BAM, A New Idea? No, Not Really 
We can sometimes think that initiatives like Business as Mission (BAM) are pretty new and innovative thinking about how to spread the Gospel in the world's Christian movement. However, using business and markets as a conduit for ministry is not at all new. Here are a couple of examples that illustrate the point:
- Paul was a worker in leather and a tentmaker. When we reflect on his letters to the churches, we can see that his day-to-day work in his trade was linked to his church planting strategy.
- Christian monks of the Middle Ages integrated their work and ministry. They cultivated fields, cleared forests, built roads, helped the sick and poor, taught children, and much more, all as a part of reaching out to and ministering to people. Towns would eventually grow around the monasteries and the local society would have a church as its nucleus.
- In the 19th century, missionary groups such as the Moravians used secular occupations in their mission strategies.
- William Carey, the father of protestant mission work and societies, integrated business and other secular occupations into mission outreach.
Steve Rundle, in his article "Restoring the role of Business in Mission," gives three reasons why BAM seems new and unfamiliar to us today.
1. There is a recent and widespread belief that "work" takes time away from "ministry."
2. There is a belief that business can either serve society or focus on making money, but not both.
3. Business and missions have seldom been combined in recent times in many countries due to complex tax issues that it creates
Next time we will continue with comments from Rundle where he illustrates three variations on the BAM theme.
Blessings,
Larry
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