PC is a 20-year veteran mid-career business man who sold his business and decided to study at a seminary for a few years.  Toward the end of his studies and at IBEC’s recommendation, he spent 9 weeks as a business consultant in Nepal where he consulted with several companies and made many friends from the expat and Nepalese community.

While in Nepal, he was working with a group of five national contractors associated with his media company. They were sitting around sipping tea mid-afternoon talking business developments.  Afterwards they began to share stories with each other.  Out of the blue, one of them said, "Are you a Christian?" "Yes, I am," PC replied and asked “what about you?”

They responded in unison, “We are everything.” 

At their invitation PC then went to the white board of the office and sketched out the story of the Christian faith, explaining why he believed it and was a follower of Jesus. “Wow," they responded, “that is the first time we have heard that.”

PC of course found a Bible for them, and all five guys arranged for one more meeting just before PC headed back to the USA. They met and again PC shared how Christ had changed his life. Right there in PC’s house, all five of them decided to follow Jesus. 

Later, elsewhere in the city, PC was part of a Valentine’s multimedia production which coincided with Valentine’s Day.  The theme was the “Love of God.”  All five of the contractors came to hear the presentation – and they brought their entire staff.  Afterwards they asked how they could learn more and they began to meet with PC.

IBEC works toward an integration of strong profitable businesses with Christian values and principles.  Such meaningful application of faith and work brings transformation of people, communities and entire nations.  It demonstrates love for people (the Great Commandment of Jesus) and brings people to follow Jesus (the Great Commission of Jesus).

Larry W. Sharp,  Director of Training – IBEC Ventures

Many business professionals and church leaders today are hearing of the term “Business as Mission” (BAM). While there are many variances to a perfect definition, I like the expression of J.D. Greear of the Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, NC, “Christians in the marketplace today are able to gain access more easily to strategic, unreached places. Globalization, great advancements in technology and urbanization have given the business community nearly universal access.”

Greear reminds us that God has placed in his church the skills necessary to penetrate the most unreached parts of our world – and those skills are business skills. Business people should focus on a two-fold vision, “whatever you are good at, a) do it well for the Glory of God; b) do it somewhere strategic for the mission of God.”

Mats Tunehag, one of the leaders of the BAM movement suggests that Business as Mission (BAM) is simply “legitimate economic activity (business) by a workplace professional which serves as a vehicle for sharing the love of Christ…” He and the Lausanne committees on BAM insist that BAM activities must be profitable and sustainable, create jobs and local wealth; and produce spiritual capital (disciples of Jesus).

Such a definition would encourage one to think that BAM could, should and does take place in every workplace in the world where God’s people in business are faithfully living like Jesus and looking for ways to bring people to know him. And while to a certain extent that is true, BAM over the past 20 years has tended to think in terms of “developing impoverished” countries and unreached areas where Jesus is relatively unknown.

Three propositions may help to justify and explain the Business as Mission movement:

1. The Sanctity of Work   It is important that we all have clarity on the biblical divine understanding that God is a God of work, and he intends his people to be workers (Genesis 1). We should not feel guilty or feel like second class Christians when we succeed in business; God expects us to drive for excellence, to be ambitious and to do “all for the glory of God”  (I Cor 10:31). While business and work can temp us to sin, work and business are fundamentally good and provide many opportunities to glorify God (See Business for the Glory of God, W. Grudem).
2. The Christian at Work   This proposition suggests that Christians should engage in work like anyone else but live differently from everyone else. Christians work ethically, view their customers differently, love and serve others, seek justice and use their work to serve their communities. In so doing believers become a testimony and draw others to become followers of our Savior.
3. Work and the Kingdom of God  The book of Matthew suggests that the kingdom of God is “not yet” (heaven) but also “here and now.” As we create jobs and wealth, we are advancing the kingdom of God which essentially is obedience to the Second Commandment (i.e.to love our neighbors). The Great Commission enjoins us to make disciples of “all peoples.” So the Christian businesses that we develop here in our home neighborhoods represent a transferrable model. We can participate in business startups, franchises, or multinational business efforts abroad in the developing world and all the while live like Jesus. That is Business as Mission.

Here is a quote from a recent memo from a friend who is a kingdom business entrepreneur in an Asian country: “Upon entering a local office where local authorities facilitate some aspects of our company, I saw my national friend who manages the office. Amidst the hubbub we greeted one another and caught up on personal news. Suddenly my friend asked, “Do you have a divine connection? I’m sensing a positive energy emanating from you and I don’t know what it is.”  Stunned, I replied, “ Well as a matter of fact, I do have a divine connection to Jesus!” I then went on to explain who Jesus is and His presence in my life. He listened intently. Something is happening in my friend’s heart and mind…something we believe that God is doing.”

So Business as Mission is not “business as normal.” Neither is it “missions as normal.” It is living out the commands of Jesus in the workplace: to love our neighbor and make disciples so individuals and communities are transformed – spiritually, economically and socially – for the greater glory of God and the establishment of his church.

Larry W. Sharp,  Director of Training – IBEC Ventures

Many of us learn best through the narrative.  Stories demonstrate what we mean by "real business" and "real mission".  IBEC consultants helped this business in Asia to grow and develop.

An Architect and the Making of Disciples

Andrew is an architect. He loves boats and the water, and he owns a boat-building business in Asia, where he lives. Andrew also loves Jesus and wants more people in his country to follow Him.

Andrew is a legitimate business owner in this country.  Unlike most employers in the country, he is honest, fair, caring and supportive of employees, clients, vendors, tax authorities, accountants and neighbors. He can live out his faith in the workplace and use his profession to impact his staff of about 30 employees. In short, Andrew is “Jesus” to those who have never heard the good news.

When Andrew bought the business, there was not one employee who loved and followed Jesus. Recently I received this email from Andrew:

“A 56-year-old man just decided to follow Jesus and was baptized yesterday! He has a wife and two 20-something boys. He is a changed man and even his wife can see it. Please pray for him and his family, as I understand his wife will seek approval from her family to follow his ‘new faith’ in Jesus.”

Now Andrew has disciples on both sides of the cross — many following from afar and one following more closely. Andrew continues to run his business for profit, for creating jobs, and for making followers of Jesus.