November 1, 2021
Opening Closed Doors
Tools and Strategies for Sharing the Gospel in Restricted Nations
Articles for tag: Business As Mission
October 24, 2020
Job 1 Is Still Job 1
A global pandemic brought many changes to how we carry out our international ministry, but it hasn’t changed our mission. By Jeff Metzger The international mission sending agency I lead had lots of crisis plans. We prepared for many emergencies. We had a plan for hurricanes. We had a plan for kidnappings and political unrest. We had a plan for emergency evacuation. We had a plan for sudden illness or death. But we didn’t have a plan for a global pandemic or its ongoing consequences. Now we do! Our plan continues to grow and evolve. By God’s grace, we are
January 29, 2019
How Is ICOM Making a Lasting Impact on the Church?
By Emily Drayne Youth conferences, weeks of camp, training conferences for adults, and mission trips are all mountaintop experiences. Participants come home refreshed, revitalized, and more passionate about the things they spent time focusing on. But life inevitably slows down, the daily humdrum returns, and the fire inside begins to flicker. There is at least one Great Commission-focused event, however, from which there seems to be no post-event letdown: the International Conference On Missions. What makes ICOM different? I’m convinced it’s the on-fire vibe that permeates the conference. People attend ICOM to do something: win the world for Christ, find
October 30, 2018
Transforming Communities through Business as Mission
By Fenton Lewis More than 20 years ago, I found myself wrestling with a desire to serve God beyond teaching Sunday school or giving to the church. The advice I received—as have many others—was to quit my job, go to seminary, and become a pastor. But I questioned that. God had given me a unique combination of education, work experience, and spiritual gifting, and I believed he had done that for a reason. I thought my unique skill-set could be used to help fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. So, I began an adventure that took me around
June 13, 2018
Generations in Missions: Don’t Count Me Out!
By Emily Drayne An older missionary might say, “They’ll never understand how we did it.” A younger missionary might complain, “They’re so old school.” It’s a generational issue that’s probably been around forever. Leaders err, however, when they count out those from other generations simply because of age, style of doing the job, or lack of “experience.” In missions and in ministry, it seems, there are two ways to do the job. There’s the way it’s been done for years, and then there’s the way new leaders with new ideas are doing it. So how can we carry out our
November 16, 2015
Opening Doors: Sharing the Gospel in Closed Countries
By Name Withheld Unreached need not mean unreachable, even in countries where Christian evangelism is forbidden. Sousida goes to sleep afraid every night. She never knows what the spirits are going to do to her or her family. She thinks she”s done enough to appease them, but she has no way of knowing. She”s never heard of Jesus. In fact, no one she knows has ever met a Christian or seen a Bible. They have no idea they could experience freedom. Generations of her people have lived and died in total darkness. Further complicating her hopelessness, Sousida”s country is openly
May 8, 2015
Training, Empowering Workers in India
By Jennifer Johnson When Greg Matney talked with Ajai Lall about the biggest ministry needs at Central India Christian Mission, Lall, director and CEO of CICM, mentioned his desire for their newly trained church planters and pastors to be more financially independent. The idea struck a chord with Greg, who had previously worked with Business as Mission initiatives, and his wife Abhineeta (Ajai”s daughter), who had gone to law school in India. In 2011 they held an advocacy and empowerment conference for 500 local leaders, and in 2012 they began offering a variety of vocational training opportunities to help pastors
December 29, 2014
Church/Christian College Joint Ventures
By Jennifer Johnson Although this NACC workshop was designed to find new ways for churches and colleges to work together, some are already leading the way with innovative programs and creative solutions. “¢ Hope International University, Fullerton, California, created its School of Advanced Leadership Training, or SALT, program several years ago after its president, Dr. John Derry, observed the increasing number of churches creating their own leadership training programs. Derry and his team created a flexible curriculum to offer practical and biblical material to church members and staff at a range of commitment levels. “Participants may audit the courses for
November 4, 2012
Future Trends in Missions
By Mike Sweeney As we look to the future of missions, we need to think in broad categories about the current trends that appear to have a future trajectory. Many strategies will rise and fall with people”s interests, technological changes, crises, and other transient issues. But, stepping back and observing the world of missions as a whole, we can see fairly clearly that there are a few major trends that will continue to push the church in new directions as we live out the Great Commission around the world. Just as recognition of the 10/40 Window made an impact on
February 21, 2012
Sending, Serving, Reaching: New Missions Systems International
By Jennifer Taylor New Missions Systems International (Founded 1989) 2701 Cleveland Ave., Suite 7, Fort Myers, FL 33901 www.nmsi.org Laura Clancy, President/CEO Every word of NMSI”s name is intentional: the organization looks for new ways to help people fulfill the missions they feel called to, while using systematic approaches to planning and implementation and maintaining an international focus across the ministry. “Our niche is supporting missionaries to fulfill their calling,” says President Laura Clancy. “We look for ways to support people who can identify and articulate their call, and we focus on opportunities where we can add unique value. This
June 16, 2011
Our Finest Hour, Our Ongoing Challenge
By LeRoy Lawson My subject today is missions. Please don”t yawn. Sometimes preachers are made to feel a little defensive when promoting this essential part of a church”s life. Announce a “missions emphasis weekend” and watch the attendance plummet. Announce that giving has been falling behind and expenses have to be cut and you can count on a chorus of calls to slash missions giving. It”s a hard sell””this missions enterprise. That”s why I bring the subject up. Please don”t be cynical, either. You might object that I think this matter is so important only because I work for a
November 18, 2010
These Seniors Served Overseas
By Doug Priest A few years ago men from Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton, California, made a two-week trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to work with Joni and Nangsar Morse at their rural training center called Eden Center. People from near and far go there for periodic training and to work on its rice farm. A dormitory was needed where people could stay when they came to Thailand from Burma, Tibet, and China, so the Men on a Mission group, as they were called, worked with the Morses to determine the materials needed for such a project. The items were
July 18, 2010
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Who Will Help the Poor Help Themselves?
By LeRoy Lawson The Poor Will be Glad: Joining the Revolution to Lift the World Out of Poverty Peter Greer and Phil Smith Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009 The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries that Defined America Jeffrey Rosen New York: Times Books, 2006 On the Wealth of the Nations P.J. O”Rourke New York: Atlantic Monthly, 2007 Sunday”s sermon was a good one, but on the way home we talked less about what the preacher said than what the preacher showed. His PowerPoint pictured the church”s mission dollars at work in Uganda, among the poorest of the poor: images of the
March 24, 2010
Restoration Revolution: Goals to Challenge All of Us
By Mark A. Taylor “What”s not to like when you see the values expressed in Restoration Revolution?” Ben Cachiaras asked the rhetorical question in a February presentation to Cincinnati ministers. Most rhetorical questions go unanswered, but this one deserves a response. My reaction is twofold. First: All of us can agree with the lofty visions cast by those promoting Restoration Revolution, a 10-year project that kicks off at this year”s National Missionary Convention in Lexington, Kentucky, November 18-21. The goals are contained in an easily remembered acrostic: Almighty is an invitation to prayer. Restoration Revolution challenges Christian churches around the world to
November 29, 2009
Fifty Years of Missiology: 1960″“2010
 by Doug Priest While missions began in biblical times, the academic discipline of missiology goes back only to the early 1800s. The definition of missiology we learned in college in the 1970s was, “the scientific study of missions.” I recall my missionary father cringing upon hearing this definition, fearing that others would assume the spiritual component in mission was being left out. In seminary I learned a more technical definition: “The academic discipline or science which researches, records, and applies data relating to the biblical origin, the history, the anthropological principles and techniques and the theological basis of Christian
August 19, 2007
Planting Good Seed
By Kerby Rodgers Kingdom businesses are true businesses that also advance the kingdom of God. In the same way that a little salt is used to season an entire pot, a few key individuals strategically placed can have a huge impact on society. These key people are nationals who love God, can run a business, and will evangelize others in places that need a business and do not have a Christian witness. There is no division between the spiritual and physical part of our Christian-based business. We follow the biblical example of Ezra and Nehemiah, who simultaneously reestablished Jerusalem as
August 19, 2007
Kingdom Entrepreneurs: Business as Mission
By Doug Priest In the Majority World, formerly called the Third World, one comes into contact with abject poverty, particularly in urban areas. In many such places, income is less than $2 a day. Youth roam the streets as their parents have succumbed to HIV/AIDS. Unemployment is rampant. There is sewage, toxic waste, hunger, despair, and a lack of hope. How can the good news be communicated in the midst of such squalor? Can anything be done? As the church, do we have a role? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” Rich, an elder serving with a church in Colorado
August 19, 2007
Sharing the Gospel on Treadmills and Spin Bikes
By Janet Smith John and James are missionaries with Christian Missionary Fellowship in a large, bustling city in Asia. When they begin their day, however, they don”t go to a church building, a medical clinic, or a school. They go to a first-class fitness facility frequented daily by hundreds of upper-middle-class nationals. None of them know that John and James are marketplace ministers, but all of them know they are Christians. CMF”s Fitness & Learning Center is an innovative approach to sharing the gospel using the business as mission model, a first-century idea taking on new life as an important
May 28, 2006
Called to Business
Business As Mission (BAM) is a holistic approach that combines gospel witness with job creation and community development. Learn what BAM is, what it isn’t, and how business leaders can serve both overseas and at home.
