The Rich History of Business as Mission
This week I've been reminded that the Business as Mission model isn't new. There is a deep and rich history that we have to be thankful for as the Business as Mission movement is storming back to the forefront of the Christian community. Here's a story of The Basel Mission Model that recently appeared in the newsletter of Pioneers.On September 25, 1815, just days after Napoleon lay siege to Basel, Germany with 100 cannons, a group of believers founded what became known as The Basel Mission. They started as a seminary for missionaries, but field experience led them to the goal of training everyone in craftsmanship and trade: the craftsman-theologian.
Founding The Basel Missions Trading Company in 1852, they established work in India, Africa, and Asia and invented the material khaki. Their mission statement read: "to act as the light in the darkness." They believed "profits shall not be the main goal of the company-rather, the example of using Christian principles in business."
The company sold in 1999 for $130 million.
Check out the book, "Profit for the Lord: Economic Activities in Moravian Missions and the Basel Mission Trading Company"
Labels: Editorials
