We throw around a lot of terms here at The Stone Table when it comes to our efforts to engage the marketplace and the mission of God in the world. Besides B4T (Business for Transformation), we normally favor the acronym BAM or Business as Mission (probably because BAM is so much fun to say!), but others know these same efforts as Impact Investing or B4T. B4T.org defines it this way:
“B4T is a partnership of entrepreneurs and investors that maximizes social, economic, environmental, and spiritual transformation in communities. This partnership is a hallmark of the B4T approach, where we seek successful, sustainable businesses that have a higher goal of Kingdom impact through cooperation, support, and accountability. B4T means much more than capital, offering sound business acumen and coaching but also monitoring a business’s ability to make a measurable impact in its circles of influence and interaction. Together, our goal is to see the blessing of God as a business’s commitment to ministry is recognized and appreciated in the community.”
B4T is really at the heart of transforming our everyday work into the fulfillment of the Great Commandment. Our day jobs are the perfect avenue for God’s people to honor Him and love their neighbors.
Here at The Stone Table, we are deeply passionate about our own B4T work and its role in the Great Commandment, and we also believe the business world is called to engage the Great Commission. True
BAM Business as Mission efforts are both the demonstration and proclamation of Christ’s Kingdom among every nation, tribe, and tongue. We’ve had the joy of seeing this play out in our own neighborhoods and across the globe. Here are a few examples (we’ve limited names and specifics of some of these efforts due to the sensitivity of their locations).
B4T Business English Schools
In multiple countries around the world, English schools are living out business for transformation in powerful ways. English has become the language of commerce, and learning English can open incredible new opportunities for people in developing nations. In cultures where tourism is a foundational piece of the local economy, English language skills can mean life-changing financial benefits. Learning a new language from an actual native speaker is also a huge draw for them to accept a B4T business
These business English schools are bringing literal transformation to local communities and their people. It’s business as a demonstration of the Gospel, honoring God and adding real value to the local community. But these B4T businesses are also a means to plant the Church, especially in places completely unreached with the love of Jesus. Through these powerful language classes, relationships are fostered. Those relationships lead to conversations about Jesus. These conversations about Jesus lead to baptized believers. And newly baptized believers form new churches.
This is BAM or business as mission. This is B4T business for transformation.
BAM Business as Mission CrossFit Gyms
The desire to be healthy and in-shape is not just a Western ideal. Throughout North Africa and the Middle East, the CrossFit craze has spread like wildfire. We have invested in multiple BAM Business as Mission CrossFit gym start-ups in places you would never imagine. Not only are these B4T gyms meeting a local need, but they also employ locals and become a benefit to the local economy.
CrossFit is a highly relational model, and the groups quickly become a tightly knit community. Businesses of all sorts foster these kinds of human connections, but CrossFit seems to be uniquely powerful. BAM Business as Mission CrossFit communities can become beautiful conduits for sharing life, and ultimately Jesus. We are seeing the church planted in unreached places through Tabata push-ups and burpee box jumps. Through all kinds of marketplace activities, we can both demonstrate and proclaim the Gospel.
This is BAM business as mission. This is B4T business for transformation.
Sinapis
Our friends at Sinapis are partnering with the East African Church to train up and release thousands of African entrepreneurs to the glory of God. Sinapis is the Latin word for “mustard seed,” and just like that small seed, they believe Kingdom-infused entrepreneurship will grow into something culturally transformational.
Sinapis “empowers entrepreneurs professionally and spiritually using training and a global support network so they can grow to the next level and transform the world around them.” Their focus is on small businesses, typically from 5-250 employees. These kinds of small businesses are a huge boost to local economics and account for up to 80% of new job creation in these global communities. Sinapis is both demonstrating and proclaiming the Gospel through Kingdom-driven entrepreneurial development.
This is BAM business as mission. This is B4T business for transformation.
Coffee Shops
In a rural part of central Asia, a small American coffee shop has become a beloved staple of the local community. The BAM missionaries who started this small business serve specialty coffees, pastries, pizzas, and sandwiches, along with a welcoming place to sit, work, and engage in conversations. When I visited the shop with a group of friends a few years back, we were the largest group of Americans to ever be in the community at the same time. It’s beautiful, remote, and in need of Jesus.
Not only does a B4T coffee shop and roastery provide employment for multiple locals, but they also source their beans from the nearby mountain region. Without a government-approved reason to visit this area, these missionaries would not be allowed in any of these villages or around the indigenous people that live there. However, these villages boast thousands of acres of coffee plantations. The coffee shop sources all their beans from these coffee farms, making regular trips into the mountains for purchases and fostering real, value-add relationships. Through the coffee trade, we are demonstrating and proclaiming Jesus to an unreached population of the globe.
This is BAM business as mission. This is B4T business for transformation.
CRF Affordable Housing
On a more personal note, our company was started almost 3 decades ago to be a sustainer of affordable housing for people who need it. CRF is a nonprofit owner, manager, and builder of apartments and assisted living facilities for lower-income residents. By our rough calculations, our 2500-unit apartment portfolio provides affordable housing for between 5,000-6,000 people each day and employs over 80 people through our management company.
While our founders saw an opportunity to meet a real need in the housing market, they also had a passion for B4T global missions. From day one (when there was no money) until today, 50% of our annual cash flow goes back into housing and the other 50% goes right out the door to invest in global missions’ projects around the world, many that I’ve described in the paragraphs above. Through the housing business, we are striving with God’s help to both demonstrate and proclaim the Gospel to our own community and to the ends of the earth.
This is BAM business as mission. This is B4T business for transformation.
One Mission, Different Expressions
As you can see,BAM and B4T can take on many forms, but it is always driven by a singular mission: the demonstration and proclamation of Jesus in and to the world.
The Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
As believers in Jesus, we are called to reorder our lives around Jesus and His Kingdom. The Gospel redeems and resurrects all things (Colossians 1:19-20), including the work of our hands. No matter what we do for a living, in our own communities, or among the unreached people of the world, we are called to one mission. The Gospel is in the transformation business. We must be, too.
