research

Is Donor Support Good or Bad for Business as Mission Companies?

/ Phill

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/LkcN3V0z6qfw0-lUcX3aJBO9YQKDQEerjoPVRa4DuardEi_kdRyczhGyRqyMGvZKZGaCBSfDvY5R_F9k9ji0GKKk0uV-yjH6XMre7yKFmad3lmg8sEQYtzdDyDsApg

Business as Mission has been a strong and growing segment within the modern tentmaking movement. The model attracts a lot of attention because it holds out the possibility of being self sustaining because it can generate its own income. It is sometimes the only model that is legal in countries that exclude foreign religious workers from entrance.

One issue that often comes up is the source of funding for the workers. On the one extreme there are those who are completely donor supported and run a business for the other advantages of doing business as mission. On the other end of the spectrum are workers who are solely supported from the fruits of their business. And in between there are a variety of hybrid models.

A new study produced by Dr Steve Rundle – author of Great Commission Companies – expands our understanding and provides fuel for further reflection. In his recently published article in the International Bulletin of Missionary Research Rundle examines the question, “Does Donor Support Help of Hinder Business as Mission Practitioners?”

There is no end of opinions about which model is best. Strong cases are made by the proponents on both sides. What has been lacking is strong empirical research to illuminate the discussion and aid in making the best strategic decisions. Most of the evidence is anecdotal with only a few studies to guide the discussion. Those familiar with the debate will know the arguments for both sides. I will not try to cover them here. My purpose here is to highlight the main findings of this new study and encourage the reader to explore the entire article for himself.

Some of the findings provided stronger evidence for conclusions suggested by earlier studies, while other finding were surprising.

“The evidence presented in this article suggests that, for a BAM business to have a meaningful impact in a community, it should be structured and incentivized much like a “regular” business, which includes (1) an independent board of directors and (2) salaries that are based, at least in part, on the company’s performance.”

The study focused on testing two economic hypotheses. The first was based on the assumption that BAMers who depend on their business for all their income will devote more time and energy to the business and will therefore generate more revenue. It is expressed:

“Hypothesis 1: Business-supported BAM practitioners will have a greater (more beneficial) economic impact on the local community than their donor-supported peers.”

The second hypothesis is based on the assumption that donor-supported BAMers will have less pressure to grow the business and thus will have more time to devote to producing spiritual fruit. It states:

“Hypothesis 2: Donor-supported BAM practitioners will be more effective in producing spiritual fruit than their business-supported peers.”

A questionnaire was given to about 200 self identified Business as Mission practitioners and their responses were analyzed on a number of dimensions.

“This study found that, compared with fully donor-supported BAM practitioners, those who are fully supported by their Business report significantly better results in the economic and social arenas, and are no less effective in producing spiritual results.” [emphasis is from Rundle]

As expected the first part of the finding supports hypothesis #1. Those more focused on developing the business grew their businesses more and produced more income. This not only helped the BAM person directly, but enabled them to have more impact on bringing social benefit to their community.

The second half of the finding was counter-intuitive and did not support hypothesis #2. No evidence was shown that those spending less time developing the business were more effective in producing spiritual fruit.

In the full article the author presents cautionary qualifications to how far the findings can be applied and issues that need further study. He concludes:

“One thing we can say with certainty is that the questions raised by the integration of business and missions will keep mission scholars busy for a long time!”

Hope for Africa? Trend Studies Reveal Looming Crisis and Opportunity

/ Phill

http://globalopps.org/tmbriefs/scales.jpg

Africa caught my attention when two recent economic studies crossed my computer screen this month within hours of each other.

The amazing, surprising, Africa-driven demographic future of the Earth, in 9 charts, a UN Population Division study, projects that Africa is the place to watch. The indicators are that it will outstrip the other continents in economic as well as population growth. It will dominate the 21st century.

Then, Why African Entrepreneurs Outperform Their Peers When the Playing Field is Level, an article from the Wharton school of business. The title pretty well summarizes the findings. African entrepreneurs are more productive and creative when they work in a comparable setting. Poor governance, infrastructure, and resource management on the continent hold them back.

Both of these studies findings seem counter-intuitive. They point to enormous opportunity and potential for Africa to change its destiny. They also point to tremendous challenges ahead.

Historically Africa is the continent that has received the most aide and yet stubbornly is the most impoverish. These studies suggest we are on the cusp of a major transition IF Africa can overcome its challenges in the area of governance and resource management.

WOW! These are exciting prospects.

I am reminded of one other writing about this situation. Darrow Miller wrote in 2005 about Africa’s problems and mentioned one other factor that both of these studies ignore. In his booklet, Against All Hope: Hope for Africa, he alludes to Africa’s great potential in its people and resources. He also recognizes a great spirituality among the peoples. Yet one thing they lack is a worldview that aligns with the principles of the God of the Bible. True transformation cannot take place without a transformation of the heart and a renewing of the mind. Without this transformation the other changes are less likely to happen, and if they do, they will not be to the benefit of the people.

Where does all of this lead. Tentmakers. There is tremendous opportunity, even need, for tentmakers to participate in the transformation of Africa.

1.    Africa is ripe for economic development.

2.    It needs men and women of faith to permeate the marketplace bringing economic development while demonstrating the practice Biblical principles.

3.    There is a growing movement among the African community to prepare and spread out and take the gospel to the whole continent in a wholistic ministry that touches every part of the continent and penetrates to the to the heart and soul as well as the purse.

4.    Tentmakers contribute to the economic as well as the social and spiritual development of their communities. When enough of them are active they can change countries and continents.

5.    Tentmakers model Christian values within the workplace and the culture.

6.    Tentmakers do not require massive outside support structures and funds – nor do they create the expectation that such is necessary for the community and the church to prosper and grow.

God is mobilizing his church. There is great opportunity for the expansion of tentmaking workers in Africa. There are a few pivot points in history where the decisions that are made determine the social direction for many decades. This could be one of those times. Are the “men of Issachar” interpreting the times and preparing to march?

These projections “…aren’t destiny, of course, and lots of people are already trying to change them… But this is the direction the data points today. Whatever happens, it should be quite a century.” (The amazing, surprising Africa-driven demographic…)

May God grant wisdom to the brothers in Africa as they guide the church through these times. And may He grant the rest of the church the wisdom to support where they should, and to give have the grace to allow the African leadership to grow without undo interference.