Business-as-Mission (BAM) is a strategy that has been implemented in many ways. For the particular problem we are trying to solve, that is, facilitating church planting among the most unreached people groups in the world, we have fine tuned our approach using these five values.

1) Prioritize the 10/40 window
Our passion is to support those who are working among people groups who are least reached by the gospel message. These are places that are hostile to Christianity, where believers face persecution from their community and the government, and where BAM is most relevant. It is our privilege to support those who have undertaken the task of planting churches in these countries and do what we can to help them as part of the body of Christ.

2) Implement sustainable models
We are not out to reinvent the business wheel. Rather, we aim to use best practices in international business development and apply it towards solving the problem of access in these closed countries. While there are circumstances beyond our control in these areas where war and corruption are daily realities, we seek to find business models that will allow our missionary friends to stay in the country for a long time. Because of this, we need to use business models that are legitimate and at the same time supportive of church planting activities and timeframes. Finally, a sustainable model will also take into consideration the community’s benefit – we want these businesses to be a blessing to the cities they serve.

3) Build legitimate businesses
Any BAM business needs to be run with integrity, to properly reflect the Savior whom we serve. We don’t want to risk damaging a church planter’s gospel witness, so we do not encourage fake businesses, or businesses that only exist on paper.  This is why we take time to carefully design the business’ operations, make sure they have the right personnel on the ground to run it, build a plan to be profitable,  so that the business makes sense to the community it serves.

4) Partner with experts
We are blessed to work within a network of like-minded organizations, and we hope to keep expanding this network to help us solve this problem of access faster. We partner with a mission agency who employ people who have done church planting for years and spend much time learning the cultures and the environment of the people they serve. We work with organizations who have also used BAM in other contexts to learn from their projects. We are also beginning to work with businesses who have experience navigating the rough economic waters in the 10/40 window.

5) Work through the local church
Matthew 28 is not just a command for individuals; it is a charge given by the Lord to His church. We have seen much success following this Biblical pattern in the way we operate.  Through our partner churches, we have found a treasure trove of skilled business men and women who are passionate about the Great Commission, and desire to use their gifting to get the gospel message out to those who have not heard it. We also find pastors and church staff who are more than willing to help mobilize their congregation, give us their advice, and connect us with the right people. Our own local churches also support us by helping us find resources to keep Access Partners working towards solving the problem of access in the 10/40 window. Finally, the church planters we support work in teams – a set up that is invaluable especially when you are in a country where often you are the only Christians there.