What is Business as Mission (BAM Project)?
Business, done well, is glorifying to God. There is a power in business to create dignity through jobs, to multiply resources through creativity and hard work, to provide for families and communities, to push forward innovation, develop God’s given talents, in short, to do good in society.
Beside the benefits of helping people grow and develop, businesses once big enough can start having a positive impact on environment, social issues, spiritual issues and economic issues in the world today.
There is a growing movement in the global church of people grasping this opportunity and they go by many different labels. One of them is ‘Business as Mission’ – a community of those building God’s kingdom through business, among the most vulnerable, most disadvantaged and most out of reach of the gospel in our neighborhoods and around the world today.
Business as mission is demonstrating what the Kingdom of God is like in the context of business – and as we do so, engaging with the world’s more pressing social, economic, environmental and spiritual issues.
“Business As Mission”
Defining BAM?!
BAM movement is not only known as BAM Project, but there are many different terms used for the same concept, such as: Kingdom Business, Missional Entrepreneurship, Transformational Business, Missional Business or Business for Transformation (B4T), among others.
This is the working definition of business as mission used by BAM Global:
Business as Mission is:
- Profitable and sustainable businesses;
- Intentional about Kingdom of God purpose and impact on people and nations;
- Focused on holistic transformation and the multiple bottom lines of economic, social, environmental and spiritual outcomes;
- Concerned about the world’s poorest and least evangelized peoples.
Business As Mission is not a new idea!
Business as mission is not a new idea! Business and mission have been combined in different ways, at different times throughout Church history. However, the contemporary business as mission movement represents a growing intentionality in the global Church to fully integrate business goals with the call to the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.
It is an answer to the prayer, ‘May Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven’, as people and communities are positively transformed through for-profit business activities. BAM is the intentional integration of business and mission.
Business is a God-given vocation and institution in society, with the potential to bring multiple benefits to people, communities and nations. Business as mission intentionally leverages this intrinsic power of business to address spiritual needs, hand in hand with social, economic and environmental needs.
“Business As Mission”
As mentioned above, business has the potential to generate wealth through a combination of creativity, hard work and risk. A profitable and sustainable business is able to create new jobs, drive new innovations and increase resources for society. Business can provide goods and services that are needed in a community and is established on a wide network of relationships.
Through business we can help people in a positive way by building them up. Donations are great and a big blessing in times of need but for the long run donations do not change anything. It is only a short term solution. Like the proverbs says .. instead of giving a person fish teach them to fish. This creates a long term solution. Where people can contribute to society instead of always being dependent on it. This is where BAM project can change a persons life. Instead of always depending on donations and help, through this BAM project we are creating a place where people get the opportunity to work and in this way contribute to society.
These activities, products and relationships are integral to business and part of the God-given potential of business to transform society and glorify Him. Through business we can intentionally tackle poverty, increase quality of life, bring positive social change and carry with us the message of eternal life.