Business as Mission: A Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice

by C. Neal Johnson, C. Neal Johnson

Business as mission (BAM) is a mission strategy whose time has come. As global economics become increasingly interconnected, Christian business people and entrepreneurs have unanticipated opportunities to build kingdom-strategic business ventures. But Christian companies and business leaders do not automatically accomplish missional purposes. BAM requires mastery of both the world of business and the world of missions, merging and contextualizing both into something significantly different than either alone. C. Neal Johnson offers the first comprehensive guide to business as mission for practitioners. He provides conceptual foundations for understanding BAM's unique place in global mission and prerequisites for engaging in it. Then he offers practical resources for how to do BAM, including strategic planning and step-by-step operational implementation. Drawing on a wide variety of BAM models, Johnson works through details of both mission and business realities, with an eye to such issues as management, sustainability and accountability. Business as mission is a movement with enormous potential. This book breaks new ground in how faith and work intersect and are lived out in crosscultural contexts, where job creation and community transformation go hand in hand. Come, participate in what may well be one of the most strategic mission paradigms of the 21st century.

Genres: Business, Christian

528 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2009

Reviews

[Samuel Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book introduces the ideas and implications of doing Business as a form of Missions. This book serves as an introduction and as a manual of how you could start a business to spread the gospel in other countries. I think it is a great introduction though at times it is repetitive and boring because it touches on aspects that at least to me seem common sense. I really enjoyed the insights he provided having done this as a living, and the discussion question I got to discuss with other students, there are many important questions to consider that he brought to the table and would have not occurred to me.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a former career international worker now transitioning over to tent-making and prayerfully considering BAM opportunities, I found this book to be helpful as I forced myself to stick with it, but a painfully plodding read overall.

The length of the book could easily have been cut to half to 2/3 of its length. In the early part of the book, the author needlessly repeats himself without adding much to the reader's overall understanding of Business-As-Mission or missiology. And he gets a little too bogged down for my taste later on in the details.

My favorite parts of the book came in the closing chapters when the author shares more from personal experience. More case studies or other practical examples would have been helpful.

In closing, in spite of my lukewarm review, I should also say that, using my Kindle Touch, I made copious highlights of various remarks scattered throughout the book which will provide food for thought and reflection in the future. So this "Comprehensive Guide" does have its strengths. Nevertheless, I would encourage the reader to look for another book as a possible better introduction, particularly if one is not coming from a business background.