Advanced Team Concepts Arrow Services Arrow Kingdom Work Arrow Business as Missions -- blog
Business as Missions -- blog
Other BAM start up issues
10/28/2009 8:54:24 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment

planning

Welcome back!

Last time we talked about questions important to considering what type of business might be appropriate for a BAM in your area or ministry.
Once you have identified some candidates, more questions become important.
 
  • What is the competition in the community for the product and/or service you are considering?
  • What might the competitive reaction be to your business?
 
It is certainly important to have full understanding of applicable regulations for businesses in the location:
  • Tax codes
  • Forms of companies allowed (e.g. corporation, sole proprietorship, partnerships, etc.)
  • Differences between how “for profit” and “non-profit” businesses must be organized/managed etc. 
These will vary from country to country, and possibly within a given country.
 
In addition to more or less standard opportunity analysis, prayer is a particularly important component in this studied approach to discovering BAM possibilities. 
 
How will you create the business and manage it for His purposes? This requires prayerful planning.
 
Next time we will look at some actual examples.
Next posting is planned for Sunday, November 1, 2009.
 
Many thanks,

Larry

What businesses are possible candidates?
10/26/2009 9:58:45 AM Link 1 comment | Add comment

planning

A BAM project is about starting a business. The purposes have Kingdom reach, yet we must still understand that it must be setup for success as a business. We need to examine what type of business might be successful in the community. Several questions are critical to the analysis. 

  • What potential markets exist in the community?
  • Are there critical needs within the community that are not being met, and which of those are people willing to pay for?
  • Are there large business/organizations that use materials and/or services for which they are currently dissatisfied or are having difficulty procuring them locally?

Questions regarding resources are important, too.

  • What talent and experience exists within the ministry team and/or church that can be applied to a BAM? 
    • From where might important talent be obtained? 
    • Does the talent God has provided match the potential business opportunities in the community?
  • What resources will be needed to start and continue to run the different business options that come into view?
  • What provisions are available?
  • What can be achieved through donations of time and money?
  • What investment will be required?
 As you can see, this step in the process involves finding and checking the market viability in the community, combined with assessing the gifts and provisions that the Lord has made possible for the project.
 
Next time we will explore more start up issues.
Next posting is planned for Thursday, October 29, 2009.
 
Many thanks,

Larry

Purposes for BAM
10/23/2009 11:08:38 AM Link 1 comment | Add comment

planning, purposes

Posting 2 , October 23, 2009 –  Welcome back

Business as Mission is about creating a profitable business with a Kingdom of God purpose, perspective and impact. Actually, the purpose is plural – purposes. It can include a range of items. Here are a few:
 
Penetrate the community with the Gospel – businesses touch a lot of people in a community. This can include employees, families of employees, vendors, suppliers, customers, and more. Each of these hold potential for showing and sharing the love of Christ.
 
Serve the people in the community – all communities have people with needs. This can range from basics such as food and water, to higher level concerns such as education and healthcare. These represent an almost infinite range of business service possibilities.
 
Generate funds for the ministry – God’s work requires resources. A successful business run as a mission can generate the money that fuels the ministry, from materials to church buildings and more. Financial return from the BAM can support growth of the church and ministry in the community.
 
Provide a means and place of Christian discipleship – a Christian workplace is a wonderful place to help people grow in their lives as Christians. Living out Christian values while working and serving the community is a wonderful way to increase our understanding of God’s Word and His Will.
 
Provide meaningful work in a Christian environment – a basic need in many communities is availability of jobs. A BAM, as with any other successful business, has the potential to create good work opportunities in the community.
 
Next time we will explore a sampling of issues important for evaluating businesses that might be candidates for a BAM.
Next posting is planned for Monday, October 26, 2009.
 
Many thanks for your interest,
Larry
Introduction to Business as Mission
10/14/2009 4:55:31 PM Link 5 comments | Add comment

purposes

Welcome to this new blog by Larry Meeker.

The term Business as Mission(BAM) is relatively new, but the concept and various applications are not. There are many historical examples of Christians doing business in such a way that people and societies have been transformed and God glorified.

Why BAM now? What are Larry Meeker’s and ATC’s interests in this area of ministry?
 
Our team’s travels have been extensive in 2009, including some dozen countries. Most recently in October, we returned from almost three weeks of mission work in Ecuador and Colombia.
Several observations are keen in our minds at this moment.
·         The harvest is ripe – in two weeks of medical campaign, 777 came to accept the Lord
·         Reaching people within communities and rural areas on a normal day-to-day basis has challenging obstacles
·         Resources supporting on-going ministry in remote communities can be a difficulty (I will comment more on this in future logs.)
 
A Definition of Business as Mission
Business as Mission (BAM) is about real, viable, sustainable and profitable businesses; with a Kingdom of God purpose, perspective and impact; leading to transformation of people and societies spiritually, economically and socially – to the greater glory of God.
 
BAM is real business, not Christian charity in a business disguise.   It is business with Kingdom of God purposes and perspective.
 
In following postings we will examine pieces of BAM and examples. Next time – potential purposes…
Categories
Archives
  

© Copyright 2017 • All rights reserved • Advanced Team Concepts
Levelfield Website Designs