One of the more effective strategies for missions outreach over the last several years (decades?) has been the Business as Mission (BAM) movement. Now an Issue Group within the main BAM movement has issued a substantial report that has been several years in the making: One Big Thing: The One Thing a God-honouring Business Must Do to Be a Good Creation Care Steward.
Produced with input from leaders around the world, the report offers a number of ‘big things’ BAM companies can do. Here’s a taste of the report from the Executive Summary:
Business as Mission (BAM) companies serve people who face great environmental, even existential challenges. BAM practitioners are on the ground already in many areas of the greatest need and are positioned to respond.
To help BAM practitioners meet the business as mission goal— or bottom line—of environmental stewardship, we asked some of the leading Christian scientists and thinkers on the topic of business and creation care:
What is the one thing you would tell a God-honouring business they must do to be a good creation care steward?
What other advice would you give to those businesses?
We received strong guidance from this wider group, drawn from their experience and a knowledge of the biblical view of creation care. This report summarises their advice, complemented by our own analysis, into the following emerging themes:
• Be part of the solution
• Talk about it
• Connect with nature and appreciate it
• Become acquainted with local and international environmental laws
• Study the Bible on creation care and ask God for help
• Set measurable outputs and internal incentives for reducing waste and pollution
• Create a sustainable supply chain and go local where possible
• Conduct an energy audit
• Speak up for creation with government officials and politicians
• Dedicate a team for creation care within the staff and be intentional
