Business as mission

Business as Mission, often abbreviated "BAM" is a movement of kingdom minded business people whose emphasis is on transforming communities through business with an intention of spreading the glory of God.

Business as is a wide ranging movement that includes "Tentmaking" in the workplace who demonstrate the kingdom to co-workers on up to multinational corporations penetrating the unreached with the gospel message. At the heart of the movement are kingdom business professionals launching small to medium size companies within the 10/40 Window. Strategically positioning their efforts for the glory of God and the betterment of societies.

The modern Business as Mission movement is growing in popularity as globalization creates greater economic access to new areas, business people of the faith community seek to be counted in the mission movement.

Other common terms:

Tentmaking: working at a job as a ministry or to support your ministry activities.

Business as Platform: using business as a front to operate a ministry in a closed country. (illegal)

Great Commission Company: a company actively pursuing the goals of the Great Commission.

Triple bottom line: assessment metrics including financial, social/environmental, and spiritual.

10/40 Window: the general area 10 degrees north and 40 degrees south of the equator, often seen as the geographic region in most need of kingdom revelation.

References

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1. Business as Mission Introduction - Mats Tunehag, 2006. 24 Page paper serving as an introduction to business as mission. Read here (word doc 188kb)

2. The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelisation (LCWE) had an Issue Group focused on Business as Mission for their September 2004 Forum in recognition of the importance of this strategic topic for global missions. The Issue Group developed a Manifesto and a landmark paper, the Lausanne Occasional Paper on Business as Mission.

3. Spreading the Word Through Business - New York Times Article November 2005 Christian-run companies are multiplying in just about every corner of the globe, reshaping overseas mission work. These businesses form a movement known variously as business as mission, kingdom business and great commission companies, after the biblical charge to "make disciples of all the nations."

4. International Journal of Frontier Missions - see particularly archived editions of Tentmaking I Volume 14:3, 1997 and Tentmaking II Volume 15:1, 1998

5. Restoring the Marketplace to Gods Economy by Transforming the Way we Work
What does it mean to restore God's economy? Mike McLoughlin explains what it means to transform our work.

6. Bringing God to the 9 to 5 Window
Following is Chapter 7 of The 9 to 5 Window: How Faith Can Transform the Workplace by Os Hillman, Regal Books, pub. September 2005. This chapter chronicles the current activities of the faith at work movement.

Further Reading

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The Business as Mission Network
Business as Mission (YWAM)

--Matsonbr (talk) 20:07, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

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