My friend, co-planter, and business partner Jared Looney has been doing some research into Jesus-following in different business modes. He’s identified four “streams” of combining faith and work, each with it’s own emphasis, origin, and culture. I’d be curious which of these terms you identify with the most or have heard most often:
- Business as Mission (BAM). There is a growing movement of missionary types using business to open doors, spread the Gospel, and fuel local movements. In most cases we’ve seen BAM refers to foreign (non-USA) missions and sees business as the best way to promote self-sufficiency while meeting Gospel demands of justice (see BusinessasMission.com and the Business as Mission Network).
- Kingdom Business (aka. Kingdom Enterprise). KB builds on the theme of the Kingdom of God, extending it into the workplace. Sometimes this includes subversive themes: God is using Christians to infiltrate the workplace and take it over for his purposes. Often, KB has a higher emphasis on integrity and morality in the workplace — responding to the idea that workers must live holy lives as ordered by the King. Some people include end-times ideas in under this terminology as part of a vision of God handing over the wealth and power of the world to his people (see Kingdom Business-UK or Living Word’s Kingdom Business Page).
- Marketplace Ministry. In it’s inception, marketplace ministry often referred to evangelistic efforts in the workplace, often in the form of bible studies, prayer groups, seeker events, and personal testimony. It has since evolved to incorporate the ideas that any believer should apply their faith and calling to work as much as they would to any other arena of life to bring glory to God and impact workplaces and culture (see M3 and Releasing Kings). (Used interchangeably in some circles with Kingdom Business.)
- Missional Business. The new kid on the block, this term only exists in the blogosphere at this point. It incorporates many of the ideas of the previous three terms, but seeks after a great holism as does much of the missional-emergent movement. There is generally more identification with local economies, sustainability, cooperation, and socially conscious enterprise (see Kingdom Come or Missional Business Blog).
Very interesting. I had not heard of BAM or of Missional Business.
I am the editor of the Kingdom Business Journal. We fit into the Kingdom Principles and Marketplace Ministry category you spoke of.
Kingdom Business Journal teaches Kingdom principles for success and ministry in the marketplace. We have Christian business leaders who are contributors and we focus on the 6 core principles of business. We have also started a local Christian Business Networking group called KBJ Network.
I would like to know more about these other terms that you discussed and I will look into them more.
Thanks for the information and God bless you.
Lowell Lane
Editor
Kingdom Business Journal
Hi Ben,
DavidTinney.com falls into the Marketplace Ministry/Kingdom Business streams. My work has been in the Eastern Europe for the most part, teaching Kingdom Business principles and encouraging believers to start their own businesses for the past 10 years.
Blessings!
David Tinney