OPEN USA Important Definitions

BAM

Acronym for Business as Mission, which is a term that encompasses a wide group of mission activities and locations that involve various types of businesses and business values. B4T is a subset of BAM specifically involved only with profit-based businesses, the least reached, and a commitment to the bottom lines of economic and spiritual transformation. For more on Business as Mission, visit businessasmission.com.

B4T

1. An acronym for Business for Transformation.
2. A business located among least-reached people groups with the express goals of being profitable and emphasizing evangelism, church planting, and discipleship. B4T has two bottom lines: economic transformation and spiritual transformation.

Tentmaker

A believer who intentionally takes a job with a company in another culture in order to do transformative work. A tentmaker earns income primarily from his/her job, and is intentional about witnessing cross-culturally. Tentmakers may fall under either the BAM or the B4T category depending on the location, focus, and goals of their transformative efforts. When used in the B4T context, tentmaking always refers to someone working among the least reached.