The Missional Entrepreneur: Principles and Practices for Business as Mission

by Mark L. Russell

Both an emerging term and a developing concept, business as mission (BAM) has drawn much fascination in both mission and business circles with the concept of strategically using business to accomplish missional purposes. Though the term is ubiquitous in mission circles, there is great disparity in what it means. There has been much talk about BAM in theory, but far less research done on how it works out in reality. The Missional Entrepreneur takes an in-depth look at business as mission in reality with an eye for the principles and practices that can make it effective.

Genres: Business, Christian

320 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2009

Reviews

[Christiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a hot take on offshoring in that last chapter...I'm not sold. And I personally love the song "God bless America." Basically, I'm not sure I'm cutout for business as mission even though it seems great but I fully support his potato business because I love potatoes!

[Cal Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Russell does a great job in this book by laying the out the Biblical principles that should motivate us in work and diving into the life of Paul to analyze his realtionship with work while doing a great job in painting a picture of the type of work culture that the apostle lived and worked in. He then goes on to give a good overview of the history of BAM before closing the book out with extended practical ways to run a business overseas while also telling applicable stories of real-life examples of the advice he gives playing out well and also poorly. This is a good book for someone desiring to be a missionary entrepreneur as it is not simply a "how to" manual , is not just a book of theory, and is not just a biblical defense of BAM. Instead, he combines all 3 of these components to give a well-rounded look at BAM that serves to equip a futrue BAMMER to have the right motiviation and right tools to do their job well. A few minor crtiques would be that he reaches at points and goes too far into specualtion when analyzing Paul's life. For example, he speculates that some of Paul's illustrations in scripture came from certain life experiences Paul had while living in Corinth during the Corinth games or working alongside slaves. While plausible, his assertions feel a little too confident for being mere specualtion. Also, in the beginning of the book, he goes on a mini-rant against US executives getting paid too much. This "rant" does not seem to fit into the book well and so feels like it's out of left-field. Overall, this is a useful book.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give the first half of the book two stars and the second half four stars. I do not always agree with the author’s broad use of certain missiological terms, but the latter portion of the book offers a wealth of practical insight. In particular, his reflections on the day-to-day realities of running a BAM operation are thoughtful, realistic, and highly valuable. I would encourage others to read this book for its accessibility and practicality.

[Jared]

Enjoyed it for the first half. Became a very technical read during the second half.

A useful manual for missional minded believers interested in pursuing overseas mission work as business owners.

[Michael Mutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book! I am a professor that teaches Business as Mission and entrepreneurship and I love both the first and second half.

The first half is very easy to read a teaches some good principles - the second half is an incredible guide to practically participating in BAM.

[Nick Woodall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Well-organized. Well-presented. Well-researched. Every missional entrepreneur should read this book.