Understanding the Models: Business as Missions vs. Business for Missions
In recent years, the intersection of business and mission has gained traction, giving rise to various approaches aimed at leveraging entrepreneurial endeavours for social and spiritual impact. Among these approaches, one particular model sounds very close to Business as Mission (BAM): Business for Missions (B4M).
While these two models share a common goal of integrating business and mission, each approach possesses distinct characteristics and methodologies. To better understand the differences of these two models, we’d encourage you to continue reading.
Business for Missions (B4M)
B4M embodies the idea of using business endeavours as a means to support and fund traditional and emerging mission work. In this model, the primary focus remains on mission with business serving as a tool to facilitate and sustain it. Organizations and individuals engaged in B4M typically have established businesses that generate revenue to support missions, such as church planting, humanitarian aid, or evangelism efforts.
Key characteristics of B4M:
A primary focus on missions: The overarching goal is to advance religious or humanitarian objectives, with the business activities serving to fund these ends.
Revenue generation for missions: Profits generated by the business are primarily directed towards funding mission projects and activities.
Integration with values: While profit generation is important, businesses operating under this paradigm often prioritize values that align missionally, such as ethical practices, community welfare, and spiritual impact.
Business as Mission (BAM)
BAM takes a more holistic approach by viewing business itself as a vehicle for transformation. In BAM, the business is considered an integral part of the mission, with the aim of not only generating profit but also creating positive social, economic, and spiritual uplift. Unlike B4M, where the primary goal is to fund missions, BAM seeks to integrate God’s mission (missio Dei) directly into the business activities and its core.
Key characteristics of BAM:
Integrated mission and business: BAM emphasizes the seamless integration of business and mission, where both aspects are mutually reinforcing and interdependent.
Multiplicative impact: In addition to being profitable and sustainable, BAM endeavours to create social, environmental and spiritual impact through the business itself. This is what is often referred to as the Quadruple Bottom Line and includes things such as job creation, poverty alleviation, community development, being eco-friendly and providing opportunities for individual, family and community spiritual transformation.
Overlying intentional opportunities for spiritual impact: Practitioners of BAM consider the business’ reason for existence, its strategy, operations and the way it leads as ways to demonstrate and share their faith through ethical and redemptive business practices, relationships, and service provided within the business’ stakeholders or spheres of influence (employees, customers, suppliers, professional services and government relationships).
So, while Business for Missions and Business as Mission share a common goal of integrating business and mission, they differ in their approaches, emphases, and target outcomes.
Why We Are BAM Canada
As BAM Canada, we see that there is a very noble and altruistic rationale to B4M— to make profit so that the profit (or a portion of it) can be given away in support of missions projects and the people sent to live and carry out this missional work, either locally or globally. It’s as to say, “This is the work ‘we’ do here (or there), so that ‘they’ can do their work there.”
This, undoubtedly, is a good use of a business’ profit.
Yet, we believe that Business as Mission takes this to another level— BAM practitioners understand that through the business itself, the product or service provided and valued by paying customers, they can be intentional about its Kingdom impact on people and nations.
However, we recognize that there’s an underlying mindset that prevents BAM from being fully embraced by many. This mindset is that operating a business – especially during start-up – is a lot of work and is challenging and so is working in missions or ministry.
There is no doubt that starting, operating and building either a business that is profitable and sustainable and growing or a ministry that is impactful, sustainable and growing requires a lot of hard work. Depending on the orientation of the individual leading the charge, it is possible that working on either business or mission will ultimately win out over the other.
There is just not enough time or energy to work on and in both.
When the mindset is that we need to keep work in the business separate from work in ministry separate, then it really is double the work.
Does this really have to be the way?
Our Challenge to You
What if the work of the business and the work of building God’s Kingdom can be integrated?
The work of business and the work of growing God’s Kingdom do not have to be at odds.
What would it take for you, as a Canadian Christian business leader...
to commit to the intentional integration of our faith and our work?
to partner with God and with his help and the strength of the Holy Spirit?
work to present opportunities for transformation in the lives of employees, customers, suppliers and communities?
to be transformed and align with Biblical principles and Kingdom values?
This is what we, at BAM Canada, are here to help you with!
And none of us are in it alone— there’s a growing number of like-minded people involved in the BAM movement globally to cheer you on as you do the work of holistically integrating your business with mission for Kingdom-transformation.
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