business as missions Archives - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

Does God Care About Your Work?

How do you live out God's missional call as a waiter, salesperson or cubicle-dweller? Is it even possible? Photo by TEAM

Jun 26 2018

For the last couple of hundred years, the western world has viewed life as “sacred vs. secular.” Since the Enlightenment Age, we’ve emphasized God coming to redeem you (personal profession of faith) over God coming to redeem the world (making all things right when He returns). There is a feeling that the work you do from Monday to Saturday is different from what you do on Sunday. This line of thinking subverts the work of individuals in the workplace as “less than” because it’s considered secular work rather than sacred. But the truth is that God created work. In fact,…

Internships by TEAM are designed to help students try out their skills and passions in a global environment and to grow not only professionally, but also spiritually. Photo by TEAM

Sep 28 2017

If you’re a student looking for internship credit, you could spend a summer at a corporate office fetching coffee and making copies — or you could spend it on the other side of the world sharing the Gospel while growing in your field of study! Getting to travel and serve overseas is exciting on its own. The fact that you can do that while also fulfilling internship requirements makes it even better. Internships by TEAM was designed for students who want to try out their skills and passions in an international environment. Here are four ways you will benefit from…

For a missional coffee shop in Tokyo, slow business is a good thing. Photos by TEAM

Mar 15 2017

If SonRise Café were more concerned with making a profit, Taijo might not know Jesus today. That’s why the coffee shop’s director, TEAM missionary Steven Taylor, doesn’t even try to keep up with his fast-paced Tokyo competitors. “We’re more like a ministry pretending to be a business. … If we were as busy as Starbucks, we would never be able to get to know our customers and have time to build relationships,” Steven says. Step inside, and you’ll find delicious paninis, chiffon cakes and coffee drinks. But most days, those treats will be accompanied by English classes, a musical performance…

In 2016, Christine and her husband started a missional coffee shop in Manila, Philippines. Here are her best tips for other people interested in business as mission. Photos courtesy of Narrative Coffee Company

Mar 06 2017

We came to the Philippines wide-eyed and idealistic. Let’s start a coffee shop: make money for missions and make good coffee. How hard can it be? Nineteen months later, what started as a vision for a large coffee shop with meeting rooms has turned into a small pour-over bar in a 10 square meter entryway within a co-working space. What started as a desire to make money for missions turned into a vision to mobilize and equip other entrepreneurs to use their business to serve God and people — here and abroad. What began as a small dream that “might…

In places where evangelizing is difficult, workers are using business to open doors. Here's how to pray for them. Photo courtesy of Narrative Coffee Company

Mar 01 2017

Not every country wants a missionary, but most want economic growth. Not everyone wants to hear the gospel, but many will welcome friendly conversation over a cup of coffee. That’s why missionaries around the world are starting businesses. Whether it’s a coffee shop or a cultural center, businesses let missionaries boldly enter communities where they weren’t welcome before. And they provide a neutral environment where seekers can hear the gospel without the intimidation of entering a church building. This March, will you pray for missional businesses around the world? Click here to get a printable version of these requests, and…

Trent and Christine spend their days smelling like coffee and dreaming of the day when they will open up their first missional coffee shop in Manila, Philippines.

May 03 2016

For the past year, Trent and Christine* have lived in Manila learning everything they can about Filipino culture and coffee in order to open up their first missional coffee shop, Narrative, later this year. Scroll through their photo journal to see how, in a city of millions, they are making disciples one cup of coffee at a time. Meet Trent and Christine (and Gordon, too) Mabuhay! We are Trent and Christine and we’ve lived in Manila, Philippines, together for just over a year (Trent since 2010). We have the best job in the world: setting up a specialty coffee shop in…

From marketers to accountants to engineers, kingdom professionals are leveraging the skills and talents in the workplace to make disciples of all nations. Photo by TEAM

Apr 28 2016

Everyone knows what becoming a missionary means: Quit the job you enjoy, attend a fancy seminary, get fitted for one of those safari hats and start looking for random strangers to proselytize. OK, maybe not the hat, but the rest tend to be considered non-negotiable. Unless you’re a doctor, a teacher or capable of starting a whole business (as mission), giving up your career and learning cold evangelism are seen as part of the “dying to self” all missionaries go through. But what if, in a growing global economy, building your career was one of the most effective ways to…

Business builds community at TEAM's SonRise Café in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Robert Johnson / TEAM

Mar 27 2014

We asked Doug Witzig, one of TEAM’s business-as-mission experts, to share his thoughts on current trends and challenges in the BAM movement. This column appears in the spring 2014 issue of Horizons magazine. By Doug Witzig “To do business in this country, you have to be like a wolf! But you are a missionary, a pastor, so you act like a sheep!” My friend and business partner was right to warn me before we launched a factory project using business-as-mission (BAM) strategies. I was a shepherd by training, concerned about the souls of the people I meet and wanting their…

Tag - business as missions

Does God Care About Your Work?

When School Credit Meets Global Missions

When Slow Business Brings People to God

Five Tips For Starting a Business as Mission

6 Ways to Pray for Missional Businesses [March Prayer Focus]

When God Calls You to Open Up a Coffee Shop [Photo Journal]

When Becoming a Missionary Means Keeping Your Job

Not Just Business