Different Pathways: 4 People Share Their Journey into BAM
Hear from four people who have got involved in BAM. They share how they got engaged, what they did to prepare to launch, and what they had to overcome.
What helped propel you towards business as mission? What were some of the most important things you did to prepare to launch?
We were working professionals for a long time and felt we reached a certain level of accomplishment in our career and knew it was time for a change. When we decided we wanted to move abroad, we looked at ways on how we could have the greatest impact and found that running a business can hugely benefit a community on many different levels, as well as give ministry opportunities we otherwise would not be presented with. Also, starting a business felt the most authentic way for us to truly become “immigrants” in our new home country and displayed our commitment to the locals that we were serious and in this for the long haul. To prepare we researched and read books on BAM, as well as spending time talking to experienced workers particularly through the Open Network Expo. – Ben and Yumi, Vietnam [have been operating a software development company since 2014, before that they spent 10 months intentionally preparing to do BAM, 4 months in their home country and 6 months in Vietnam]
Partners Worldwide has been introducing this concept and I heard about it. It was an idea that was developing in my mind but when I heard it from Partners it became very clear that this was the way any Christian or even non Christian should run their business. It helped maximize Kingdom impact and also helped the business flourish as well. BAM has been a game changer for me in many different ways. I think the first thing to do to prepare is pray. God can help in any way. He is our reason to live and also do business. So bringing the issue to him is very important. Once God provides all of the aspects, it’s good to meet with the employees so they can start to see the changes but slowly. Starting the meeting with a prayer can break the ice. Next time start with a prayer then read a verse. Taking it slowly gives employees time to process new ways of doing things. – Daniel, Haiti [transitioned his company to being a BAM-focused company in 2013, he spent 2 years before that preparing to do BAM]
The BAM track at Urbana conference in St. Louis, Missouri, USA helped me a lot by allowing me to meet the people who shaped my life and mentored me. This growth in networking and asking questions helped me to better understand the idea of BAM and propelled me to start reading, traveling, and eventually doing BAM in Nepal. I was quite intentional once I caught the vision. I felt God leading me towards this in my life and so I pursued it fervently to the point of actually going and trying to grow BAM companies. I have a business degree and that helps so much. So many people I see trying to do BAM don’t have any kind of business background or even a desire to learn it, which, doesn’t end well in my opinion. Get some business skills, love God, love others, and then just obey wherever God calls you. Remember that what you’re doing is opening up a business, so actually be good at knowing what that could entail and then follow God’s leading. – Jacob, Nepal [worked for a BAM company in Nepal, after 2 years of God preparing him to go]
There were two things that propelled me toward business as mission. The first thing was a weekly prayer meeting with three other young professionals who wanted to grow in faith/work integration. We would spend half of our time praying out loud and half of our time listening to God and then keeping each other accountable as God gave us steps of faith to take. The other main thing that propelled us specifically toward BAM was seeking a healthy intersection between my wife and my passion for missions and deep desire to use the gifts God has given us in business. For us, taking a two week vision trip to Thailand was extremely valuable looking back. It gave us an idea of what it would look like to work and live there. We also attended Support Raising Solution’s Bootcamp and Missions Training International. These pre-field trainings gave us excellent foundations for personal finances, working cross-culturally, and language acquisition. – Evan, Thailand [has been part of the leadership team of a BAM company for 8 years, after working in a corporate job and then BAM mobilising and training for 2 years]
Was there anything that held you back that you had to overcome? Anything you wish you’d done differently, or any tips for effective preparation?
We didn’t feel anything holding us back because we were at a point in our lives where we felt called to go and God had already blessed us with the the means and desire. The only thing that we had to work out as a family was to be unified on where to go. If you have a desire to go, just go! Be diligent in laying down a strong foundation, work hard everyday and be intentional about building relationships. In all this, never forget why you are doing it and who you are doing it for. On the business side, there’s always a lot that needs to be figured out on how to setup and manage a company as a foreigner. A benefit for us is that we had some operational and strategic experience in business before starting our own here. For BAM, we are continually working on how to best integrate ministry within business. Speaking with other BAM workers and hearing their experiences and how they do it has been crucial and insightful. – Ben and Yumi, Vietnam
I think lack of clarity was a big obstacle. I had the idea but it was not defined and was not clear so I couldn’t act on it. Coming in contact with literature that prepared my mind was instrumental in shifting my thinking. Also practice is hard to change. Changing direction requires changing culture and habits – organizational resistance is a major hindrance many times. I think taking it easy was a good strategy. Some employees are more interested than others but eventually they all come to be interested. The bigger issue is to take the BAM concept to our suppliers and distributors. That will be a real challenge but doing so will maximize our impact. – Daniel, Haiti
I partly had to retrain myself on not separating the workplace from a place where ministry could be done. However, the company I work for does that so well that they taught me that it could be done. Adding a cross-cultural environment to the mix is also extremely challenging because the same things or practices that work at home aren’t necessarily what will work in a new country. BAM isn’t the answer to missions or for everyone out there, but it is a way for those who want to use their God given skills to legitimately create value for communities, markets, and people – with a focus on bringing the transformation of Jesus Christ to their sphere of influence and workplace. Most of the things I had to learn where language, culture, who the players were in the business realm, how to work with the government, and then learn the markets. This is all pretty basic stuff but it takes time and energy. Lots of it. So network like crazy, and study hard on the culture, people, and language before opening up a business. If you have a healthy and growing relationship with Jesus, then He will show you the rest. – Jacob, Nepal
For me fear of failure or making a mistake was a big factor. I had worked in a “safe” corporate job for 6+ years and quitting felt like jumping off of a ledge, especially when many of my friends were laying down deeper roots and designing their lifestyles for security, safety, and pleasure. I don’t know if this is something we could have done better or not, but we did realize after being here that we are more inclined toward building businesses than starting businesses. This changed our approach in terms of looking for a business to join instead of start. Although I’ve been told that we might get more of a taste for starting businesses as we get more into BAM! – Evan, Thailand
This post has been adapted for the current BAM Pathways series from material originally published as a four part series in 2016, with eight BAMers sharing their journey. With thanks to the BAM practitioners who shared their experiences.
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash