In episode 10, we got to define Business as Mission. BAM is defined as, “the intentional integration of business and ministry to create a sustainable presence of the Kingdom of God in a particular community.” This is the goal & driving mission of every successful BAM, where it’s important to note that business and the Gospel are intentionally linked here, not separated.
Secondly, we got to see some examples of what BAM really looks like in action. We got to hear a powerful story from Erik on a firsthand account as he witnessed the incredible baptism of the first believer in an indigenous population that came to faith through a business.
In many regions around the world where unreached people groups are, visas as Christian missionaries are not accepted, like the example Erik shared with us. However, when one goes into this nation as a business practitioner, someone looking to genuinely add value to a community & people, there is a window there for building up an unreached people group. To be clear, as Erik reiterates, this is not a “front” for the Gospel. It is not a shady, underhanded mission to secretly infiltrate the Gospel into the unreached people groups, it is a genuine business with a genuine desire & goal to be successful by adding value to local people and their community.
In the example Erik shared, this business as mission was an English school to teach business English to a region & people group that had a large tourist industry. The indigenous people had a need to learn English for the sake of commerce, and the BAM was able to provide that. Both parties come with less and leave with more – the way a healthy business works in the Kingdom.
Erik says,
“… when we serve and add value to a community through business, it creates a platform for gospel proclamation, the planting of the church, and the wholeness and renewal or shalom… so that the reality of the gospel can come to life.”
This is a powerful statement outlining the work of Business as Mission.
The beauty of the story Erik shared is that God is, right now, planting a church to an unreached people group through a business. That’s BAM at work!
In our Missional Moment, we heard from missionary legend Dick Brogden, who founded the LiveDead organization. He talked to us about God’s mission to reach all peoples, tribes, nations, and tongues as the story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. He reminds us that as Christians, we are meant to have a heart for missions.
Dick Brogden in episode 10 of the Missional Marketplace Podcast
Dick points out that the world, and the devil, have seemed to twist the narrative of the Gospel being shared out of love to that sharing suddenly being seen as “bigoted” because we serve an “exclusive God”. However, he reminds us that if we love someone, we want what’s best for them – we want eternal life of joy, justice, truth, and peace for them, which only the Gospel can bring.
Let’s let the Holy Spirit recenter our hearts on God’s mission & plan to reach all people. The Great Commission is still vital for us today!
