Business is a powerful response to mandates that God gives his people in the Bible. God calls his people to join his "missio dei"—God's mission to the world—to respond to the pressing spiritual, physical, economic and social needs of people and communities. We can do that effectively through business.
When we intentionally respond to God’s missional mandates through business, this is "business as mission"! We emphasize that Business As Mission (BAM) is a response to three particular biblical mandates:
- The Culture Mandate—the power of business to "tend the garden" and "steward creation" (Genesis 1 and 2)
- The Great Commandment—the power of business to "love God" and "love our neighbor" (Matthew 22)
- The Great Commission—the power of business to "make disciples" and "proclaim the gospel in all the world" (Mark 16, Matthew 28, Luke 24, Acts 1:8)
These are the foundational mandates for BAM, although there are many other commands and precepts we can apply in the context of business. For example, we are called to be justice-bringers, light-bearers, peacemakers, honest-dealers, servant leaders, enemy-lovers, mercy-showers—and many more. All of these can be lived out in the context of business, as Jesus-followers in the marketplace.
However, the three mandates above give us a clear framework to build BAM on solid biblical foundations.
Tending the garden: the cultural mandate
God gives humans the task to steward the world’s resources and care for creation.
In the creation story in Genesis, God gives humans the task to steward the world’s resources and care for creation. We often call this the cultural mandate or creation mandate.
Business is a powerful way to "tend the garden" in this way because it takes natural resources, along with creativity and work, and combines them to multiply resources and drive innovation. Business is a God-ordained institution, with a God-given role in society that stretches right back to Genesis. By God’s design, business should bring dignity to people and flourishing to communities.
Deuteronomy 8 confirms that it is God who gives us the ability to produce wealth. God told his people that the manna would stop as they entered the promised land because he had provided abundant natural resources. God can provide supernaturally for us in extraordinary circumstances, but the God-given way his provision comes in most ordinary circumstances is through work and business.
We see that business, done well... is glorifying to him.
So, in Deuteronomy 8, God told his people to take those abundant resources and start agricultural and mining businesses (v 8-9). We see that business, done well (and not forgetting the Lord our God [v 11]) is glorifying to him.
If the natural role of business in God’s design for humankind is to create livelihoods, multiply wealth and resources, drive creativity and innovation, and sustainably provide for families, communities and nations, then we can already clearly see the potential of business for God’s kingdom work on earth.
Businesswomen and men may then intentionally harness this power of business and focus it to sustainably address some of the world’s most pressing problems: lack of gospel access, environmental crises, joblessness, poverty, slavery, sanitation problems, food security, and so on.
When we intentionally weave in such missional responses into our company strategy, we are doing business as mission. We are leveraging the innate power of business to respond to two further interwoven mandates: the great commandment and the great commission.
Loving our neighbor: the great commandment
Jesus said, love God and love your neighbor. Dallas Willard once said that “Business is a primary moving force of the love of God in human history.”
Bringing those two ideas together, business has an innate God-given power to do good in the world. As I noted, business creates dignified work, multiplies resources, provides for families and communities, and pushes forward innovation and development. It can be a moving force of God’s love by creating decent livelihoods and economic stability, enabling peace, provision, and generosity.
Aid and relief for the poor is necessary in times of crisis and disaster—and for the likes of the widow and orphan who cannot provide for themselves. But, like the people in Deuteronomy 8, the usual way families provide for themselves is not through aid, but, through trade, through business and a thriving economy. Business shows the love of God by creating meaningful ways to work in the world.
Business is a powerful way to love God and love our neighbors.
For-profit enterprises are the primary way that good jobs are created. On the other hand, a lack of jobs leaves families vulnerable to extreme poverty, corruption, human trafficking, and exploitation of all kinds. Business is a powerful way to love God and love our neighbors because in many parts of the world, what "our neighbor" needs most is a good job.
Proclaiming the gospel: the great commission
In every village, town and city in the world, businesses are at the heart of the community; that is true in Kenya, Canada, and Azerbaijan, Brazil, Cambodia and Iraq! Business people have an influential role in a community, meeting real needs, and building a strong network of relationships.
People spend more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else. Deep relationships can be formed and biblical principles modeled in the crucible of daily business life, creating a company culture that reflects Jesus as well as opportunities to share his good news.
Business is a powerful way to make disciples, and to share the gospel in word and deed in the context of everyday life... to the ends of the earth.
Many of the places that the gospel has still to reach are hostile to traditional missionaries and difficult to access, yet business people are welcome nearly everywhere. The world is open for business!
In conclusion
God has mandated His people to be good stewards of creation, to create resources for the good of society, to love God first and then love our neighbor, and to take the gospel to all nations. Thus, a business as mission company includes spiritual transformation as a measure of business success, alongside social, environmental, and economic concerns. It has a special concern for the poor, marginalized and unreached peoples.
The definition of business as mission is:
- Profitable and sustainable businesses
- Intentional about Kingdom of God purpose and impact on people and nations
- Focused on holistic transformation and the multiple bottom lines of economic, social, environmental and spiritual outcomes
- Concerned about the world’s poorest and least evangelized peoples.
Let’s keep our Bibles open and keep our eyes open for opportunities to solve pressing global issues through business as mission, in response to God’s mandates and for his glory!
Originally published by The BAM Review. Republished with permission.
Jo Plummer has been serving with Youth With A Mission since 1996 and the Business as Mission Resource Team since 2001, developing resources and networks for the Business as Mission (BAM) movement. Jo launched the businessasmission.com website in 2002 and is currently the editor of The BAM Review blog. Jo co-founded the BAM Global Think Tank in 2011, and now leads the BAM Global Network alongside Mats Tunehag and co-catalyst João Mordomo. She serves as executive editor of the BAM Global Reports and convenor of the BAM Global Congress.
