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Bryan: Frequently, in order to receive a visa for entry into a country, missionaries must have a reason for being in that country. Governments are more likely to let missionaries into their country if they have businesses that will benefit the society around them. Business student Thomas says, "I'm currently studying business to do business for mission someday. So I was wondering if you could do a podcast on the most important things to look for when one does business as mission, or how to approach it biblically." Missionary Brooks Buser has some thoughts on that.
Brooks: Thomas, first of all, the framing of your question is excellent. The fact that you said that you're studying business to do business for mission—and I would add, missions someday—is just excellent. There is a strain of missions out there that's called business as mission, or BAM, and you can go to BAM conferences and talk about BAM-related topics. But I think phrasing it "business for missions" is so much better, because just in that phrasing you're communicating this is a vehicle to get to the gospel and the church.
What I've found, especially in the missions world in the last 20 years, is that missionaries who are going into closed access countries—where you can't be a church planter, you can't be a missionary, you'll get kicked out in nanoseconds or you won't be able to get a visa—they either go into the country good at business or good at church planting. But the ones that are good at church planting are usually not good at business, and so they don't stay very long. And the ones that are good at business stay really long and they have a great business, but they never get to the gospel and to the church. To have a missionary that can do both of those well and knows where he or she is going from the very get-go—that's something powerful. That's something useful. So I like the way you phrased the question.
The important things in the business for missions conversation—and I wish some of my good friends from other organizations were here. I never did a business over in Papua New Guinea. This is not my forte. I have other things that I speak to more clearly. But again, down at Radius, we have so many good professors come through and people that teach on this. So I'm going to give it my best stab.
Here are the four things that I would say you want to look for when you do business overseas as a missionary seeking to see a church planted. Now, there's always going to be some nuancing of what you are over there. I know that there are some that want to expunge the word missionary from your title. I'm more comfortable keeping it in. Just know that you're going to be using a platform, just like Paul did in certain circumstances. He had to stay in the city and he didn't need it for identification purposes— he needed it to survive. He was a tentmaker. And because of that, he was able to stay in certain contexts and he was able to provide for himself and for others.
Number one, if I was going overseas and I was going to have to do a business, I would make sure it's a real business, not a fake business. You might be old enough to remember about five, maybe seven years ago, a tremendous amount of sending agencies got kicked out of India. And they got kicked out because basically they were doing fake businesses. They were consultants and if you could see me right now, I'm putting air quotes up. They were consulting for people. Consultants don't have to have much of a business. They just show up and do whatever they want to do. And when the Indian government wanted to expel the Christians who were working in the country, the fastest way was to see whose business was real and whose was fake. And the really sad thing about this was that a lot of Christians brought reproach, brought shame on the name of Christ. When Christians go into a country, we should do what we say we're going to do. We are there to do business, and if that's what it says on our visa, do a real business. If you want to know if it's real: does it turn a profit? It doesn't have to turn a profit in the first two years or the first five years, but is it on that trajectory? Does it have a balance sheet? Does it have a profit and loss statement? Do something real. Be a man, be a woman of integrity if you're going to do a business overseas as a Christian. Too many Christians are like, "Well, this is the vehicle, so the vehicle doesn't have to be real as long as I get to the gospel." But think about how people view you from the government side, and even if it gets out to the local context that you're there basically illegally. Do a real business. Do something that you can stand up in front of the government and defend yourself. So that would be my first point.
Number two, be flexible. We've had a lot of graduates come through Radius. We've had PhDs, we've had a lot of graduates with their masters and some with their bachelors, that were trained in oil and petroleum, some were trained to be doctors, some were trained in various engineering skill sets. And then they went to the country of service. And it turns out that the best way to get into the country was through basketball camps, or was through running a yak farm where they would use the yak milk and make it into cheese. And it had nothing to do with their major, but they were flexible enough, they were humble enough to say, "I'm not going to make my college degree my identity." That's what happens to many young people as they go through college and want to go into missions, if it's not tied to my major, if it's not tied to accounting, if it's not tied to my nursing major, they don't know if they can stoop to running a basketball camp. That's ultimately what it comes down to. They're inflexible because they have so identified themselves with their major they can't pull away from that. Don't let that be you. Be flexible, be teachable.
Number three, be a testimony and a blessing to the community. I think of Paul's words when he's closing up his discourse to the Ephesian elders there on the beach. He says this in verse 32: "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified." Just a real pause—that's the church. He's talking about those who are in the church. And then he continues on. He says this: "I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me." Paul's business was the platform not only to serve himself but others. As your business is a testimony to the surrounding community and aids the community, then they start to see you as not just the Christian business guy—this is how Christian businessmen operate, how they turn a profit and how they bless the community. I think Paul's words here show that he doesn't owe anybody anything. He's worked hard, and he's worked hard not only for his needs but for those who were his companions and those who gathered with him.
And then finally, number four, business for missions never forgets the ultimate goal. We want to see a church planted among these people. I've run into people that I love dearly that I've seen on the field change their trajectory, when their business became successful, if anything threatened that, anything that might get them thrown out of the country or under closer government scrutiny, they pulled back. And when they pulled back, the gospel was not as clear, or it wasn't even preached. Remember what you're there for. Remember that you want a real business, a true business, one that turns a profit, one that blesses the community, is a testimony to the government but ultimately it's going to lead to the gospel and the Church. Don't forget what you're there for. Don't forget this is a vehicle, and it's a good vehicle and it needs to be a right vehicle and a true vehicle, but it's still a vehicle. And we want to see the gospel and the Church made first and foremost, and through that vehicle you are able to bring that to those people.
Bryan: To learn more about business for missions, you can watch "Why Is Business for Mission a Helpful Strategy in Accessing Closed Access Countries?" at missionary.com/videos. If you have a question you would like to hear answered on Ask Missionary, drop a comment on this episode, get in touch with us on social media, or send us an email through missionary.com and your question may be featured on this show. And don't forget to subscribe to the show to get notified when the next episode airs next week. Thanks for listening.