What a great way to start this day…

*Well, it’s not really the “start” of my day. The start of my day was (per usual) wrangling two small children, bundling them in layers and layers of winter clothes, and driving them up to daycare (while singing our ABC’s at the top of our voices).

But once that was all sorted, I settled in in front of my laptop, opened my web stats site (I use GetClicky.com because it shows real time stats) and saw that I someone found Kingdom Strategist by searching Google for:

“ministry opportunities for 59 year olds”

Let it sink in for a minute… ministry opportunities for 59 year olds, how awesome is that?

I’m not talking about the fact that my blog is some what relevant to that search (but I’m glad that it is).

I’m talking about the fact that someone, somewhere is searching for that in the first place! It means that there is a (presumed) 59 year old somewhere who is feeling God’s call to ministry and they are actively looking for opportunities. That makes me smile.

It also brings a few things to mind.

First, why did they find my web site?

If you search for “ministry opportunities for 59 year olds” on Google, you’ll see that most the results are career-related, seeking to help people in this age demographic in their job search. Kingdom Strategist shows up because of one of my posts sharing my Business as Mission research. The specific article looks at the demographic make up of the Business as Mission movement and actually includes the specific phrases “59 year old“, “ministry” and “opportunity” (though not in sequence).

So, it was accidental yet not entirely erroneous that Kingdom Strategist would show up. Business as Mission is a ministry opportunity for 59 year olds. It’s also a ministry opportunity for 63 year olds, 41 year olds, 33 year olds, and 25 year olds. But of all the ministry opportunities out there, Business as Mission is better suited for people in their 50′s and 60′s because Business as Mission leverages an individual’s knowledge, experience, professional network, and net worth… so generally, the older you are, the more of these you have to draw from.

What are the ministry opportunities in Business as Mission?

This particular visitor did spend a good bit of time looking through my site, I hope I inspired some ideas for ministry opportunities. But I want to make sure that I help people to get started in Business as Mission (if that’s where God is calling them).

If you have a business background and are looking to become more involved in advancing God’s kingdom, Business as Mission might be a good fit. Here are some great resources for you to learn more about Business as Mission:

Websites:

• Business as Mission Network
• Business as Mission LinkedIn group
• YWAM Business as Mission resources
• Faith Venture Forum

Books: (affiliate links)

• “God Is at Work: Transforming People and Nations Through Business” by Ken Eldred
• “Business As Mission: A Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice” by Neal Johnson
• “Great Commission Companies: The Emerging Role of Business in Missions” by Steve Rundle and Tom Steffen

And of course, I recommend Kingdom Strategist for strategic and practical Business as Mission resources. I also provide Business as Mission consulting services and would be happy to work with you as you get started in Business as Mission. I specialize in market and opportunity assessment, business planning and strategy development, and Business as Mission strategic advisory.

Second, churches, ministries, and missions organizations are missing a HUGE opportunity to connect, care for, and mobilize inspired Christians.

Like it or not (pastors), studies show that search engines are the first place people turn when they need answers or advice (link opens PDF report). The Church needs to recognize this and make sure that they are represented (through search engine optimization) in the search results.

Now I know that churches, ministries, and missions organizations have a hard enough time accomplishing their core objectives, especially given the hardship that the current economic climate creates. Who has the time or the budget to learn about, set up and manage a comprehensive web effort?

That is why I am working with Monk Development to develop strategic web solutions specifically for churches and ministries that:

• are built upon years of experience, thought leadership, and proprietary research;
• that support and strengthen kingdom advancement (while discouraging the negative influence of Internet usage to spiritual growth);
• and that fit constrained budgets.

Sounds like a tall order, right? Let’s just say it hasn’t been easy… but worthwhile ventures seldom are.

If you are a part of church, ministry, or mission organization, I encourage you to check out the following resources:

Solutions:

• Monk Development (www.monkdevelopment.com)
• Ekklesia 360 (www.ekklesia360.com) – Complete web solution for churches.
• Cause 360 (www.cause360.com) – Complete web solution for non-profit organizations.
• Church Web Optimizer (www.churchweboptimizer.com) – Church Web Optimizer is a powerful combination of core services such as: Search Engine Optimization, website content strategies, local search listings, audience research, website analytics and online strategy consultation; designed specifically to help churches in advancing the Gospel.

Resources:

• Church Website Guide (www.churchwebsiteguide.com) – Church Website Guide is an initiative created by Monk Development to evaluate, study and educate churches on how best to use the Internet to further the gospel. We see it as proper stewardship as thousands of churches use our church website content management system.
• Church Tech Review (www.churchtechreview.com) – Church Technology Review is a website for churches and technology enthusiasts to find the latest technology solutions for Christians. Find out the newest Church Web 2.0 companies or read reviews of church-focused technology prior to selection.
• The State of Ministry Online (www.stateofministryonline.org) – State of Ministry Online is a collection of studies, surveys and research to benefit how ministries do ministry online.
• The State of the Church Online – (in development) – State of the Church Online is a collection of studies, surveys and research to benefit how churches can be the church online.
• Goodmanson.com (www.goodmanson.com) – Church and church technology thought leadership from Drew Goodmanson.

And, of course, if you would like to discuss any of the things I’ve talked about here, I’d love to connect with you. Feel free to leave me a comment below, letting me know a little bit about yourself and your interest and indicating the best way to get in touch with you. (This offer is open to people of all ages… not just 59 year olds.)

According to a Jan 19, 2010 USAID Fact Sheet, at least 65,000 people are estimated to have died. Another 200,000 people have been displaced and the total population who has been significantly affected is approximately 3 million people. The global response to this crisis has been amazing. As of February 3, 2010, $644 million has been contributed to private non-profit organizations from US citizens (source: Washington Post). This is only part of the total world effort. Organizations like the American Red Cross, World Vision, and Compassion International have mobilized their base and are just some of the organizations contributing to the on-the-ground efforts.

Despite the tremendous magnitude of these first-response efforts, the road to recovery is going to be long and difficult. The challenges facing the country prior to the earthquake were great. The country is the only country in the Western Hemisphere (North America, South, Central, and Latin Americas and the Caribbean) on the U.N.’s list of the World’s 50 least developed countries¹ (source: UN-OHRLLS). According the the CIA World Fact Sheet, 80% of the population of Haiti live below the poverty line. Additionally the country is plagued by drug trafficking and human (both forced labor and sex) trafficking.

The need in Haiti is great.

The lives of the men, women and children there were hard before January 12th. They’re even harder now. They face threats and hardships every day that we are isolated from. Things you and I can not even imagine. Hope for progress has suffered a major set back. Before people were struggling to make the most of their existence given how little they had to rely on and work with. Now what little they had has been destroyed.

As I sit and write this I don’t have to think about where my next meal is going to come from or where I’m going to sleep tonight. I do worry about the safety of my family but the threats I imagine are exactly that: imagined. Although it’s tenuous these days, I still am fairly sure the bills will get paid. I’m confident that there is work to be had.

Not only that but I live in a world where the things I need and want, the conveniences of life, are available. To get to work this morning I had a car to drive, roads to drive on, and gas to power the car. My computer is plugged into the wall, I don’t think twice about whether the lights will turn on when I flip the switch. Not only is there going to be plenty of food at the grocery store but there is a store to go to! There is food on the shelves because there is this amazing infrastructure that connects the farms from around the world to processing and packaging facilities to distribution centers to stores. And I don’t see any of it, I just trust that food will be there.

The message of the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37 ESV) is that we are to love our neighbor. Our neighbor is identified any person we meet on our path who is in need. We are to show mercy to those in need.

But what is interesting is that the Samaritan shows mercy in two phases. First he bandages his wound and brings him to shelter — he tends to his most immediate needs with compassion. But what he does next is even more amazing (the importance of this is often lost): he invests in continued care and rehabilitation.

³³But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’

See, he doesn’t bring him to the inn and drop him at the door. No, it explicitly states that the Samaritan “took care of him” at the inn. It is after this intense investment of caring for the man himself that the Samaritan make additional provision for continued care, making a down payment with the innkeeper and promising to return and pay for whatever the man needs.

How are we planning to invest in continued care for Haiti?

There are a number of ways to do this, but I want to highlight two in particular that must be a priority.

First, it is important that we build up the Church in Haiti.

Whatever your views on the spiritual history of Haiti, the people of that country are utterly and completely in need of Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord just as you and I are. And it is local churches — proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom of God, caring for the physical and spiritual needs of the people, and coordinating and leading people to live their lives as children of God — that the love and redemption of Christ will flow through.

I want to draw your attention to Churches Helping Churches, an organization founded by James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll to “address the immediate and long-term needs of churches when disaster befalls a country, region, city, or people in the spirit of Galatians 6:10—“…let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” If you are interested in how you or our church can support local churches in Haiti, I highly recommend you check out Churches Helping Churches.

Second, it is important that we build up infrastructure in Haiti.

This means investing in the physical structures, services, and facilities necessary for the Haitian economy to develop. Recent studies have argued that foreign aid doesn’t work. At the same time, a lot of attention has been given to the role business plays in developing economies. In recent years, Christian business men and women have been leveraging the power of business in order to spread the Gospel in countries whose governments are hostile toward Christian missionaries. The global Business as Mission movement has developed as more and more people are awakening to how God can use their business talents as part of his redemptive plan.

Haiti needs Business as Mission companies now more than ever.

The need and opportunity to develop creative business solutions to many of the problems facing the people of Haiti is great. If you believe that this is a way that you can get involved I want to encourage you to do something. I wish I could point you to specific ways that you could help but I don’t know of any right now. Many organizations are rightfully focused on meeting the immediate needs in Haiti. But as the dust settles our efforts must not lose momentum.

To help spark ideas about potential business opportunities I’ve include some facts about Haiti below. These factors will help identify what opportunities for business exist  in Haiti. Obvious needs are infrastructure and construction. Additionally, the Haitian people will need resources to get back on their feet, so opportunities for micro-finance might exist. I’ve also included quality of life statistics in the hopes it might spark some ideas about opportunities to address some of the less critical issues facing the people there.

If you or your organization are serious about engaging in Business as Mission, I offer a number of services that will help you develop an appropriate Business as Mission strategy and maximize the impact of your efforts. You can contact me through my company website: http://www.unconventionalmethod.com/contact/.

Facts about Haiti

source: originally published at The Resurgence; Data from the CIA’s World Fact Book

Location and Size

Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic (which is two-thirds of the eastern side of Hispaniola). The terrain is mostly rough and mountainous.

17,243 sq miles (slightly smaller than Maryland).

Natural resources

bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower

Agriculture products

coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood

Industries

sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly based on imported parts

Labor force

agriculture: 66%
industry: 9%
services: 25% (1995)

shortage of skilled laborers, abundance of unskilled laborers
widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs
80% of the population is below the poverty line

Population

9,035,536

Age structure

0-14 years: 38.1% (male 1,735,917/female 1,704,383)
15-64 years: 58.5% (male 2,621,059/female 2,665,447)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 120,040/female 188,690) (2009 est.)

Ethnic group

95% black, 5% mulatto and white

Urbanization

urban population: 47% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 4.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 52.9%
male: 54.8%
female: 51.2% (2003 est.)

Government

Type: Republic
Port-au-Prince (capitol)
Independence from French in Jan 1, 1804
Their constitution was approved March 1987

Note: Suspended June 1988 with most articles reinstated March 1989; constitutional government ousted in a military coup in September 1991, although in October 1991 military government claimed to be observing the constitution; returned to constitutional rule in October 1994; constitution, while technically in force between 2004-2006, was not enforced; returned to constitutional rule in May 2006

Infant Mortality

total: 59.69 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 37
male: 66.18 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 53.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life Expectancy

total population: 60.78 years
country comparison to the world: 181
male: 59.13 years
female: 62.48 years (2009 est.)

Total Fertility

3.81 children born/woman (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS-adult prevalence rate

2.2% (country comparison to the world: 28)

Living with AIDS

120,000 (2007 estimates)

HIV/AIDS deaths/year

7,200

Major Infectious Diseases

degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)

Natural hazards

lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts

We’re continuing with sharing excerpts from my BAM Survey 2007 Report, 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.

Today we look at the demographics of the survey respondents in order to get an better idea of who makes up the global Business as Mission movement.

Who are the Business as Mission leaders? (part 1)

For the first time, the survey results enable us to describe the community of BAM leaders that has formed around the core elements that define Business as Mission (Exhibit 2). Of survey respondents that rated their understanding of Business as Mission as “Very Familiar”

Our data reveals that the 30 to 44 year old group has the ideal temperament for facing many of the challenges of the next stage of the Business as Mission movement — 75 percent feel called to business and 79 percent feel called to Business as Mission. What’s more, this group’s support networks (church, social communities, and companies) understand and pray for Business as Mission more than any other group’s.

However, it is clear from the data that the 45 to 59 year old group is driving the movement forward and paving the way for the next generations of Business as Mission leaders. The 45 to 59 year old group:

According to a 2005 Market Audit Survey by Claritas, the median net worth of 45 to 54 year olds is greater than twice that of 35 to 44 year olds (Table C). The median net worth for 55 to 64 year olds is nearly four times greater than that of 35 to 44 year olds. The improved financial position of the 45 to 59 year old group suggests two benefits: a greater ability to invest capital in BAM and a more stable financial base to endure challenges in operating a BAM company.

Due to their experience, positions and access to resources, the 45 to 59 year old group is the most prepared to create impact in the world through Business as Mission. This group is the key to executing Business as Mission and leading the movement as it faces new challenges.
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Did you enjoy this? Click here to purchase the full survey report. Enjoy instant access to the full survey report, including more in-depth analysis, charts, graphs and figures. Only $14.99. Purchase your copy today!

The following is an excerpt from the BAM Survey 2007 Report, an in-depth assessment of the state of the Business as Mission movement that I wrote while developing the consulting services division of EC Group International. The report is based on survey responses from 497 people in 38 countries.

Though based on data collected in 2007, many of the insights contained in this report are valuable in understanding the state of the Business as Mission movement at the beginning of 2010. That is why over the course of the next several weeks I will be posting excerpts from the report on this blog. Additionally, you can purchase an electronic copy of the BAM Survey 2007 Report for $14.99.

Whether you are a BAM practitioner, a church or missions organization that supports Business as Mission, or an individual who is curious what Business as Mission is… this report will provide you with a comprehensive view of the global Business as Mission movement as well as an in depth analysis of many of the issues and trends that are shaping the future of BAM.

Introduction: Defining the Business as Mission Movement

In recent years the Business as Mission (BAM) movement has been mired by debate over the central principles of this special expression of ministry and missions that is occurring in the global marketplace. As individuals with traditional business or missions/ministry backgrounds approached Business as Mission, points of contention arose from the efforts to integrate the alternate worldview. Primary among these were issues with the implied/intrinsic inferiority of secular (or “lay”) vocations and with the sanctity of profit. Efforts to resolve these conflicts have been hindered by immature language and misconceptions among each group about the other. Feeling rejected for believing in the transformative power of business and facing difficulty in gaining acceptance, those who embraced Business as Mission disengaged from the church and proceeded in building their businesses.

During this period, the concept of Business as Mission was shaped by the relatively few kingdom companies in operation and was subject to much debate. Due to the broad scope of what it means to be a business and to be a mission, even within the growing BAM movement it was difficult to identify generally accepted interpretations of key issues and elements. This has been complicated by the tendency within the movement to personalize the definition of Business as Mission, manipulating it to encompass the particulars of one’s situation, to account for personal worldviews and goals, and to support personal agendas. Efforts to organize and address the subtle nuances and layered complexities created by the integrating business and missions have had limited success.

As a result, BAM practitioners have been operating without a generally accepted framework for describing what many feel is their calling in life, further isolating them from their communities and limiting their ability to get support on many of the challenges they faced. In 2004, the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization hosted the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization: Business as Mission Issue Group, which produced the Lausanne Occasional Paper No. 59 (PDF). This paper for the first time defined the Business as Mission movement’s identity by clarifying many of its terms and addressing what Ken Eldred refers to as “significant barriers to the idea of Kingdom business being a viable missions tool.”^[1] One of the outcomes of the Lausanne conference was that Business as Mission was affirmed as a major effort of the evangelical church.

Since that time, Business as Mission has increased in popularity, particularly among traditional missionaries who recognize its potential for achieving their various goals. These events have helped to raise the level of awareness of BAM, especially within the church. As more and more people join the growing Business as Mission movement a number of things are beginning to occur:

Business as Mission operators are having their calling validated – affirming their beliefs and recognizing the challenges they still face in overcoming barriers.

Missions organizations are integrating Business as Mission into their strategies and operations – testing the compatibility of key elements of the business and missions worldviews and (in some cases) developing alternate approaches for BAM operation and support.

The roles the church will play in the BAM movement are being established - beginning to address the church’s own barriers and determining how it can identify and offer what the movement needs.

Support networks are forming – Business as Mission courses is being offered; capital is being raised for BAM investment; BAM “industry groups” are forming; the number of BAM publications is increasing.

The Business as Mission movement is entering a growth stage that, like any maturing industry, is marked by economies of scale, increased awareness, and new participants emerging. Given that the history of conflict that has shaped Business as Mission, it is important to study these changing dynamics in order to identify new challenges facing the movement.

For this reason, we set out to develop the first ever Business as Mission Survey with the goal of identifying how the BAM movement has addressed a number of its historic challenges as well as uncovering new ones that merit further research. The survey was sent to over 10,000 individuals in over 40 countries and received responses from 497 people in 38 countries (Table A). The survey was designed to be preliminary research across Business as Mission broadly and was not intended to be representative of all issues, components, geographies, or interest groups. We believe that survey data are suggestive of developments and trends in the Business as Mission movement and will serve as the basis for further research.

The practitioners, educators, and supporters of Business as Mission, as reflected in this survey, are coalescing in their understanding/views of what Business as Mission is. Light is being shed on previously divisive issues and the movement faces a tremendous opportunity to overcome many of the challenges and limitations of the past. But in order to capitalize on this potential, BAM practitioners and the church must put aside their differences, seek to understand each other, and work together leveraging the strengths and experience of each.

We have not had much traction in finding groups looking to set more standards that they would then have to adopt/invest effort to measure up to.  It is a particularly challenging time for mission organizations trying to do as much as they can, as well as they can with shrinking resources.

The current period of declined giving and constrained resources has taken a toll on the strategic outlook of ministry leaders. The current conditions seem to be overwhelming some organizations and as a result they are content just doing what it takes to get by. According to another leader in a missions organization:

Our organization is just trying to get something semi-useful up on the web.  We do not have the expertise, finance, or skills to do it in a highly professional fashion.

I by no means think that these or other missions leaders are giving up. I know that commitment and sacrifice that these men and women make in their lives. It is amazing the level of dedication that you will find in all levels of missions organizations and it is an honor to get to know and work with them.

I'm doing the best I can.

What do you think? Is excellence online somehow related to the amount of resources at your disposal? Or can an organization be excellent even in this period of budget cuts? And if so, how do we convince mission leaders who are just trying to get by that there is more? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

And I invite you to join with us as we explore these issues in greater detail. Visit us at the State of Ministry Online website to learn more about the Online Kingdom Excellence project and to explore ways that you can be involved.

• 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.

3. Perceived benefits of Business as Mission

Missions organization generally cite the following benefits that they believe Business as Mission will create for their organization (ranked by frequency of identification):

1. Creative Access
2. Job Creation
3. Influence/Witness
4. Funding/Revenue Generation
5. Developing Organizational Capabilities
6. Enhanced Recruiting

I will dive deeper into each of those in future posts. Generally, the perceived benefits created by Business as Mission fall in one of two categories: those that create advantage for furthering strategic objectives (job creation, influence/witness, developing organizational capabilities) or those that specifically address challenges facing the organization (creative access, funding/revenue generation, enhanced recruiting).

Here’s what field-level leadership from around the world has to say about the benefits of BAM:

“It takes us into arenas where our traditional missionaries would not venture. Business leaders have increasing clout here, and they are also aggressively pursuing opportunities in the opening markets all across the 10-40 Window. Probably Business and Education give the best opening for what we would like to see in terms of placing people in Creative Access countries.”

“I see several benefits. First, it provides a natural platform from which to interact with people. As a missionary in France I frequently was viewed as clergy and ‘I had to say those spiritual things’. But as people got to know me as an engineer, they were much more open to dialogue on spiritual things. Secondly, I do see that funding missions will be a growing issue worldwide and in the US as well. So BAM provides a natural partial solution to that as well. Also, I see BAM as addressing one of the spiritual qualifications listed by Paul to Timothy – that of having experience that is recognized by the world. In today’s information-overload world, people are no longer validated by a title (like missionary or pastor) but by their contribution to the local society. I see BAM as a validating tool for the Gospel.”

Recommendation:

As your organization thinks about what makes BAM an attractive Kingdom strategy, you need to be able to differentiate between:

• BAM as a complement to existing strategy, furthering the impact of current efforts;
• BAM as a series of steps for fixing existing problems.

This distinction is important because integrating business into a traditional missions environment is complex and requires new skills, knowledge, and capabilities to execute. When individuals or organizations are driven by the belief that business will alleviate many of the current challenges inhibiting missions efforts it is possible to underestimate the effort required. This will create additional risk to your organization or to your field personnel which can ultimately lead to failure of the business effort and/or cause unnecessary damage.

Conclusion:

Though some would argue that adopting Business as Mission requires too great of a paradigm shift for traditional missions effort, I believe that in light of these factors I’ve discussed here Business as Mission is a good strategy for missions organizations to pursue. This is why Unconventional Method is committed to helping missions and ministry organizations understand and embrace BAM strategies.

Many of the factors that are eroding the effectiveness of traditional missionary activities are creating greater opportunities for businesses. Taking advantage of these opportunities and integrating business into your organization will also create side benefits that may address many of the other challenges facing your organization.

However, my experience has shown that organizational motivations that lead to a desire to integrate Business as Mission as a strategy contribute more to the success of a BAM initiative than almost any other factor. It is critical for any missions organization considering Business as Mission that key leadership, especially the executive sponsor and champion of your BAM efforts, make sure that it will contribute to your organization’s larger ministry goals first, before focusing on BAM’s unique benefits (job creation, increase influence, development of capabilities) or how it can mitigate some of the challenges facing the organization (access to closed countries, funding, recruiting).

Below are some key questions that will help you to understand the motivations that are leading your organization to consider Business as Mission as a strategy:

Response to trends

• What major trends are affecting your organization? How is your organization being affected?
• How do these trends affect the business environment in the areas that you operate?
• Do you monitor changes in global trends? How would changes to the current trends impact a Business as Mission strategy?
• What additional trends will you need to be aware of if you integrate business into your organization?

Challenges facing the organization

• Does your leadership team agree on what are the top challenges facing the organization?
• What are the root causes of these challenges?
• How are you monitoring/measuring the impact of these challenges?
• In what other ways are you addressing these issues?
• Do you understand how Business as Mission can address these challenges?

Unique benefits of BAM

• Which benefits of BAM are most important to your organization? At the leadership level? At the field level?
• What could limit the potential of BAM?
• What needs to be in place in order for your organization to capture the BAM benefits?

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
• Security/stability
• Generational change
• Lack of funding for launching projects
• Shifting view of missions field

Lack of strategic focus

One thing that mission organizations from around the world consistently communicated the difficulty they face (particularly in a restricted access countries) in aligning their field missionaries with the overall objectives of the organization. This is primarily attributed to the entrepreneurial nature of the missionaries and staff that are recruited. It seems that the missionaries that are being attracted to the full-time, foreign field these days are typically the adventuresome, self-driven types. No surprise there. However, given the complexity of the changing environments their working in, the difficulty in coordinating global activities across multiple countries and cultures, and the reduction of central resources to bear the cost of fund command and control mechanisms (policies and procedures), it is no wonder that field director-level resources are having a hard time balancing between the requirements of HQ and the ideas and energy of their teams. More often than not, HQ will lose.

Here are some quotes from my conversations with field leaders:

“An internal challenge that comes to mind would be honing the individual desires of our missionaries so that they are more and more strategic, more and more aligned with our vision and strategy.”

“Our area’s top goal? I’m not sure that I could give a top goal for each of our fields, much less top goals for the entire area. We have a diverse set of missionaries, cooperating at various levels and to various degrees.”

Key Insight:
It is likely that Business as Mission will exacerbate this challenge by (1) creating additional areas of activity which (in the absence of a systematic process for creating alignment across all levels of the organization) could further distract field-level personnel; and (2) attracting more entrepreneurial types who’s ambitions and areas of interest are difficult to channel.

Recommendation:
For Business as Mission to be successfully integrated within a missions organization, it must first be shown to be in alignment with the organization’s existing strategy. Additionally, all BAM initiatives must be designed intentionally with clearly defined boundaries and that will ensure that the business resources remained focused on the established goals.

Security/stability

Another challenge facing missions organizations is the hostile and dynamic environments of some of the restricted-access countries in which they operate in. The challenges range from threats to personal safety, to complexity navigating government processes, to difficulty obtaining visas.

“Externally, the environment here changes monthly, no weekly, sometimes daily. Getting a business license legally for instance, you cannot just lay out the procedure for people to follow. It all depends on recent regulations and how the district you want to work in is applying those regulations. And even how the individual you deal with this week wants to implement them… that person may not be there next time you go in. Unlike the ‘Bureaucratic Raj’ in India, we have red tape galore, but you’re never quite sure if you should cut through it, or where the best place is to apply the scissors.”

Key Insight:
Though legitimate business will provide some stability and alleviate some of the challenges highlighted in these categories, it must be understood that business will not fix the root causes of these problems. Business as Mission businesses also face challenges stemming from hostility toward Christianity, government employee inefficiency and greed, and governmental restrictions on foreigners. Experience has shown that the negative influence of these factors can be off-set by the goodwill legitimate business creates through its business activities and their perceived benefit to the community. However, creating and maintaining this requires intentionality toward and investment in business activities.

Recommendation:
Business as Mission will not solve the problems we face regarding security and stability in the field. However, it can make the problems a little better. The key is a business’s goodwill and in order to build that, your organization must be clear in its intentions regarding businesses (regardless of how you relate to the business – directly or indirectly). Invest the time and energy into establishing high standards that will help prevent abuse of business as a means of gaining access.

Generational change

A lot of organization are struggling to understand how post-modern Christians and millennials fit within their organization. One thing is certain, the power of these individuals stems from the fact that they don’t need a centralized system to be effective.

Key Insight:
The concept of Business as Mission is attractive to younger generations that appreciate what they perceive as a progressive approach to Christian missional strategy. Additionally, these individuals desire to engage their faith within different elements of culture, including business. To that end, Business as Mission can create a powerful draw for recruiting younger Christians to your organization. However, a challenge facing the Business as Mission movement is that in general, younger individuals have limited business experience, limited financial resources, and smaller support networks and are thus constrained in their individual effectiveness in creating and running businesses.

Recommendations:
The Business as Mission movement is facing a catch-22: it is getting a lot of interest from younger Christians who want to live out their faith in the marketplace; however, there are not very many positions available in BAM companies that are suitable for younger people. Incorporating Business as Mission is a good way for a missions organization to attract younger Christians. However, it should not be assumed that they will be well suited for starting Kingdom businesses. There a tremendous opportunity for missions organizations who are able to either provide or connect them with employment opportunities overseas.

Lack of funding for launching projects

Western giving levels are declining, especially in today’s economic climate. Missions organization are limited in their ability to fund its activities using donor dollars. Additionally, business projects often have higher funding requirements due to start-up, capital costs.

Key Insight:
One of the reasons Business as Mission is gaining popularity is because it is a means for self-funding missions efforts. However, it is important to recognize some limitations on businesses in terms of their ability to generate extra funding:

• Profitability is not a given. A number of factors influence the profitability of a company.
• Ownership and control influence how business profits are used (e.g. funding of extracurricular missions activities will compete with internal ministry activities, purchasing supplies, compensating investors, and re-investing in growth).
• Extraneous activities increase the cost burden of operating the company and limit the overall profitability. Mandatory conditions- (e.g. language training) and legacy ministry requirements may impede profitability.

Recommendation:
Business as Mission operations have a great potential for creating additional profit which can be used to supplement your organizations’ financial needs. It is critical that you identify and clearly define funding expectations with any partner businesses and establish governance and control mechanisms that create the necessary and appropriate levels of influence over how profits are used. Additionally, you will want to show how these requirements align with the strategic objectives and creates benefit for the business in order to avoid limiting the potential of the business to earn profit.

Shifting view of missions field

As views of Christian missionary work changes (long-term focus to short-term, shifting focus from evangelism to relief, increased emphasis on national workers), new missionary model are needed to adapt.

Key Insight:
In many ways, the Business as Mission movement has evolved as a result of these shifting views. To that end, educating yourself about Business as Mission will help your organization to adapt. However, the Business as Mission movement has not clarified fully where it lies within the different spectrums of opinions. For example, in the shift of focus toward relief, Business as Mission is often identified with micro-development and micro-enterprise; however, there are important differences between each strategy.

Recommendation:
I recommend that all organizations take a good look at these shifts in order to understand where the organization stands on each spectrum. It is also important to limit the arenas in which you operate to areas that clearly aligns with your organization’s identity. This must be clear before a Business as Mission strategy is further developed to avoid potential conflicts that may arise due to misaligned expectations.

Overall Recommendation

It is important for any organization that is considering Business as Mission to identify and capture all of the challenges facing the organization and rank them based on some established criteria (e.g. relevance to overall strategic goals, cost to organization, etc.). This gives a framework for universal understanding of what the organization is up against. For there you should explore how BAM will either address, run in parallel, or compound these challenges and estimate the magnitude of impact (either positive, negative, or neutral) on each challenge.

This understanding will allow your organization to:

• Focus investment in areas where BAM has a positive impact;
• Create linkages for transforming areas of neutral impact into positive impact;
• Develop processes to ensure that BAM does not become a liability in areas of negative impact.

I will conclude this series in part 3 where I will discuss how mission organizations believe BAM will benefit their organization.