Steve Rundle and Tom Steffen, Great Commission Companies: The Emerging Role of Business in Missions, Revised Edition. IVP Academic, 2011.
Referenced in: Missional Spirituality of Business
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This is just one of several books representing the Business as Mission (BAM) movement, but is regarded as foundational articulation. The authors are leading academics in that community. One reviewer says, this text shows “that income-producing businesses managed by ‘kingdom professionals’ can play a central, essential role in extending Christ’s kingdom worldwide.”
In this second edition, the authors introduce BAM, identify key issues, clarify terms, and convey lessons learned over ten years of the BAM movement. They profile several mission-based companies around the world. They also address how opportunities have expanded due to globalization, international trade.
One may be interested in several of the companion volumes:
- Mark Russell, The Missional Entrepreneur: Principles and Practices for Business as Mission (New Hope Publishers, 2010) – Expresses the most effective principles and practices of the movement.
- C. Neal Johnson, Business as Mission: A Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice (IVP, 2010) – Complete guide on how to do BAM, including strategic planning and step-by-step operational implementation.
From the Publisher
Business as mission has emerged as a significant new model for mission in the twenty-first century. In this landmark book, economist Steve Rundle and missiologist Tom Steffen offer their paradigm for the convergence of business and missions – the Great Commission Company. In an era where multinational corporations have global influence and impact, the Great Commission Company opens up new possibilities for missions-minded entrepreneurs and businesspeople who want to change the world to the glory of God.
This revised and expanded edition provides new and updated case studies of Great Commission Companies in diverse contexts around the world.
About the Author
Steve Rundle is associate professor of economics and business as mission at Biola University in La Mirada, California. His teaching and research interests are focused on the intersection between international economics and faith-based business. He is also the editor of Economic Justice in a Flat World: Christian Perspectives on Globalization.
Tom Steffen is professor of intercultural studies at Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he directs the Doctor of Missiology program. He was a missionary to the Philippines for fifteen years, and he is the author of a number of books on missions and crosscultural ministry.