Business as Mission (BAM)Program

MTS Specialization

Business as Mission (BAM)Program

Through the Business as Mission (BAM) Program at Missionary Training School (MTS) and in partnership with IBEC Ventures and local business partners, participants will learn best practices in missional business and marketplace, either as an entrepreneur or an employee, while receiving coaching and hands-on training from BAM practitioners. Those seeking to bring Christ to the nations through BAM or Business for Transformation (B4T) certainly need a thorough understanding of business, but they also need training in living and sharing their faith in a cross-cultural setting.


Global Frontier Missions is uniquely located within the diverse cultural context of Clarkston, GA. In the "most diverse square mile in America", there are over 13,000 refugees from 60+ nations. As our Missionary Training School students learn the principles of Business as Mission and Marketplace Ministry, they will also have time dedicated to cross-cultural evangelism within the Clarkston community and will have the opportunity to participate in a two-month BAM apprenticeship with a local GFM business partner, allowing them to be equipped and ready to serve the nations in both word and deed.

Why Business as Mission (BAM)is Important

  • Large portions of the unreached world today remain so, not because of a lack of missionary effort but because of a lack of legal access to these restricted locations. Business as Mission (BAM) also known as Business for Transformation (B4T) or Marketplace Ministry provides a creative, legal, and sustainable way for Christians to enter and establish an identity in creative access communities historically closed off to traditional missionary witness. 


  • God has gifted many with the passion and skills to engage in business endeavors. BAM allows business professionals to connect this God-given calling with God’s desire to expand His Kingdom to the unreached areas of the world.


  • As missionaries “seek the welfare of the city” (Jeremiah 29:7) where they have been sent, businesses serve as a way to transform a community as they provide needed services, jobs, and wealth creation. As missionaries strive to love their neighbors, missional businesses offer an excellent way to meet physical and spiritual needs.


  • Being an employee of a company allows a missionary to live and work incarnationally interacting with many people in a community. Living missionally in an employee context gives people ample opportunity to do life with their coworkers as they seek to share Christ. 


  • Fundraising has historically been the standard model for missionaries to support themselves. However, when missionaries come from non-Christian communities or communities with fewer resources, BAM and marketplace missions provides an excellent way for missionaries to support themselves and have a legitimate identity in the community.


business as missions

Upcoming Business as Mission (BAM)Program Info

2025 Schedule

* January – May: Attend Missionary Training School in Clarkston, GA serving among refugees with further BAM training through IBEC Ventures and additional BAM mentoring and hands-on experience through a local GFM business partner (see below)


* June - July: BAM or Missional Marketplace apprenticeship with a GFM business partner** and 10 individual BAM coaching sessions through IBEC


* Cost: $3,300* in addition to the Missionary Training School cost (includes housing for June and July)


* Local GFM business partners include Honor Heating & Air, Three Tree Coffee Roasters, and others!


* Dates and pricing are estimates as housing costs vary based on the differing business opportunities. The BAM program is also offered in the fall semester.


**Apprenticeship opportunities vary in industry and location based on the student’s future BAM goals and the business partners’ current needs

Read our Alumni Impact Report

What you will learn in the Business as Mission (BAM) Program?


  • 10 hours of individualized BAM coaching
  • Cross-Cultural and International Business Skills 
  • Integrating Faith and Work
  • How to be a Kingdom Employee
  • Biblical Foundations for Business as Mission
  • Business as Mission Strategies
  • Creating a Business Plan (Lean Canvas Model)
  • Marketing and Advertising
  • Human Resources basics
  • BAM Principles and Best Practices: A Path to Capital or a Kingdom Employee tract is available. See link for details.



Agriculture Farming Program, an add-on to Missionary Training School
business as mission

As we look back over the path God has led us through over the past few years, we cannot express enough gratitude for the roles that MTS and IBEC have played in it. From opening our eyes to the complexities and joys of the missions world, to helping us narrow our focus to Business as Mission (BAM) as a tool for evangelism and discipleship, the training and coaching we’ve received has been invaluable. We are now a few months into operating the BAM venture God has led us to, and are regularly benefitting from the investment and training we have received from these resources. We would readily recommend GFM and IBEC to anyone who has a desire to see the nations reached for Christ through business. 

R & S - Missionary Training School Alumni and small business owners in Thailand

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