何谓宣教的商业？

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何谓宣教的商业？                          

                                                                     

如今，越来越多的人开始谈论将商业和宣教结合起来，不过一些圈子对这一概念理解缓慢。为何会这样？

一些教会不知道这一概念。一些教会认为这不重要，偏好专注在传统的宣教方式上。还有一些教会厌倦了“作为宣教的商业”（BAM）这一术语，担心这会使教会偏离门徒训练式的宣教。教会应该对商业和宣教作何思考？

首先，我们需要定义BAM，而一个挑战就是名目繁多。有各种各样的定义，但是在我们使用这一术语时，我们的意思是在未及之民中建立推动植堂的商业。我们认为商业不是宣教，因为我们将宣教定义为门徒训练和建立教会。我们也不认为BAM是从事糟糕的商业来推动宣教。相反，我们视BAM为建立好商业以推动和支持宣教的一种有益方式。

需要

为何BAM以及带职宣教（tentmaking），而非传统的宣教模式日益重要？首先，是福音的需要：在6千个群体中，有28亿福音未及之民，因此我们需要更多的福音工人。

第二，很多国家仍旧限制基督徒的见证而需要基督徒专业人士，因为他们可以通过自己的工作，借着服务使这些国家受益，进入这些国家。

第三，世界处于城市化进程，因此专业人士的数量与日俱增。例如，2008年，全球一半以上的人口居住在城市。据预测，到2030年，这一数字将升到60%以上。我们需要能够和这些不断增长的群体自然交往的基督徒。提姆·凯勒注意到，世界上大城市的专业人士之间有着超越文化的共同兴趣：可以说，洛杉矶的一个专业人士与新德里的一位专业人士，与他们各自国家乡村地区的人相比，有更多共同之处。

如何装备教会成员到海外工作

牧师如何最好地装备正在考虑到国外工作的成员？首先，成员在本国时在自己的本职工作中应该忠心，尽心竭力，并且为了神的荣耀而工作。第二，牧师应该向成员展示向万民——特别是未曾听过福音之人传福音的异象和特权（罗15：20）。

对于想要在海外工作的基督徒，有一个至关重要的问题：他们想着重于职业发展，还是植堂？若是为了神的荣耀以及出于正确的动机，两者都是合适的决定。没有哪个比另一个更属灵。然而，需要确立一个着重点（有一个例外，文章末尾我会提到）。而你选择的焦点会影响你的准备工作和期待。

1. 着重于职业发展

对于着重职业发展的基督徒，国外的生活可能以大概两到三年的短期生活结束。他们的角色是成为忠心的教会成员，能够与宣教士无法接触的当地人建立关系，并且为当地信徒树立榜样，在职场忠心活出福音。

做全职工作的过程中，很难有学习语言的机会，这样就主要是与其他侨民或是讲英语的当地人建立关系。有哪些可选择的工作类别？有时候，跨国公司提供外籍员工津贴包，为身居要职者提供可观的酬金。不过要记住，这种职位通常要求长时间的工作。至于中级职位，待遇可能会低于美国，与当地求职者竞争也更激烈。

然而，首先最重要的是，要归属一间健康的当地教会，或是与一个教会植堂团队合作。在很多城市这都是可行的（比如，迪拜、慕尼黑、大开曼岛、新加坡）。有一个2*2矩阵工具可以帮助你考虑一座城市是否符合这一策略，一个标准是这座城市的福音普及程度，另一个标准是评估适应新文化的难易程度。

然而，还有一些地方没有健康的教会或是植堂团队。例如，有个朋友在埃及一家美国跨国公司担任要职；但是他发现很难得到属灵上的喂养，整个期间都很沮丧。

牧师应该特别注意评估考虑到国外生活的成员的生命状况。我们希望差派在教会、家庭和工作中有属灵活力的人，而不是鼓励给自己本应帮助的基督徒带来负担的人去。牧师也应该帮助辨认和审查成员要与之合作的海外教会或者植堂团队。若是没有明确的伙伴，我们强烈不鼓励教会成员移居到海外的城市，无论职业机会看起来多么诱人。

以这种方式准备到海外意味着成为一间地方教会忠心、结果子的成员。此外，提前学习当地语言也有助益。这会加强一个人适应当地的能力。同时，为了更好地取得在一家跨国公司海外工作的机会，至少得有些垫脚石，学习当地语言就很重要。大学生有很多到国外求学的选择，也有可以投资的时间，应该考虑学习语言。对此感兴趣的基督徒如果有机会，应该特别考虑学习在10/40之窗中广泛使用的语言，例如阿拉伯语，土耳其语，波斯语，俄语，汉语或者印地语。

在海外工作有许多可能性参与到神的国度，也有一些限制。身为职场人士可以使基督徒进入一个国家的大城市，但是不一定进入中小城市。不过这些地方需要福音。这相当于进入纽约和洛杉矶，而无法深入心脏地区。为了将福音带到这些地方，为了有持久的影响力，我们需要执行强调植堂的策略。

2. 着重于植堂

这一策略比前者时间较长，人们寻求在当地居住5年、10年或者更长时间。这一策略的目的是运营推动宣教机会的商业，帮助商业运作、管理以及发展。寻求这一策略的信徒首先要花一定时间学习当地语言和文化，以有智慧地传讲福音。

机会伙伴（Access Partners）专注于BAM以及带职宣教的这一目的。我们建设可复制的商业模式，以便在各种产业中推动教会植堂。其中一些策略是建立新的企业，还有就是和现存的基督徒运营的企业形成伙伴关系。

就着重于职业的策略，重点在于加入合适的植堂团队。教会长老应该帮助成员建立智慧的伙伴关系。既然是地方教会差派专业人士，也就更加参与到这一策略。因此，对移居国外感兴趣的人应该提前几年的时间同牧师或是长老商谈这些事情。例如，与我们同工的一对夫妻，他们教会很快同意差遣他们在中东地区建立一家企业。然而，这一进展如此顺利是因为他们的长老已经认识他们几年的时间，他们在很多领域也已经展现出忠心。

这一策略的准备主要是属灵方面的，包括在对教会和福音本质认识上的长进。从职业角度讲，最好获得“盈亏”经验，或者经营一家企业或是一个团队，预备BAM的参与。

正如上文提到的，居住在国内的基督徒企业家也有参与的机会。他们可以将业务在国际上拓展到信徒数量极少的地区，同时雇用宣教士。牧师应该鼓励这些商业人士善用神赐给他们的资源，包括他们的企业，为的是荣耀神。

为福音的缘故移民

但是，如果有人既想寻求职业发展又想寻求植堂呢？我们看到这一状况发生的方式之一，是人们为福音的缘故移民，也就是说，长久移居某地。以前的宣教就是这样做的，因为回到祖国并不容易。例如，威廉·克里建立了染布厂，设立了大学，成立了园艺协会。实际上，短期的海外宣教工作是近年衍生的。

委身在一个国家的时间很重要，因为时间可以让人学习一国的语言和文化。相对而言，很少有人选择这一策略，但是有一些鼓舞人心的例子。一位朋友移居到一个曾经的共产主义国家，建立了教会，也开创了同行业中最成功的企业。这一企业成为这个国家信徒的榜样，也为当地基督徒提供了就业。

不是一场革命，而是一扇开启的门

BAM以及带职宣教不是进行宣教的革命性的方式，而是不断成为打开福音之门的有效方式。我们鼓励牧师更多了解这些机会，帮助教会成员使用各自的技能和经验使万民做主门徒。


What is Business as Missions?

More and more people have begun talking about combining business and missions these days, yet the concept has been slow to catch on in some circles. Why is that?

Some churches are unaware of the concept.

Others don’t think it important, preferring to focus on traditional methods of doing missions.

Still others are wary of the term “Business-as-Missions” (BAM), fearing it could distract churches from the mission of making disciples. How should churches think about business and missions?

To begin, we have to define BAM, and part of the challenge is nomenclature. There are a variety of definitions, but when we use the term, we mean building businesses that enable church planting among unreached peoples. We don’t believe business is missions, since we define missions as the making of disciples and the planting of churches. Neither do we believe that BAM is pursuing mediocre businesses to facilitate missions. Rather, we see BAM as a helpful way for business done well to enable and support missions.

THE NEED

Why are BAM and tentmaking, rather than traditional mission models, increasingly important? First, there is a gospel need: there are 2.8 billion people unreached among 6,000 people groups, so we need more laborers for the gospel.

Second, many countries continue to limit Christian witness, and Christian professionals are needed who can access such countries by benefiting and serving the country through their work.

Third, the world is urbanizing and there are correspondingly increasing numbers of professionals. As of 2008, more than half of the world’s population is now in cities. It’s forecast that by 2030, this number will rise to more than 60 percent. We need Christians who can naturally interact with these growing populations. Tim Keller has noted that there is a shared affinity among professionals in the large cities of the world that transcends culture: arguably a professional in Los Angeles has more in common with a professional in New Delhi than either of those people do with those in rural areas in their own countries.

HOW TO EQUIP MEMBERS TO WORK OVERSEAS

How can pastors best equip their members who are considering working overseas? First, members should be faithful in their jobs in the West, doing their work with excellence and for the glory of God. Second, pastors should put before their members the vision and privilege of spreading the gospel to all nations, particularly among those who have not heard (Rom. 15:20).

There is one fundamental question for Christians interested in working overseas: do they want to emphasize professional development or church planting? Done for God’s glory and with the right motives, either is a fine decision. One is not more spiritual than the other. However, one needs to be the emphasis (with one exception, which I’ll mention at the end). And the emphasis you choose will affect your preparation and expectations.

EMPHASIZING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

For the Christian who emphasizes professional development, life abroad will probably end up consisting of shorter stints of maybe 2 to 3 years. Their role would be to serve as a faithful church member who is able to develop relationships with locals that other missionaries might not be able to meet, and to provide models for local believers of living out the gospel faithfully in the workplace.

There would be fewer opportunities to learn the language since it’s hard to do so in the midst of a full-time job. Relationships would therefore largely be with other expats or with locals who can speak English. What types of job options would be available? Sometimes multinationals offer expat packages, which provide generous remuneration terms for those in more senior positions, though it is good to keep in mind that such positions usually entail long hours. For the junior-level professional, pay will probably be lower than in the States, and could involve more competition with hungry locals.

First, though, it is most important to identify a good local church or a church planting team with which one may partner. There are many cities where this would be possible (e.g., Dubai, Munich, Grand Cayman, Singapore). One tool to help you think through a city’s suitability for this strategy is a 2 x 2 matrix, where one criteria is how unreached a city is and the other evaluates the ease of adjustment to the new culture.

However, there are also many places where a good church or church planting team might not exist. For example, a friend had a high-powered position with a US multinational in Egypt; however, he found it very difficult to be fed spiritually and was discouraged by the whole process.

Pastors should specially focus on evaluating the lives of members who are thinking about living overseas. We want to send people who are thriving spiritually in the church, at home, and at work instead of encouraging people who would be burdens to the Christians they are supposed to assist. Pastors should also help identify and vet the overseas churches or church planting teams with whom a member will partner. Absent a clear partner, we would strongly discourage church member from moving to a foreign city, regardless of how good the professional opportunity looks.

Preparation for going overseas in this manner involves being a faithful and fruitful member of a local church. In addition, it is very helpful to learn the local language ahead of time. This multiplies one’s ability to relate to locals. Also, to have a better chance of being given the opportunity to work overseas by a multinational, it is important to at least have some building blocks in the local language. College students, who have a plethora of study abroad options and time to invest, should consider language learning. Christians interested in these kinds if opportunity should especially consider learning languages that are widely spoken in the 10/40 window, such as Arabic, Turkish, Farsi, Russian, Mandarin, or Hindi.

While working overseas has a lot of potential for kingdom purposes, it also has some limitations. Being a professional will grant a Christian access to a country’s largest cities but not necessarily to small and medium ones. Yet there is need for the gospel in such places. It would be the equivalent of reaching New York and Los Angeles, but not the heartland. To bring the gospel to such places, and to have longer-term impact, we need to pursue strategies that emphasize church planting.

EMPHASIZING CHURCH PLANTING

This strategy would be longer-term than the previous one, with people looking to stay in-country for 5 to 10 years or longer. The goal here is to drive a business that also enables missionary access, helping with operations, management, and business development. Someone pursuing this strategy would first spend some time learning the local language and culture in order to communicate the gospel intelligibly.

Access Partners focuses on this end of the BAM and tentmaking spectrum. We build replicable business models that facilitate church planting in a variety of industries. Some of these strategies are new business start-ups and others are formed in partnership with existing Christian-run businesses.

As with the professionally focused strategy, it is important to join the right church planting team, and a church’s elders should help members forge wise partnerships. The local church will be more involved in this strategy since they would send the professional. Therefore, someone interested in moving overseas should talk through these issues with a pastor or elder years ahead of time. For instance, we worked with a couple who were quickly approved by their church to be sent to drive a business in the Middle East. However, the reason why this process moved so seamlessly is because they had been known by their elders for years, and had demonstrated faithfulness in many areas already.

Preparation will be primarily spiritual, including growing in one’s understanding of the nature of the church and the gospel. From a vocational perspective, it would be great to gain “profit & loss” experience, or to manage a business or team in preparation for BAM involvement.

As mentioned above, there are also opportunities for Christian business owners living stateside to be involved. They can expand their businesses internationally into regions where there are fewer believers while also employing missionaries. Pastors can encourage such businesspeople to deploy all the talents that God has given them, including their businesses, for the glory of God.

MIGRATING FOR THE GOSPEL

But what if one wants to pursue both professional development and church planting? One way we have seen this happen is when people migrate for the gospel—that is, move somewhere permanently. This was how missions used to be done since it was so hard to come back to one’s home country. For example, William Carey established an indigo plant, started a college, and founded a horticultural society. It is actually temporary overseas mission work that is the recent development.

Time committed to a country is important since it allows one to learn the language and culture of a country. Comparatively fewer people opt for this strategy, but there are some very encouraging examples. One friend moved to a formerly Communist country, started a church, and also launched the most successful business in its industry. The business has served as a model for believers in the country and has also provided employment for local Christians.

NOT A REVOLUTION, BUT AN OPEN DOOR

BAM and tentmaking are not revolutionary ways of doing missions but are increasingly useful for opening doors for the gospel. We encourage pastors to learn more about these opportunities to help their members use their skills and experience to make disciples of all nations.

The author’s name has been left anonymous for security purposes. He directs Access Partners, which builds businesses that enable church planting in areas least reached by the gospel.

出于安全考虑，本文作者匿名。作者负责机会伙伴（Access Partners）事工，这一事工旨在在福音普及极少的地区建立商业，推动植堂。

翻译肢体：王悦

来自群组: 金灯台团契分享组