Embracing the Fullness of Business as Mission In this e.zine we focus on how changing our thinking transforms our action and engagement. Our guest contributor is businessman JC who talks about his journey towards integrating business and mission. We bring you a story of Brazilian business owners in China who are embracing the fullness of their call to business. Discover what history has to teach us about thinking and action and read our regular column 'Lessons from the Edge' from a global franchise owner. Ready for more? We are excited to offer a unique opportunity to meet experienced practitioners and get intensive teaching on business as mission in the new 3 day iBAM Impact Seminar, 4-6 November in Denver, USA. Total Commitment 
An Import-Export Company in China
For 6 years Gabriella and her husband Marco have been successfully exporting goods from China to their native Brazil. Starting from nothing, they have built up a small company ‘Total Import & Export’, based in China. The company handles research, negotiations, quality control, logistics and shipping arrangements on behalf of their Brazilian clients. Gabriella and Marco have exported a diverse range of goods, everything from industrial sewing machines to floor tiles, from power tools to fashion accessories. Their company has grown by 'word of mouth', through referrals from existing clients. Yet, in the past Gabriella and Marco have been somewhat reluctant to embrace this growth, in fact they have been reluctant business people. Gabriella admits, “I have actually asked some clients to keep quiet about us, I have told them I don't want the business to grow too much!” However, recently everything has changed and as Gabriella puts it, “I have had my thinking turned completely upside-down.” 
A Breakthrough in Thinking A Businessman's Journey
Recently I've been able to reflect on my life in the last 7 years since becoming a Christian, in particular, on my journey towards integrating faith and work, mission and business. Like many of my peers I struggled to reconcile my new found faith and my work, a struggle that was exacerbated all the more as I began to have a real sense of the Lord stirring my heart for mission. Based on the expressions of mission I was used to hearing about, I could only see this happening through training in pastoral ministry or church planting. Have you ever felt as a business person or professional that you’re about the only person in church who hasn’t got something to offer mission? I certainly did. It was during a mission conference that I first heard a speaker put the words business and mission together. Within weeks I had the chance to revisit SE Asia, this time in the role of the strategist, consultant and business professional I was graced to be. I began to catch a vision for business as an expression of the Kingdom of God, a place where faith can be lived out in very real ways, where discipleship happens all week.
The Ideas We Inherit And the Things We're Passing On Stalin famously said ‘ideas are more powerful than guns’. Ideas change our thinking and as our thinking changes, so does our behavior and our actions. Recently I have been looking back at times in history when business and mission have been connected. Although the term ‘business as mission’ is a fairly new one, there have been numerous points in the history of the Church where business strategy and mission strategy have been somehow integrated. This integration had much to do with how people were thinking at the time, reflecting both the ideas they had inherited and the mindset that they were intentionally trying to pass on.
Lessons from the Edge Insights from a BAM Practitioner It's always about people
It is important to focus on the right things in business. I deal with business peers, politicians, the public, the media, and so on, as well as staff and clients. At the end of the day the focus is always people. It’s never just about the money. Focusing on relationships can take away the 'fear factor'; otherwise it can be easy to become overwhelmed by day to day business issues.
As a leader it is vital to know your weaknesses
Leaders are very good at knowing their strengths, as we operate in those daily. But it's vitally important to know your weaknesses in order to form the right team around you. Form your 'dream team' by being intentional and look for those who are better than you. The right people to compliment your strengths aren't always the ones who are around you now! Don't limit yourself
The first and only step is to receive your identity from God and embrace it. As a business woman, I think this particularly applies to women. We are too quick to limit ourselves and each other. Don't wait for anyone else to open the door for you! Grasp hold of who God has made you to be and live it. Kim has been in business in the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific for 8 years and the owner of global franchise business for the last 5 years. | 
Issue 6 : June 2011
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