Big Picture: Business on the World Stage
Business is increasingly the only way to bring the gospel to the 10/40 window. Many of the countries in this area restrict entry by Christian missionaries and try to prevent the growth of the church.

In the past, church planters went as students, teachers, or humanitarian workers to these countries, serving the communities in which they lived. However, increasingly, governments are cracking down on these traditional forms of entry.

Business has a new role alongside traditional strategies
With globalization and economic growth of the past few decades, some governments simply do not need development work. Many oil producing countries, from Venezuela to Russia to Saudi Arabia, would rather do their own development work instead of relying on outside organizations. Other countries such as China have been developing rapidly enough on their own. Others do not feel that the help that such missionaries bring outweighs the potential social disturbance of disseminating the gospel.

Other governments are concerned that humanitarian organizations are merely a front for Western, specifically American, expansionist activity. A few events in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, in particular, alarmed many governments. Georgia’s Rose Revolution in 2003, Ukraine’s Orange Revolution in 2004, and Kyrgyzstan’s Tulip Revolution 2005 each replaced a pro-Russia government with a more Western-friendly one. As George Soros’ non-profit, the Open Society Institute, was particularly active in Georgia and Ukraine prior to their revolutions, many Western-funded humanitarian organizations fell under suspicion even if they did not take part in these nefarious activities. Missionary-run humanitarian organizations were no exception.

However, even as countries remain wary of humanitarian and educational organizations, they welcome business. Business helps make a tangible difference in local communities by enabling foreign investment and by employing locals. Business also enables technology and skill transfer. Governments typically value business and welcome it.

The light is on sustainable international development
Meanwhile, the development community is embracing sustainability.  Traditional approaches are not working.  The World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group noted in 2006 that World Bank programs have “failed to lift incomes in many poor countries over the past decade, leaving tens of millions of people suffering stagnating or declining living standards.”

William Easterly, a Professor of Economics at NYU and former Research Economist at the World Bank, also decries such approaches in his book, The White Man’s Burden. Basically, he states that many macro approaches favored by development agencies are ineffective since they do not understand the underlying problems of individual countries and situations.

Easterly’s solution is to have targeted and contextualized programs, particularly leveraging the power of the market.  It is difficult for massive programs to deal with particular challenges unique to each situation.  The challenge is to commit not only resources in money but also in time.

Development is moving also to considering income generation.  So the Grameen Foundation partners with Danone to manufacture yogurt in order to spur development in Bangladeshi villages.  Income generation also helps reduce the common tendency to dependency, where locals are reduced to reliance on seemingly inexhaustible handouts.

In summary, on the world stage, two events are happening: the need for new access strategies and business as a means for sustainable international development.  This is where our part begins.

Business-as-Mission in the 10/40 Window
In 2002, one of Access Partners’ founders explored this nexus of business and missions through a project in Central Asia. On one hand, he needed to help a team create a legitimate means of accessing a city with few Christians. The team wanted to share the gospel in a new location but did not have much business experience, so needed assistance.

On the other, he sought to assist the locals in that community through selling fair trade handicrafts. Artisans in that city have a well-developed history of crafts that readily find local markets, but needed help in exploring other sales outlets.

“It was a great opportunity,” he says. “One of my thrills was waking up every day being able to use my skills and experience to do something I loved – and also know that I was helping establish a foundation for bringing the gospel to those who had never heard.”

During this experience, he started working with a technology consultant based in the US who would later become the other of Access Partners’ founders. Both of them helped launch the business and saw encouraging initial sales.

Experience turns into an idea
Throughout the development of this fair trade business, one theme resonated continually: the importance of business in church planting strategy. Through discussions with church planters, it became evident that business was increasingly the only way of bringing the gospel to those who had not heard: many humanitarian workers were being denied visas and the need was only going to become more acute.

Confronted with this reality, they decided to travel across the 10/40 window and interview over 20 church planters in 5 countries on their need for business consultation help. Almost unanimously, they concurred.

Back in the US and armed with this information, the two friends decided to start Access Partners.

Access Partners is established
Access Partners began as a consulting partner for a partnering sending organization in the 10/40 window, assisting some of their church planting teams set up kingdom businesses on the field.

On its first year, Access Partners helped establish two businesses, each supporting 6 church planters.

Since then, Access Partners has expanded so that the organization is now supporting over 50 church planters on 12 teams.

Access Partners has launched 4 businesses and is working on 12 new business start-ups in 2009-2010, 3 of which are in cities that currently have no gospel witness.  These businesses will support an additional 40 church planters.

Refining the approach
Initially, Access Partners helped church planting teams on smaller projects.  Teams that came to Access Partners for help were offered business and technology consulting, which included business planning and on-going coaching, process optimization and website/e-commerce development, and finally connecting them to US resources to assist projects overseas.

This model worked well when there was a qualified businessman in place. Soon, it became apparent to AP that the majority of church planting teams do not have the needed experience to operate these businesses which are mostly located in countries with challenging economic settings.

To bridge this gap in expertise and implementation, Access Partners looked for a new approach. This approach is broken down into three main initiatives: developing replicable businesses, recruiting experienced professionals, and funding viable startups.

Even with the refined approach, Access Partners’ values and overall philosophy for BAM has not changed. On one hand, traditional church planting responsibilities continue.  On the other hand,  Access Partners continues to work towards establishing legitimate businesses facilitate church planting in locations least reached by the gospel.

“and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,  but as it is written,

‘Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.’”

Romans 15:20-21