Business as Mission Network:: News and Resources to Turn Good Business into Great Ministry: The 25 Most Admired Business as Mission Companies

The 25 Most Admired Business as Mission Companies

They are a source of inspiration and hope. Companies who are "living it" provide a fuel for future business as mission entrepreneurs. During the past few months we've taken a look at 25 companies of 2007 that are challenging theory until it becomes a reality. In case you're just joining the conversation, here's a recap:

Most Admired Kingdom Company #1: Galtronics :: Israel

Most Admired Kingdom Company #2: Pacific Resources Intl :: China

Most Admired Kingdom Company #3: Meixia Intl :: China

Labels: 25 Most Admired Kingdom Companies 2007, Case Studies

posted by Justin Forman | 6.05.2007 - 7:01 AM

5 Comments:

Justin, Could you please write an article on what are the definitions of "Business as Mission" Companies and what are "Kingdom Companies"? There may be some misconception I have in these definisions.

commented by

Anonymous, 12:38 PM

Sure thing! I'm planning on talking about some of the differences between business as, for, on mission in the next few weeks.

In short, I've tended to use business as mission companies and kingdom companies interchangeably and anything on the site you can interpret that way.

commented by

Justin Forman, 8:32 PM

These 25 companies are not listed in any particular order, are they? In other words, it's not a ranking, right? If it is, what were some of the basic criteria?

commented by

Anonymous, 3:53 AM

Actually it was a little bit of a informal ranking.

Being that this was the first year to do it we didn't place a rigid system.

There were a couple of things that were taken into account.

1.) Nominations from people visiting the site- Back in December I asked people to nominate and email me who they thought should be on the list. There's probably a lot of other great groups out there but these were the top of what we are aware of today.

2.) Durability- Has this group stood the test of time? Some of the ones towards #15-25 are more recent as compared to some groups that have been at this for 10, 15 years.

3.) Sphere of Influence- When you look at groups like PRI, Meixia, EC Group and Galtronics you have companies with several hundred people on their team and that have made a tremendous impact on the community.

4.) Creativity- Another important factor was the creativity of a group. A group like Little Texas and Cards from Africa both have created unique businesses.

Next year we plan on putting together a more formal panel and criteria. If there are any companies that should be considered for the upcoming year, please email me!

commented by

Justin Forman, 7:52 AM

I prefer 'Christian Social Enterprise' as it encomapsses the three main areas in a better phrase than BAM, which has become over used and so generic as to not really mean much or get the correct message across. Any thoughts?

commented by

TS, 9:30 AM

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25 Most Admired Companies

Galtronics Pacific Resources International Meixia Arts The EC Group Little Texas Bethany Press Olive Technology Barrington Group Paradigm Engineering Cards from Africa Bluefish TV Assemble Communications Choice Hotel in Portland Vista Group Source Cafe RemovedforSecurity House Blend Cafe Michael Mgt Breakthrough Extol Prince of Peace Yeager Kenya Group Trade as One Go Africa Safaris Meiya Rugs

Other Admired Companies

Yejj The Momentum Group Play Career MorningStar Practical Strategies Chimney Ballon Drive Buv Global Venture Ugly Mug Coffee Stitch and Bloom Innotec Group Kingdom Ventures Bulembu Lumenous LightTheThai VivaBolivia eKreative KafeKreative OurFathers.biz HIMS ColdCup ShemahTours EspressoAmericano QuramArt BanyanPaper TLGInnovation EDP UK Bridge KandyCityMission Joy Orphanage Ambsteel OneVillageCoffee Ethnos Coffee

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Yeager Kenya BPN Stories Tentmaker Stories Micro Enterprise Galtronics InfoSail Electronics Basel Trading Co

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What is Business as Mission?

Business as Mission Companies have these Characteristics (Adapted from Great Commission Companies):

Socially Responsible: The underlying goal is not pure profit, but rather a transformational business.
Income-Producing Businesses: These are authentic businesses that create value-added products or services and are not sustained by donations.
Managed by Kingdom Leaders: Critical decision-makers are Kingdom leaders who seek to reflect Jesus's teachings.
Committed to The Local Church: The business supports partnership with the indigenous church in the community.
Glorifying to God: The name of God is the ultimate object of praise, not the name of the business.

About the Network

For far too long I believe that as Christians we have assumed that a marketplace vocation and a passion for Jesus are mutually exclusive. Yet the Bible is full of people like Joseph who used their skills in administration and business to meet needs and be a light for God's kingdom.

As a business student preparing to graduate from Baylor University, I was faced with this age old assumption. It was one of those fork in the road moments. I had a passion for serving God but I also had a passion for business. Down one road lay the "American Dream" and the comfortable, defined path that corporate America had to offer. On the other hand was an opportunity to fuse a passion for business with ministry and live that life of adventure.

Since joining the team at BluefishTV and The RightNow Campaign in 2002, I've loved every moment of using an entrepreneurial drive and passion for business to further God's kingdom across the country and around the world.

As Vice President of Sales and Strategic Partnerships, I have the privilege of spending my time leading our team in ministering to over 93,000 churches that have used one of our small group studies through both Bluefish TV and The RightNow Campaign. I also have the great opportunity to facilitate partnerships with some amazing ministries and missions organizations who share a passion to help people teach.

With a passion to connect more people to the growing movement of Business as Mission this Network was started in early 2006. By providing news and information to over 5000 leaders on various resources and companies we hope to inspire and connect others to opportunities to get involved.

My wife, Sharee and I live in Allen, Texas and are actively involved at Allen Bible Church. We're also thrilled that we will be expecting a new addition to our family in just a couple of months.

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Baylor Alumnus Turning Good Business into Great Ministry :: Baylor Business Review Building on Passion :: Baylor Lariat 7 Things Every Mission Agency Leaders Should Know About BAM :: Businessasmission.com Mission Agencies: Infrastructure, Passion, Business as Mission? :: Mission Frontiers Business as Mission: Kingdom Focused Companies :: Mission Frontiers

The 25 Most Admired Business as Mission Companies

5 Comments:

Business as Mission Magazine Sign-Up

Featured Business as Mission Ministries

Search the Content on this Network

Resources and Recent Series

Networking- USA

Networking-Intl

Top Conferences

Top Intl Conferences

Past Conferences

The Top 25 Books

Other Top Books

Top Video Clips

Bloggers

Training

Podcasts

RSS

25 Most Admired Companies

Other Admired Companies

Tools to Use in Your Business

Jobs

Recruiting

Top 15 Places to Serve

Top Microfinance Groups

Stories

Competitions

Financing

Mkt Place Chaplains

Resource Centers

Audio Messages

Chat & Portals

Projects

Submit a News Story, Event or Resource

E Zine Archives

What is Business as Mission?

About the Network

Media