The Missional Entrepreneur: Principles and Practices for Business as Mission – Mark L. Russell

© 2010 New Hope Publishers, Birmingham

BAM. No, you are not reading the script from a campy 1960s Batman episode. BAM is the acronym for Business as Mission, an innovative way of approaching missions around the world. Mark Russell is an excellent person to bring this issue to the foreground for missionaries and businessmen alike because he has education and background in both ministry and business. He spent years working in Russia, Chile, and Germany on the cutting edge of BAM enterprises.

The Missional Entrepreneur is divided into five sections which introduce, define, provide foundation for, and examine models to doing business as mission. The book reads a lot like a textbook which sometimes makes it hard to muddle through, but at the same time makes it a trusty reference tool for Christians in business and missions alike. The scholarship used in producing this book is obvious in the use of visual representations throughout the text as well as the citations and index found at the end of the book.

Russell uses examples drawn from his experience and especially from research work done in Thailand to portray positive models for BAM, and contrasts them with instances that have caused BAM to struggle or even fail from time to time. After defining BAM from his own viewpoint, Russell gives biblical foundation for the practice from the life of Paul. He concludes the work with a couple of chapters dealing with Missional Leadership (which was very helpful) and Offshoring (which was less than helpful).

I would highly recommend this book for use as a textbook for any business class in a Christian setting or for all missionary training courses. It would be a welcomed addition to the library of any pastor, missions organization leader, missionary, or Christian businessman (especially those contemplating impaction the world for Christ through their business). I can give The Missional Entrepreneur four and one-half out of five reading glasses.

—Benjamin Potter, June 23, 2010

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