Mark Canada and I (Bill Burke) are just back from the B4TExpo in Austin, TX. (B4T means Business For Transformation, which is more or less comparable to BAM: Business and Mission.) This expo is the main annual gathering in the US for people and organizations doing or supporting BAM. It’s a great opportunity to see how the Lord calls people into this arena and uses the universal language of business to demonstrate His love and mercy in unreached communities around the globe. Allow me to share two quick observations from the Expo.
For North American workers, launching BAM ventures to share the gospel is exploding. Creative people are going at this from so many perspectives. And so many college students are exploring and preparing for a BAM adventure after graduation. Likewise, there are many recruiting, training, and incubating organizations available to get them prepared and launched. However, life-changing BAM needs to be for the long haul. MDE continues to be one of the few organizations equipped to provide ongoing support services to help a BAMer thrive and grow for years by making money and making disciples. Our monthly BAM membership fee of $300 for North American BAMers continues to be seen as affordable–a great value, given all the critical business services available from our network of experienced volunteers. We’re adding members at the rate of about one per month.
Secondly, we met many people who are invested in helping nationals launch and operate BAM ventures in their home countries in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. These new BAMers are on fire for the Lord (many in risky places) and witnessing to their unreached communities by modeling the Christian business-owner life. They, too, are lacking the ongoing BAM support services needed to thrive and grow over the long haul. However, the structure of their local economies would make it difficult for them to afford our monthly fee.
MDE’s immediate focus will continue to be serving North American BAMers running businesses in other countries. However, we see the Lord moving in this new way as well. In 2024, we aim to provide partial scholarships to a select group of national entrepreneurs operating BAM enterprises in their own unreached communities. Those who want to contribute to this initiative are welcome to give to the Membership Fee Sponsorship Fund.
Let’s continue the dialog created by the B4T Expo! If you have ideas, questions, or interest in volunteering, please get in touch with us using our General Query.