in 2024, having been formally founded in 2014 on the foundation of earlier network-building efforts. To celebrate, we are posting a new 10 x Series this month; sharing some of our top 10 favourite BAM-related resources and inspirations.
10 favourite books from the BAM Global Core Team
Please note, this is not a ‘Top 10 BAM books’ list… there are a few of those kinds of lists linked in the Bonus section at the bottom of this post. Instead, it is a broader collection of books that we feel have helped us along our own journeys in business as mission. Enjoy!
1. Scatter: Go Therefore and Take Your Job With You – Andrew Scott
One book I enjoyed reading on my journey towards BAM is Scatter by Andrew Scott. It’s not about BAM specifically, but talks about sending professionals instead of (or in addition to) traditional missionaries. It was a paradigm changing read for me! – Alana
2. Missions Disrupted: From Professional Missionaries to Missionary Professionals – Larry Sharp
Holy disruptions! A burning bush redirected Moses and changed history. A fish disrupted Jonah and it impacted a whole nation. In Missions Disrupted, Larry Sharp writes brilliantly about holy disruptions in our generation. The changes needed are profound as we do business with a mission, and missional professionals can change history and impact nations. Rooted in a Judeo-Christian tradition and with plenty of BAM stories included, this book is relevant and serves as a guiding star for the future – a must read. – Mats
BAM Global is celebrating its ten year anniversary in 2024, having been formally founded in 2014 on the foundation of earlier network-building efforts. To celebrate, we are posting a new 10 x Series this month; sharing some of our top 10 favourite BAM-related resources and inspirations. This is one of our favourite 10 x lists, the classic 10 Guiding Principles for BAM from the Lausanne Occasional Paper on Business as Mission.
Introduction
A good business as mission business will, by definition, have many of the characteristics of any well-run business. A kingdom business must be profitable and sustainable just as any other business. Integrity, fairness and excellent customer service are characteristics of any good business, not just a business as mission venture. As such, while important, those characteristics will not by themselves necessarily point people to Christ. A kingdom business begins with the foundation of any good business, but takes its stewardship responsibilities even further.
What follows is a list of principles that should underpin a business as mission business. First we list the basic foundational principles that must exist in any good business. Following that are the principles that distinguish a good business as mission business.
Foundational Business Principles
1.Strives to be profitable and sustainable in the long term
Profit is an indication that resources are being used wisely. It indicates that the product or service being produced and sold does so at a price that covers the cost of the resources, including the cost of capital. For most businesses, profits are fleeting, and never a sure thing. It is common for businesses to experience periods of low profit, and even negative profit. Thus it is important to take a long-term view of profitability. Occasional windfalls are often what will sustain a company through periods of financial losses. For that reason a well-managed business will use extreme care when considering whether and when to distribute profits. Profit, and its retention, is not necessarily an indication of greed.Read more
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BAM Global is celebrating its ten year anniversary in 2024, having been formally founded in 2014 on the foundation of earlier network-building efforts. To celebrate, we are posting a new 10 x Series this month; sharing some of our top 10 favourite BAM-related resources and inspirations.
10 of our favourite BAM-related quotes:
1. Ralph Winter’s editorial endorsement
Really big and sudden changes in the world of missions don’t come often. But now one is upon us. It’s the major optimism and thrill of business people who are devout believers starting or extending ‘Kingdom Businesses’ around the world. – Ralph Winter
Ralph Winter identified business as a major force in world mission in his Editorial for an issue of Mission Frontiers magazine in 2007. This bold statement from an elder statesman of evangelical missions in the first decade of the contemporary BAM movement was a great boost.
2. Dallas Willard’s panel gem
Business is a primary arrangement on God’s part for people to love one another and serve one another… Business is a primary moving force of the love of God in human history. – Dallas Willard
This is Jo’s favourite quote on business and she almost always shares it whenever she speaks. Originally made in a panel response, Dallas expands on the question ‘What is business for?’ and comes out with some gems. This quote is echoed in the title of the booklet Called to Business: God’s way of loving people through business and the professionspublished posthumously by Dallas Willard Ministries.
3. Mats Tunehag’s keynote bombshell
If God has called you to business, don’t lower yourself to be a pastor. – Mats Tunehag
We’ve included this quote by our very own Mats Tunehag from his presentation at the Lausanne Congress in Cape Town 2010. That’s because out of the many, many things Mats has said about business and BAM, this is the one that most often gets quoted back to him. Provocative, but true!
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/lightbulb-inspiration.jpg15721920Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2024-08-08 23:42:082025-07-17 13:58:1110 Quotes to Inspire You for Business as Mission
On the road to Damascus, Paul’s life was transformed from a self-promoter to a steward of the gospel to the gentiles. A curious fact is that Paul never quit his job as a tentmaker. Why did Paul remain a leather-worker artisan throughout his missionary career? Could it be that this daily business was an integral part of his ministry? We use the lens of a modern entrepreneurship theory called entrepreneurial effectuation theory to unlock Paul’s combining of business and ministry.
Effectuation theory offers a unique perspective explaining the entrepreneurial process. Most entrepreneurship theory assumes that entrepreneurs start with a goal (i.e., creating products or enterprise) in mind and mobilize resources to achieve the end. Effectuation theory offers a very different perspective. It argues that entrepreneurs begin with assessing their available resources and determining the next best step given the resources, allowing them to adapt their goals and strategies as circumstances change. This approach emphasizes flexibility and improvisation over rigid planning, creating a more dynamic model for understanding the entrepreneurial process.
While some may distill effectuation theory into ‘going with the flow,’ there is a clear strategic emphasis that entrepreneurs exercise, especially when following a goal that is impressed upon them rather than manufactured by themselves. As a steward of God’s mission, Paul had a specific goal that was given to him. Yet, he seems to adapt his methods at nearly every turn to find the best approach to launching and building churches. Paul combined his tentmaking work with ministry to find and create opportunities and solve problems. Let us use the lens of four principles of effectuation theory to examine Paul’s unique ministry.
Bird-in-Hand Principle (Start with What You Have)
The Bird-in-Hand principle asserts that successful entrepreneurs create solutions with immediately available resources, such as their skills, knowledge, and networks.
When Christ confronted Paul on the Damascus road, he sent him on a mission to the gentiles. Paul immediately had to make a resourcing decision. According to a Roman Stoic philosopher, Musonius Rufus, an itinerant teacher like Paul could provide for themselves in four ways: (1) Paul could find a wealthy gentile patron; (2) he could collect tuition from his students; (3) he could beg for a living; (4) he could work with his hands. Paul learned leather-working skills from his youth. So, he chose to apply his skills in supplying for his needs and worked in the trade throughout his life. In fact, even when he was under house arrest in Rome at the end of his life, he worked to pay for the rent (Acts 28:30). Read more
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/bird-in-hand.jpg10341200Guest Authorhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngGuest Author2024-07-18 19:37:452025-10-16 22:40:33What Kind of Entrepreneur was Paul the Apostle?
BAMers have two integrated identities: Missional and entrepreneurial identities. We know that our missional identity is grounded in our conviction as stewards of God’s mission. Then, what is part of our entrepreneurial identity? What distinguishes entrepreneurs from everyone else?
In their influential study, The Entrepreneurial Mindset, McGrath and MacMillan define five critical characteristics of entrepreneurs as (1) opportunity-seeking, (2) disciplined, (3) focused, (4) adaptive, and (5) collaborative. Are these characteristics relevant for BAM entrepreneurs? Through examples from the work and life of Apostle Paul, we show Paul’s entrepreneurial mindset, firmly anchored in stewardship identity, was an essential driving force for his mission.
Opportunity-Seeking
The first characteristic of an entrepreneurial mindset is opportunity-seeking. Like good chess players, entrepreneurs are not just focused on what is happening on the board. Instead, their mind is racing ahead to predict the moves ahead. Entrepreneurs stay alert and constantly scan the environment to look for new opportunities.
The Book of Acts paints a fascinating portrait of the Apostle Paul, a man whose defining characteristic was his relentless pursuit of opportunity. While he sought opportunities to advance his career and crush the nascent Christian movement before the Damascus experience, after conversion, his opportunity-seeking mindset was redirected towards spreading the Gospel in Damascus and Jerusalem. Yet, Paul’s initial zeal did not always yield positive results. His attempt to preach to the Hellenistic Jews in Jerusalem backfired, forcing him to retreat to his hometown of Tarsus (Acts 9:28-30).
This experience may have been another critical turning point for Paul. What he thought was an opportunity was only a distraction when it was not God’s timing. Nonetheless, Paul had the humility to listen to others and went back home to Tarsus and the surrounding regions.
When God’s timing arrived, in contrast to his earlier self-directed pursuit of opportunity, Paul sought opportunities in God’s will and timing. This shift led him to unexpected and fruitful places. For instance, in the Philippi prison, Paul shared the gospel with the jailer’s family. His commitment to spreading the gospel extended even to encounters with powerful rulers. When engaging with King Agrippa, Paul’s passionate proclamation left a lasting impression. Agrippa, taken aback, remarked, “In a short time, would you persuade me to be a Christian?” (Acts 26:28). Paul’s reliance on divine guidance allowed him to discover opportunities he did not anticipate.
The Spirit-guided insight for spotting fruitful opportunities is an essential quality of a BAMer.
Discipline and Focus
Discipline and focus are intricately connected like the two sides of the same coin. Once entrepreneurs spot opportunities, they pursue them with enormous discipline and focus. They have a bias toward action and are disciplined to turn ideas into products and services that meet real needs. Focus demands an unrelenting prioritization of the best opportunity. The entrepreneurs first select the most fertile battleground – the industry or arena with the most promise. Then, within this chosen domain, they focus on the most attractive opportunity. This inevitably necessitates trade-offs. Other potentially alluring opportunities are cast aside. They understand they must give up something to focus on the best possible opportunity. Read more
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by Min-Dong Paul Lee and Dave Pederson, Wheaton College
The Apostle Paul is one of the most extensively studied biblical characters. However, much of the research focused on his theology, leaving Paul’s human side – his behaviors and motivations – underexplored. With the advancement of modern behavioral sciences, new conceptual tools are available to analyze his ministry from fresh perspectives. For example, what would we learn if we examined Paul’s ministry through the lens of modern entrepreneurial research?
Paul: The Accidental Theologian and Natural Entrepreneur
Paul was a theologian by accident. He didn’t see himself as a writer of long treatises. Rather, he saw himself as God’s servant and practitioner carrying out the pastoral and missionary work of the emerging movement of Jesus’ followers. If we focus on his actions and decisions, we see a unique figure that was highly proactive and entrepreneurial. He planted over a dozen churches, coached many leaders, wrote almost half of the New Testament books, and engaged in trades in multiple cities.
Paul’s life is an apt example of what modern organizational scholars describe as an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs have the uncanny ability to see the unmet needs in the market. They are willing to take the risk to create something that exploits the opportunity to add value to society. Modern entrepreneurship research suggests that entrepreneurs possess a distinct mindset characterized by five key features:
1. Opportunity-Seeking: They stay alert and actively scan the environment for new opportunities
2. Disciplined: They are determined and persistent in pursuing their goals
3. Focused: They prioritize specific goals and are willing to make strategic tradeoffs
4. Adaptable: They adjust their strategies to the changing environment
5. Collaborative: They recognize the power of working together with others
Interestingly, Paul had all the marks of an entrepreneur even before his conversion. Paul was a Hellenistic Jew from Tarsus in the province of Cilicia. Yet, he moved to Jerusalem to become a student of Gamaliel, a leading figure among the Pharisees in Jerusalem, eager to climb the religious ladder. When the Jesus sect emerged, Paul saw it as a heretical threat and began to persecute them with discipline and focus. He often adapted his strategies of persecution, growing ever more violent. He was willing to collaborate with even the Sadducees to achieve his objective. Paul was an ambitious entrepreneur driven by his religious zeal and personal success.
Transformation as an Entrepreneurial Steward
Everything changes on the road to Damascus. The encounter with the risen Christ shook Paul to the core and fundamentally transformed his identity, purpose, and practice. It is not that he lost his entrepreneurial edge. Instead, God redirected his natural disposition toward a whole new mission (Acts 9:15). Paul continued applying an entrepreneurial mindset in his missionary work. However, instead of being self-driven and opportunistic, he submitted himself entirely to the leading of his master and committed to the new mission. To describe this unique blend of entrepreneurial mindset with a servant’s heart, we introduce the term entrepreneurial steward. Entrepreneurial stewards are people whose identity is firmly anchored in the stewardship commitment to serve their master’s interest while leveraging their entrepreneurial talents. Read more
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In the month of June we have been highlighting excerpts from the recently published BAM Global Report on BAM and Mission Agencies. To round off this series, here’s a repost of a blog from our archives on why Mission Agencies are a major and vital constituency in the BAM community, alongside our main business constituency and also the church and academia.
by Jo Plummer
Mission Agencies have long been a crucial player and partner in the contemporary BAM movement.
Many early pioneer BAM practitioners of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s either came from a missionary background or were members of a mission agency. These agency workers- turned-BAMers were at the forefront of the early wave of BAM companies because they were already at the front lines. Sent out with a call and vision to see people and communities transformed by the gospel, they discovered that business could be a powerful means of integral mission – meeting spiritual, social and economic needs in communities.
Looking back on 20 years and more of recent BAM history, we see that companies with missional goals embedded within their business model, business culture, company values, working relationships and so on, have often proved to be the most fruitful way for agency workers to pursue their work. But it has not always been easy.
Business failure – already a high possibility for seasoned entrepreneurs in home cultures – became a common experience for missionary-run startups with the additional hazard of being in environments often hostile to both mission and business. Many missionaries are by nature pioneering and somewhat entrepreneurial, however most early agency-related BAMers lacked the know-how and practical business experience they needed to create sustainable, scalable companies. Early BAM companies had few models to follow and lessons were learned the hard way.
Those hard-won fruitful practices are now being passed on, benefiting the current generation of BAM practitioners. They are able to stand on the shoulders of a host of early BAMers (from both business and mission backgrounds) because those pioneers heard the Lord and were willing to go, they were willing to innovate, risk and persevere. In turn, these early BAM pioneers stood on the shoulders of many generations of traditional missionaries that passed on their own hard-won lessons.
Beyond ‘Business as Visa’
Necessity is the mother of invention. In some parts of the world, starting a business has long been the only viable means to establish a settled, credible role in a community. William Carey, right back in the late 1700s, took a management position in an indigo factory when he first arrived in India because missionary visas were hard to come by in the days of the East India Company. And like William Carey*, modern day mission workers soon discovered that the power of a business model extends far beyond a means to getting a visa. (Read more on how it extends here).
Thankfully most agency workers who are getting into business now have many more resources to draw on. They understand that to have a credible, sustainable role in a community, their company has to be credible and sustainable. That means aiming towards excellence in business practice and the true integration of holistic missional goals into every aspect of a company – from business plan, to daily business life. Read more
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/globe-lamps.jpg8441200Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2024-06-27 06:57:262025-12-01 15:38:36The Vital Place of Mission Agencies in BAM
In the month of June we are highlighting excerpts from the recently published BAM Global Report on BAM and Mission Agencies. Mission Agencies are a major constituency in the BAM community, alongside our main business constituency and also the church and academia. We believe these resources will be of value whether you are agency affiliated or part of another BAM constituency.
Integration of the four bottom lines
Business as mission involves the intentional integration of business and holistic mission. It is in response to mandates God has given to us, His people, including:
The Creation Mandate given in Genesis 1 to ‘tend the garden’ and enable human society and creation to flourish
The Great Commandment to love God above all else, to obey His commands and to love our neighbour as ourselves
The Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all Jesus’ teachings
Our response in business as mission is to seek sustainable, holistic transformation for people and communities through for-profit business models.
As we have seen above, we want to plan for, implement, measure, and grow sustainability and impact in four main areas: spiritual, economic, social and environmental. Although we should examine each one in turn in order to be intentional about each, in the context of the daily business operations these four areas of impact cannot be compartmentalised, they are meshed together in BAM companies.
However, many of us have inherited dichotomised ways of thinking about what is sacred and what is secular. We may be used to compartmentalising our lives; between faith and work, between gospel witness and environmental stewardship, between ‘ministry activities’ and ‘making payroll’ (i.e. paying our employees), for instance. We may come from a church or mission tradition that prioritises personal evangelism over socio-economic justice (or vice versa). As a result, we might have to work hard to be intentional about integrating business and mission together—both individually and in the agency as a whole—and we should consider how to do this in four main ways:
1. Personal integration and preparation
As we (BAM practitioners) are integrated, so our businesses will be integrated. As we live integrated lives as disciples of Jesus, the rule of God’s Kingdom will extend to every part of our lives. Preparation for fruitful business as mission thus begins by being rooted in Christ, abiding in Him (John 15:1-5, Col 2:7) and by developing patterns of thinking that are transformed by that relationship (Rom 12:2). Integration flows from our theology and is expressed through our walk with Jesus in daily life.
It may be helpful to prepare for BAM by examining our own thinking in light of the sacred-secular divide and make a study of the Bible on topics such as economics, business, human flourishing, justice, mission and restoration, for example. Does our worldview align with God’s view of us as integrated people and communities?
As we commune with Jesus and seek the will of God, we allow ourselves to be integrated into his plan and He is able to use us in big, small, obvious, and surprising ways to advance his Kingdom. Being yoked with Him, allowing Him to carry our heavy burdens, we are able to rely on His direction and not on our own striving or direction. As we listen to His voice and obey it, we can follow the miraculous life that Jesus modelled for us as his disciples—in business.
2. Integration in business planning
To fulfil its potential to create integrated impact, a BAM business needs to have a clear plan for reaching profitability, alongside creating spiritual, social, and environmental impact. The first step in the process is to identify a business model that could be viable and profitable in the target location, among the community the business team hopes to reach and enable to flourish. This step may take extensive research and reconnaissance. Good community development practices, alongside business planning practices, should be engaged to research and discover the felt-needs of the community, rather than imposing solutions to social, economic or environmental problems from an external perspective. Read more
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/woven-ropes.jpg6841200Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2024-06-20 21:40:002024-06-21 21:41:39Four Contexts to Integrate the Four Bottom Lines of BAM
In the month of June we are highlighting excerpts from the recently published BAM Global Report on BAM and Mission Agencies. Mission Agencies are a major constituency in the BAM community, alongside our main business constituency and also the church and academia. We believe these resources will be of value whether you are agency affiliated or part of another BAM constituency.
The BAM and Mission Agencies Consultation considered the full and effective integration of business and missionand how we keep a positive tension between the multiple bottom lines of BAM. Working subgroups focused on each of the four bottom lines of spiritual, financial, social and environmental outcomes for BAM and these discussions were framed by dialogue on integrating ‘multiple bottom line impact’ in a BAM company.
Introduction to the ‘Quadruple Bottom Lines’ (QBL) of BAM
Business as mission, as we have read in the BAM Global definition, is intentional Kingdom of God purpose and impact on people and nations; focused on holistic transformation and the four bottom lines of economic, social, environmental and spiritual outcomes.
The idea of having multiple bottom lines for a business comes from the original ‘financial bottom line’—the number that indicates net profit (or loss) typically found at the bottom of a company’s income statement. A company that is solely focused on making money for its shareholders will only be concerned about this one ‘bottom line’, its financial earnings. The social enterprise movement introduced the idea of ‘triple bottom line’ impact that is also concerned with social and environmental outcomes. Business as mission extends this idea to ‘quadruple bottom line’ (or four bottom line) impact, including spiritual impact as well.
If intentional impact along these multiple bottom lines is a hallmark of BAM, agencies will do well to build a solid understanding of each. As has been previously stated, while these four areas of impact are integrated together in terms of the business model, strategy and daily operations—all things working together for missional impact—there are times when the focus should be on each one separately. This is especially true when planning for positive outcomes in each. Then careful consideration is needed as to how success is defined in each area and, therefore, how progress is measured so that there can be accountability and ongoing evaluation.
For business as mission, the four bottom lines are:
1. Doing spiritual good
Acting on the belief that faith in Jesus and a reconciled relationship with God addresses sin and brokenness at an individual and societal level that are the root cause of all other social, environmental and economic problems. Lasting change (God’s Kingdom coming on earth) and salvation from death and sin can only occur when our relationship with God, self, each other, and creation are reconciled. It involves sharing the gospel in word and deed, living as a disciple of Christ as a witness to others, and making disciples. Read more
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/seedling-pots.jpg6821200Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2024-06-13 03:41:242025-10-16 22:41:324 BAM Bottom Lines: Doing Spiritual, Economic, Social and Environmental Good
In the month of June we are highlighting excerpts from the recently published BAM Global Report on BAM and Mission Agencies. Mission Agencies are a major constituency in the BAM community, alongside our main business constituency and also the church and academia. We believe these resources will be of value whether you are agency affiliated or part of another BAM constituency.
Why Mission Agencies do Business as Mission
Business as mission (BAM) is the strategic use of authentic business activities that create authentic ministry opportunities that bring spiritual, economic, social and environmental transformation to unreached peoples and marginalised people. In other words, it is taking the instrument of business, with its innate, God-given ability and power to do good in the world, and intentionally harnessing that power towards the work of mission.
There has been much discussion around the value of and justification for doing business as mission, not least among mission agency leaders. We would like to suggest that there are at least three strong bases for taking a positive approach: It is biblical, it is strategic, and it is time for new wineskins.
It is biblical
There are numerous themes in the scriptures that provide strong support for running businesses that give expression to Kingdom of God values and purposes.
In Genesis 1 and 2, we see God’s great enterprise of creation by which He reveals Himself as the original Great Entrepreneur. God created human beings ‘in his own image’ (Gen 1:2), as creative beings who are to co-labour with him to steward creation through innovation and work. They are to use the fruit of their labours to sustain families and communities, and to care for others.
In Deuteronomy 8, God reminds his people Israel not to forget him as they prepare to enter the promised land—to settle down and start agricultural and mining businesses (Deut 8:8-9)—because ‘it is [God] who gives you the ability to produce wealth’. In the desert, the Lord had provided manna daily, but when the people entered this new land the manna stopped immediately because God designed human society to be provided for through enterprise and work. Business is a God-designed and ordained institution that can bring glory to Him. Business done well involves innovating with natural resources, good stewardship of these resources, the opportunity for dignified work, the creation of life-enhancing products and services, and the multiplication of resources and wealth that enable people and societies to flourish and advance.
The Apostle Paul exhorted Christ’s followers to work hard and not be idle (2 Thes 3:10-12), and modelled the value of work and enterprise by his own example. Paul seemingly engaged in the business of making tents (or perhaps leather working or saddle making) to provide for financial needs (1 Cor 9:6), to ensure his message was credible by being free of the complications of patronage (Cor 9: 18, 2 Cor 12:14), to enable mobility and open up opportunities to meet and spend significant time with others (Acts 18:1-3), and to model the Christian lifestyle (1 Thes 4:11-12, 2 Thes 3: 6-9).
Justice and concern for the poor and marginalised is a theme pervading the scriptures and one in which all business as mission practitioners can actively participate and make a significant contribution. Starting business as mission enterprises enables us to ‘open our arms to the poor’; just as the entrepreneurial woman in Proverbs 31 did as she worked hard, produced good products, and traded well.
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/pins-in-map-1.jpg357640Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2024-06-06 22:29:262025-12-01 15:42:02Why BAM? It’s Biblical, Strategic and Time for New Wineskins!
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Sponsors-Thank-you-Summit-24.png10801920Staff Writerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngStaff Writer2024-05-08 21:46:402024-06-04 17:26:16Our Vital Partners: Thanks to All Our BAM Global Sponsors
1. We can’t talk about ‘business as mission’ until we talk about ‘business’
Business is part of God’s good plan for human flourishing and has a God-designed power and role in human society. Business as mission takes this intrinsic God-given power and role of business and intentionally uses it as an instrument for mission. Just as water or wind power can be intentionally harnessed to do more good (or harm), business as mission is harnessing the power of business for God’s glory, the gospel, and the common good.
It is therefore vitally important that we have a good grasp of what the Bible says about business – and indeed, economics, human flourishing and God’s mission to the world – before we then apply those fundamental truths about God’s purposes to doing business as mission. Let us build on solid biblical foundations!
What we don’t want to do is create a new ‘sacred-secular divide’ while trying to break down the old one. Business does not need to be sanctified by being engaged as an instrument for mission, it is already part of God’s good design. Just as one vocation is not more spiritual or sacred than another, the same goes for different kinds of business. We can glorify God through work and our vocations, wherever we are.
For more on this idea read here and for a biblical foundation for BAM read here.
2. Business as mission is part of a broader movement, but also has a unique and distinctive response to the world’s most pressing issues
For example, business as mission is part of the wider shift in the global church towards more integral (or holistic) models of mission that break down the dichotomy between evangelism and social responsibility. But it is also distinctive in that it emphasises for-profit solutions to mission challenges, rather than charitable or donor-driven mission models.
Business as mission is also part of a broader re-evaluation in society concerning the purpose of business beyond financial returns for shareholders. This movement towards ‘social enterprise’, ‘impact investment’, ‘conscious capitalism, etc. focuses instead on creating ‘shared value’ for many stakeholders, with positive social and environmental impact included alongside economic impact. Although these expressions of social enterprise sometimes encompass spiritual impact as well, BAM always includes spiritual impact. Business as mission makes central a restored relationship with God, through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross – plus all the implications for restored relationship with our neighbours and creation that will also bring.
Business as mission is part of a growing movement to integrate faith and work and to encourage entrepreneurs and business professionals everywhere to be ‘faith-driven’ – and such integration must be foundational in every BAM company. However, business as mission is also distinctive in that the ‘ministry’ happens both within the business context AND also through the business model, through every part of the business strategy and operations. Business as mission sees business both as the medium and the message.
By calling out the distinctives of BAM, we are not implying that it is superior to any other model or emphasis. However, it does require a particular set of methodologies, tools and resources, that benefit from a common language, a community of practice, and a connected, supportive ecosystem.
We are also not saying that the term ‘business as mission’ itself is unique, as there are many other terms in English and of course other languages that are used for the same idea. Rather it is the concept of business as mission (whatever you want to call it) – the idea behind it – that is distinctive.
To read more on the distinctives of BAM and its relationship to ideas like workplace ministries, tentmaking and other mission models, read Chapter 1 of the Lausanne Occasional Paper on BAM: ‘What is Business as Mission?’
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/foundations.jpg11281920Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2024-04-30 22:54:192024-11-07 07:56:38Business as Mission Foundations: 4 Things You Should Know About BAM
Listen to four people share firsthand how they are contributing their unique gifts and experiences to build the BAM ecosystem.
The BAM ecosystem is bigger than you think! As well as BAM practitioners – those who actually run the business as mission companies – there are countless others supporting those practitioners and companies.
From mobilisers, to investors… from intercessors, to mentors… from communicators, to business incubators… from recruiters, to trainers… and many more. As well as businesses and business services, the BAM movement also includes academics, mission leaders, church leaders and others.
Are we missing any resources that should be listed? Contact us to share them.
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As we began exploring last month, 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!
To recap, 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 and He is leading each of us on unique paths.
Last month, we started with the topic of getting involved in doing BAM yourself. This month, we’ll continue with ways to support and resource others to do BAM – in other words, how to help build the business as mission ecosystem!
Business as mission companies and practitioners need many different kinds of support and resources to thrive. From obvious roles such as business incubators, investors, mentors, and trainers…
To perhaps less obvious ones, like network builders, recruiters and mobilisers, that enable the pipeline of people getting involved in BAM to flow…
Or communicators and content creators to keep the ideas and stories flowing…
Or perhaps prayer partners to help us all keep in step with the Holy Spirit…
There are many different and necessary roles in the BAM ecosystem!
Get Involved Building the BAM Ecosystem
If you are interested in getting more involved in supporting business as mission, chances are you are thinking about one or more of the following:
Providing support and services to individual BAM companies/practitioners, such as consulting, recruiting, investing, prayer, etc.
Building a network or entrepreneurial ecosystem that focuses on a particular region, industry or issue, for example a regional BAM network, a city-focused business incubator, or an alliance or community of practice for a particular speciality.
Contributing skills or services to the global BAM ecosystem as a whole, such as training, mobilisation, communications, prayer, and so on.
And these often overlap. For instance, we pray both for individual BAM companies and the BAM movement every month in BAM Global prayer calls. A city-wide business incubator will also provide services to individual companies. And so on.
So bearing that in mind, here are some different roles in the BAM ecosystem and some ideas for how to get involved in them: Read more
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/watering-in-greehouse.jpg8011200Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2024-03-07 23:10:362025-09-17 18:59:58BAM Ecosystem Builders: How You Can Support the Business as Mission Movement
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.
In Part 1 of this two part series, we shared two unique stories of how God led people to get involved with BAM.
Here are two more stories highlighting different ways to get involved. In the first, Danilo shares how he is has integrated BAM principles into an existing business. In the second, JC started working remotely for a BAM company in his first job out of college. We hope these will encourage you that there are many different paths into business as mission!
Danilo, CEO of Snowman Labs
Danilo, age 34, holds a degree in Computer Networks, and was born and raised in the south of Brazil in a Christian family. His father is a pastor, which deeply influenced Danilo’s upbringing. Danilo loves Jesus, his family, people, technology, and innovation. Those passions opened up the doors for starting Snowman Labs, a digital solution company helping clients navigate their digital transformation challenges. Danilo is currently the CEO of Snowman Labs, where their purpose is to let people experience the kindness and love of God through technology, innovation, and UX/UI design.
What motivated you to get involved with business as mission?
Actually, it was God who led me to BAM after years of wrestling with my views on the sacred-secular divide in business. I used to see business and serving the Lord as polar opposites. But, through God’s grace, I now see BAM as a natural integration of my faith and professional life.
My journey began in early February 2018 during a service in Brazil, where I heard João Mordomo speak on 1 Peter 2:9. His message, that not all of us would have a call to full-time ministry, but we are all full-time ministers, profoundly changed my outlook. I sought João out for lunch to learn more about BAM, and he has since become a pivotal mentor in guiding me toward integrating these principles into Snowman Labs.
What is your role in Snowman Labs?
As CEO, my role is to steer Snowman Labs toward the vision God has imparted to us. This aligns perfectly with my strengths, especially since it involves overseeing sales, a domain I’m passionate about. My love for our vision and responsibility in sales creates a synergy that drives me daily.
You transitioned Snowman Labs to incorporate BAM principals. Did you run into any challenges or discouragements along the way?
Honestly, starting in BAM felt like a path God had prepared for me, so the initial steps were surprisingly smooth. The real challenges came later as I worked to weave BAM concepts into our company’s culture. Read more
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/watch-your-step-e1709293946106.jpg8821200Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2024-02-29 18:46:292024-03-01 18:58:32Starting out on Unique BAM Paths: Two More Stories
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.
Over the past 15 years, there’s been an unprecedented rise in the global connectedness of people involved in business as mission (BAM). As the movement continues to grow, many more seek opportunities to join the movement — specifically by joining or starting BAM companies and resourcing organizations.
As engagement in business as mission grows, so do the range of opportunities. There are almost as many ways to get involved with BAM as there are people on their BAM journey and we’ve been eager to hear more about the variety of ways to get involved.
We reached a handful of individuals who each had unique stories of how God led them to get involved with BAM. Here are two of their stories:
G, Team Member of a Business Incubator for Refugees in the UK
G works with a team based in the UK that helps local refugees relaunch the businesses they operated back in their home countries. She and the team are driven by BAM principals and hope to see real financial impact with refugees lifted out of poverty and released into economic prosperity for their families. They aim to impact social bottom lines by encouraging and deepening ties between locals and refugees, and to have spiritual impact by sharing Christ with groups who, before arriving in the UK, had limited exposure to the gospel.
What motivated you to join the organization you’re working with?
I learned about social enterprise during my studies of global business issues at university. After my first exposure to these concepts, I wanted to learn more about businesses doing BAM in a practical and meaningful way.
I am from a very rural area and there didn’t seem to be many opportunities for the practical, hands-on experience I was looking for. During one of my summer breaks, a man from the UK (now G’s team leader) started to share about his community’s desire to serve refugees and start a social enterprise in his area. If anyone was interested in joining them for an internship, he said to connect with him after service.
What did you do to prepare for involvement in BAM? Can you tell us about the networking, research, learning, and formal or informal preparations you did?
As I said, I studied social enterprise in college. But to me, it felt more like most of my learning was “caught” not taught.
My mom is an entrepreneur herself, and I would say most of what I’ve learned has been from watching and helping my mom run her Mary Kay business. She’s always been intentional about networking and connecting to enrich the lives of women, not just to make a sale. She always made sure genuine care for people was never lost. During college, I followed in her footsteps and started my own Mary Kay side business. This taught me a lot about bouncing back from rejection, and how to not take it personally, which is hard!
Running my own business taught me how to talk to people even when I’m intimidated, giving me the confidence to boldly ask questions and follow up with people I’m interested in learning from. This gave me buoyancy to keep following up on this opportunity with the team in the UK, even after it had been repeatedly canceled and postponed due to Covid. Read more
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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!
Others of you on the BAM journey are still exploring where they fit, or maybe are intrigued by the idea of BAM and just want to stay in touch (see ways to do that in the footer below).
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.
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As we start the new year, we are revisiting some foundational material on what business as mission means. Here’s a classic article from Mats to expand our thinking about BAM.
By Mats Tunehag
Business as Mission is a growing global movement of Christians in the marketplace asking: How can we shape business to serve people, align with God’s purposes, be good stewards of the planet and make a profit?
We are on a mission in and through business. It is for example a mission of justice. One could even say ‘Business as Justice’. This and other terms may help us understand the holistic and transformational nature of Business as Mission.
Let me give 12 brief examples. The list could be made longer, but these 12 will hopefully show that Business as Mission is not just doing business with a touch of “churchianity”.
1. Business as Justice
God loves justice and hates injustice. God sent prophets again and again who spoke out against injustice, and they demanded change and correction. Injustice often manifested itself in the marketplace: it was corruption, labor exploitation and abuse of vulnerable people like immigrants. To pursue honest business and care for staff is Business as Justice. To treat customers and suppliers well is also a part of this God honoring pursuit. Business as Justice includes fighting corruption and bribery.
2. Business as True Religion
True worship is to take care of widows and orphans (James 1:27). These are two vulnerable groups, who often are exploited in the marketplace today. Human traffickers often target lonely children. Circumstances and cunning people may force widows into prostitution. These are realities in many parts of the world. Who will offer orphans and widows a future; give them jobs with dignity, so they can support themselves and others? That would be Business as True Religion.
3. Business as Shalom
Shalom is a Biblical concept of good and harmonious relationships. But relationships were damaged and broken through the fall in Genesis chapter 3. Through Christ there is a way to restored relationship with God, with one another, and with creation. Business is so much about relationships, with staff, colleagues, peers, customers, clients, suppliers, family, community, tax authorities, and so forth. How can we as Christians in business strive towards Shalom; Business as Shalom?
4. Business as Stewardship
Every human being has been entrusted with gifts and talents. In business we also talk about assets. Stewardship is another important Biblical concept. How can we use what we have to serve? What does stewardship mean when we own and / or run a business? God has given some people strong entrepreneurial gifts. They can be used for God and for the common good through business. It is the same with managerial gifts or gifts of bookkeeping or sales. We should encourage people with business skills to be good stewards of their gifts – Business as Stewardship.
5. Business as Servant Leadership
Jesus came to serve. He was an example of good and godly leadership. Many books are written on this topic and it indicates the importance of the very concept of servant leadership. Doing business as unto the Lord means that we also explore what servant leadership means in the business context. It is not a simple formula or a cookie cutter approach. It may look differently in different industries and cultures. But the key underlying principle is to serve people, communities, nations, and God. We are too often reminded about the lack of good leadership in the business world. Business as Servant Leadership is more than needed. Read more
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As we start the new year, we are revisiting some foundational material on what business as mission means. Here’s the introduction to business as mission originally published on our Start Here page.
What is Business as Mission?
Business as mission, simply put, is the seamless integration of excellent business with intentional mission. It is doing business for God’s glory, the gospel, and the common good.
Business is a God-given vocation and institution in society, with the potential to bring multiple benefits to people, communities and nations. Business as mission intentionally leverages this intrinsic power of business to address spiritual needs, hand in hand with social, economic and environmental needs. Business as mission is strategic today because it is often best placed to meet a wide range of needs in communities around the world.
Let’s start with business
Dallas Willard once said, “Business is a primary moving force of the love of God in human history.” Business, done well, is glorifying to God. Period. We see in the Bible and throughout history that business is able to create dignified jobs, multiply resources, provide for families and communities, push forward innovation, and, in short, do good in society. A company does not need a business as mission strategy to justify its purpose or to somehow make it more ‘holy’. Business professionals following Jesus in the marketplace already have a sacred vocation. Business is a good idea that comes from God.
Yet, God has called us, His Church, to partner with him in the work of mission. To love our neighbour as ourselves, to care for the poor and vulnerable, and to share the gospel and make disciples in every part of the world. And business people, along with their skills and experiences, are some of the most needed in the work of global mission today. Alongside more traditional forms of mission, the world is crying out for for-profit, business solutions to some of its most pressing issues. These issues include job scarcity, human trafficking, economic exploitation, corruption, environmental degradation, dire poverty, and the challenge of sharing the love of God and His good news with those who haven’t yet heard it.
Business as Mission
In the global marketplace today, we have an opportunity to harness the God-given power of business to address these pressing spiritual, social, environmental, and economic issues. Business as mission is a movement of business professionals – alongside mission leaders, church leaders and academics – who are doing just that. They are taking the instrument of business, with its innate, God-given ability and power, and intentionally using that power in the work of mission. They are using their professional know-how and the gifts of entrepreneurship and good management to bring creative and long-term, sustainable solutions to local and global challenges. They are making a positive impact through for-profit business, along the ‘four bottom lines’: social, environmental, financial and spiritual. We sometimes refer to these as the 4Ps: people, planet, profit, and eternal purpose. Read more
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/start-piece-e1706642627824.jpg7561200Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2024-01-25 02:20:182025-06-24 13:51:24What is Business as Mission? A Short Introduction
We have been sharing a series throughout October on ‘What in the World is God Doing through Business as Mission?!’ We’ve been aiming to ‘put the global into BAM Global’ by highlighting encouraging BAM developments from different parts of the world during this month.
If reading about the work of BAM networks in different Regions and Countries this month has inspired you to start your own network, here’s a really helpful ‘Fireside Chat Interview’ that BAM Global Chairman Mats Tunehag recorded in November 2020 for the BAM Global Congress series of online events:
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We are sharing a series throughout October on ‘What in the World is God Doing through Business as Mission?!’ We are aiming to ‘put the global into BAM Global’ by highlighting encouraging BAM developments from different parts of the world during this month.
God is on the move across the Americas! To provide an insight into just one part of it, Shay interviewed BAM Canada Co-Founder, Carrie-Anne Ballantyne.
Listen to their interview for a deep-dive into what BAM Canada is doing, how it is growing, and some really helpful tips for how to start and nurture a BAM network in your area:
What in the world is God doing through BAM Canada, interview highlights:
The founders of BAM Canada had got involved in BAM Global and saw a gap for building a BAM network and facilitating more engagement in business as mission in the nation of Canada.
BAM Canada hosts a private membership community, runs monthly events, and helps support and grow the work of local networks around the country.
The network and events focus on one of the bottom-lines of BAM each quarter of the year: Purpose, Planet, People and Profit.
As well as engaging business people and entrepreneurs, BAM Canada has also been offering opportunities to connect for church leaders, mission leaders, and academics.
BAM Canada has definitely built on the pioneering work of the team at BAM Vancouver. All sorts of networks are possible and needed: city/local, region-in-country, national, world region.
Top tip if you are thinking of starting a network in your locality: don’t despise small beginnings!! Start by getting together with a few others and talking and praying about what you can do.
Network or community building isn’t just ‘build it and they will come’. It takes a lot of effort to keep communicating and many one-on-one conversations.
A foundational part of establishing BAM Canada was a listening trip to several cities, to ask entrepreneurs and business people what they saw was missing and discovering felt needs. From this exercise they saw three themes: 1. Business entrepreneurs felt alone in their journey, 2. A common language was missing, so the concept of BAM wasn’t clear, and 3. There weren’t many ‘Canadian stories’ being told.
They are seeing a growing interest in business as mission and stories of BAM in action, especially Canadian stories, really helps people get inspired.
BAM Canada have been asking themselves how to close the gaps between people becoming inspired by the idea of business as mission and then getting actively involved.
Don’t do it alone – join in with events and networks that are already happening – and PRAY! Ask God what he has for you.
You can discover more and join the BAM Canada network from their website here: businessasmission.ca
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/vancouver.jpg7591200Staff Writerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngStaff Writer2023-10-27 01:05:062023-12-22 22:07:38What in the World is God Doing through BAM Canada?! [Video]
We are starting a new series for October on ‘What in the World is God Doing through Business as Mission?!’ We are aiming to ‘put the global into BAM Global’ by highlighting encouraging BAM developments from different parts of the world throughout this month.
First up, here’s a primer from one of our global leaders, Mats Tunehag, on the global business as mission movement and how it has been growing.
Putting the Global into BAM Global
Business as Mission (BAM) is a biblical concept; BAM is also a practice, a particular way of doing business; and it is a global movement made up of many companies and organisations around the world.
People from all continents and backgrounds are involved in business as mission – those engaged in business, as well as mission agencies, churches and academic institutions.
Networks are collaborating across the world, sharing fruitful practices and connecting for greater Kingdom impact.
Did you know that some of the oldest established BAM networks come from Asia, for example Indonesia and South Korea?
As well as a growing number of BAM companies, there are initiatives helping the BAM ecosystem to flourish, including investment, mentoring, prayer, mobilisation and network building, among many others.
BAM regional networks are growing around the world, with BAM resources being developed in different languages – look out for some reports from different regions coming up this month on the blog.
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Our individual stories are like the “threads in the tapestry” that make up the story of mankind. Each unique thread contributes to the whole picture. This week in The BAM Review, we will use this metaphor as we consider our stories in the context of God’s story, business as mission, and the stories of people around us.
A thread cannot see the whole picture of the tapestry, but the Maker of the tapestry can
Understanding how and where we fit into God’s story is complicated. We’ll never fully know the reason we’ve been woven into the relationships, positions of authority, communities, or situations we are in now.
This can be intensified for BAMers, who are often part of a challenging and complex picture. At some points we might have the most authority in the room, at others we may have the least. Some of us may have many friends, people we’re discipling, and feel rooted in our communities. Others of us may feel outsiders as we grapple with language and cultural differences. Some may have thriving businesses and the capacity to expand. Others of us may have been trying for years and never made it into the black. Many of us have gone between these extremes. Yet God is capable of weaving all of our experiences and all of these extremes into a glorious tapestry. He is able to redeem our circumstances to His glory. In the process, He has more innovative and creative solutions than we ever could imagine.
As just one thread in the tapestry, we know that in our most intensely dry, brittle seasons and in our most glorious and beautiful seasons, we are being woven by Him. God will weave our complicated stories into his big picture, even if we never are able to see the whole.
A thread is deeply interwoven with other threads around it and cannot be separated from the tapestry
A tapestry must be tightly and strategically woven or else it is just a pile of threads, not a picture. Business and mission are both relationship-oriented and we can clearly see how intertwined, dependent upon, and connected we are with other people – the other threads in our picture.
As business people, we consider others daily. How are we providing value for our customers? How are we benefiting our stakeholders? We consider and weigh our interactions with employees, bosses, coworkers, teammates, and the surrounding community. We have more reason than most to deeply consider our interactions with others because the life of the business depends on it. In business we are acutely aware of our connectedness to, and our dependence upon, other people. Read more
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Today is Good Friday*. A day absolutely central to the gospel story and to our lived experience as followers of Jesus.
One of our scripture readings in our monthly BAM Prayer Call this week was of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53:
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
This is the picture that we have of Jesus on Good Friday – our wounded healer.
And we are reminded that as followers of Jesus, we too are called to be wounded healers in a broken world.
As we contemplate Christ dead on the Cross, our thoughts turn to the countless injustices and sufferings which prolong his passion in every part of the world. I think of the places where man is insulted and humiliated, downtrodden and exploited. In every person suffering from hatred and violence, or rejected by selfishness and indifference, Christ continues to suffer and die. On the faces of those who have been “defeated by life” there appear the features of the face of Christ dying on the Cross. Ave, Crux, spes unica! Today too, from the Cross there springs hope for all. – Pope John Paul II, Good Friday, 10 April 1998.
The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength
In just a few short weeks we will be gathering together at our BAM Global Summit, an online connecting point for the global business as mission community.
Doing BAM out of a place of brokenness and weakness, with a posture of humility and dependency on the Lord, has been a theme that the Lord has highlighted to us. Read more
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/at-the-cross-e1680878904576-845x321-1.jpg321845Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2023-04-07 21:03:302024-10-27 06:30:20BAM Out of Brokenness: An Easter Reflection
In this new blog series on the BAM Manifesto we are taking the different parts of the Manifesto as inspiration and exploring them in the context of current BAM practice and the still-growing movement, twenty years on.
We asked a group of BAM leaders:
Looking back on the development of the BAM movement globally over the last one to two decades, do you think that a shared understanding created by the BAM Manifesto – and similar materials or opportunities for dialogue – have created growth/momentum in your region, network or sphere?
If yes, please share a little of the ‘how, why and what’ of that development. If no, please share what you feel has helped or what is still needed.
From the responses we’ve ‘charted’ the impact of the Manifesto on the BAM movement over the last few decades – read Part 1 ‘Pioneering Practitioners’ for a fuller introduction.
GRAPPLING WITH FUTURE CHALLENGES 2020s Onwards
At various times in the past twenty or so years, groups of BAM leaders have asked, ‘Where are the gaps, where are the pitfalls, what are we still wrestling with?’ These have been recurring questions in the past few years in particular, as we have contemplated ‘BAM 2.0’ two decades into intentional BAM collaboration – and especially as we prepared to come together at the BAM Global Congress in 2020 (though eventually disrupted by Covid).
The journey continues! We are still a relatively young movement and there is still much work to do and dangers to avoid for the future. One of the things we asked the twenty BAM leaders for this series was, ‘What are our current and future challenges? What is still needed to maximise future BAM growth and acceleration?’ Read more
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/moving-walkway.jpg8001200Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2023-03-29 03:43:032023-05-25 21:00:16Future BAM Challenges: Keeping Momentum in the Right Direction
In this new blog series on the BAM Manifesto we are taking the different parts of the Manifesto as inspiration and exploring them in the context of current BAM practice and the still-growing movement, twenty years on.
We asked a group of BAM leaders:
Looking back on the development of the BAM movement globally over the last one to two decades, do you think that a shared understanding created by the BAM Manifesto – and similar materials or opportunities for dialogue – have created growth/momentum in your region, network or sphere?
If yes, please share a little of the ‘how, why and what’ of that development. If no, please share what you feel has helped.
From the responses we’ve ‘charted’ the impact of the Manifesto on the BAM movement over the last few decades – read Part 1 ‘Pioneering Practitioners’ for a fuller introduction.
BAM ECOSYSTEM GROWTH & MULTIPLICATION Late 2000s & 2010s
The initial burst of BAM networking, advocacy and resource development in the early 2000s – including the publishing of the Lausanne Occasional Paper on BAM and the BAM Manifesto – helped to lay the foundation for a multiplication of regional networks and BAM initiatives over the following 10-15 years and resulted in the greater mobilisation of new BAM practitioners.
Ecosystem builders began to intentionally support and connect BAM companies and helped the identification and spread of fruitful practices. And while business people and companies are the central constituency in the BAM movement, there was also growing acceptance and understanding among the other key BAM constituencies of mission, church and academia. Read more
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/construction-in-costa-rica.jpg8631200Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2023-03-22 04:04:382024-03-15 21:21:54Global BAM Ecosystem Growth and Multiplication
In this new blog series on the BAM Manifesto we are taking the different parts of the Manifesto as inspiration and exploring them in the context of current BAM practice and the still-growing movement, twenty years on.
We asked a group of BAM leaders:
Looking back on the development of the BAM movement globally over the last one to two decades, do you think that a shared understanding created by the BAM Manifesto – and similar materials or opportunities for dialogue – have created growth/momentum in your region, network or sphere?
If yes, please share a little of the ‘how, why and what’ of that development. If no, please share what you feel has helped.
From the responses we’ve ‘charted’ the impact of the Manifesto on the BAM movement over the last few decades – read Part 1 ‘Pioneering Practitioners’ for a fuller introduction.
CREATING SHARED UNDERSTANDING Late 1990s & Early 2000s
The late 1990s saw some early conversation and collaborative efforts among a small network of pioneer BAM practitioners and mission thinkers, with a couple of first books published and the term business as mission emerging through early dialogue. This led to a sudden acceleration of activity globally in the early 2000s which can only have been instigated by the Holy Spirit! Within a few short years from 2000 to 2005, the first full BAM conferences took place, networking/advocacy teams were established, the first websites launched, training courses pioneered, the first BAM investment fund began, key regional consultations started, and a small wave of further books were published.
In 2002 and 2003 the first ‘think tank’ effort for BAM was initiated, convening under the auspices of the Lausanne Movement, and a direct predecessor of BAM Global. This was the first attempt to gather a significant number of practitioners, as well as mission, church and academic leaders, to bring some consensus around the concept and practice of business as mission. In total over 90 individuals worked virtually together and around 70 convened face-to-face in November 2004, to produce the Lausanne Occasional Paper on Business as Mission (2004), a landmark collaborative effort – of which the BAM Manifesto was a concluding one-page call to action. Read more
https://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/biblical-copy.jpeg9821000Jo Plummerhttps://businessasmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-as-Mission-Logo-Colored-1.pngJo Plummer2023-03-14 18:38:072024-03-15 21:22:07Creed or Conversation Starter? Creating a Shared BAM Understanding
