Business as Mission Adresses the Big Issues Facing the Church

In Tim Keller’s latest blog post, he points out five big issues facing the Western Church. They are:

I recommend you head over to the Redeemer City to City website and read what Keller has to say about these issues. It helps to focus on these shifts in the evangelistic landscape of the West. Doing so will help us to anticipate new opportunities and threats to our efforts to achieving our goals as Kingdom strategists.

Clarifying Business as Mission Objectives

The following is another excerpt from the BAM Survey 2007 Report. The BAM Survey 2007 Report is an in-depth assessment of the state of the Business as Mission movement based on survey responses from 497 people in 38 countries. You can purchase an electronic copy of the BAM Survey 2007 Report for $14.99 here.

15 Reasons “Church Online” Should Be Debated

Jesus Christ is on Facebook

I personally am a huge proponent of Christians leveraging the power of the Internet to advance the Kingdom and to give glory to God. I recognize that the web is changing the way people live their lives, I see it in my own family. My nigh-two year old is already comfortable with video calls and would rather look at pictures of her mother and brother on the computer than look at them in person. It is apparent to me that Internet will be a integral aspect of the lives of future generations of Christians.

Update on Stuff Christians Like Building a Kindergarten in Vietnam

I’ve often thought that if you compare Christian culture to a high school, then the Christian blogosphere is the hallways of that high school. It’s where you congregate with your friends. You get to see who likes who. People goof off, talk about inane things. The jocks beat up on the nerds. The nerds talk in secret about how when Jesus comes back those jocks will get theirs.

For me, high school was the first time I ever witnessed a fight. I’d seen fights on TV and in movies but in high school I actually experienced a number of fights close up. I remember vividly how I felt every time I witnessed a fight. I felt scared. I felt kind of sick. I’ve talked before how violence is unnatural and it affects us profoundly whenever we are exposed to it. That is what I experienced those times I was around when a fight would break out.

Motivations for BAM as a strategy (part 3)

Organization consideration of Business as Mission as a strategy is typically in response to three (3) drivers:

• Response to global trends
• Challenges facing the organization
• Perceived benefits of Business as Mission

In Part 1 of this series I discussed the first driver, identifying key trends facing missions organizations. In Part 2 I discussed how organizational challenges makes BAM an attractive solution for missions organizations. Finally, in this post I will identify some of the perceived benefits of Business as Mission and discuss some misconceptions that are common among missions organizations. ...

Motivations for BAM as a strategy (part 2)

In part 1 I discussed how global trends are leading missions organizations to pursue business as part of their missional strategy. In part 2 of this three post series, I talk about how Business as Mission is appealing in the face of many of the challenges facing those in the missions field today. In part 3 I’ll conclude with a discussion of the benefits of Business as Mission that missions organization look for and shine some light on to how to avoid being blinded by optimism.

2. Business as Mission as a means for addressing challenges facing the organization

According to my work at Unconventional Method developing Business as Mission programs for global missions organizations, some of the top challenges facing both field missionaries and organizational leadership can be classified into five (5) categories:

• Lack of strategic focus
...

Motivations for BAM as a strategy (part 1)

As Business as Mission increases in popularity, it is gaining the attention from traditional missionaries who perceive its potential for enhancing their ministries, solving challenges, and addressing needs. As you consider the role Business as Mission will play in your organization, it is important to know what environmental factors as well as what internal perceptions have lead to BAM’s consideration.

My research shows that interest in Business as Mission is typically in response to three (3) drivers:

• Response to global trends
• Challenges facing the organization
• Perceived benefits of Business as Mission

In this article, I will discuss the first driver, identifying key factors facing missions organizations and making recommendations on how much weight these issues should be given when considering BAM. In ...

What is Business as Mission?

Awhile ago I threw my hat in the “define Business as Mission” ring and wrote the following definition:

The strategic use of authentic business activities to create cross-cultural opportunities to minister and evangelize within the business’s spheres of influence with the aim of holistic transformation.

To me, the value in a definition is primarily that it points to the key ways in which Business as Mission is fleshed out in practice. I want to be careful (more…)...