There is a shift that is taking place in missionary work in Asia. Because of economic downturns, funding from the US and Europe has decreased significantly forcing mission agencies to look for new and innovative ways to fund their work. It seems that God is directing missionaries to begin setting up businesses that will generate needed funds to grow the ministries. This movement is called “Business As Missions” or BAM. BAM is having two unexpected benefits beyond funding. First, it is opening new doors into the community and reaching people not touched by traditional mission activity. Secondly, it is empowering people not called to traditional mission work to realize that they can make a significant difference in advancing the Kingdom of God every day in the marketplace. I am scheduled to go to Bangladesh in late July to meet with a pastor/businessman to talk about setting up a branch of a Christian company from Singapore that will fund new church planting work. I will go to Yangon (Rangoon) in August to help find a BAM project to fund orphanages and schools to reach children while their hearts are still soft and open.

Last month, I was invited to an unusual type of Bible School in Thailand, just across the border from Myanmar (Burma). There were 40 pastors and church planters from Myanmar, Laos and southern China who work with tribal people in their own country. They come to Thailand three to four times per year for a week of intensive training so that they can finish a Bible School curriculum in two years. Laos and China and some provinces in Myanmar are Communist controlled and restrict Christian activity. They must be careful about contact with westerners so they to come to Thailand for training. This type of two year intensive seminar type Bible School is also used in Vietnam and Cambodia. I will go to Cambodia next month to teach for a week and if some scheduling conflicts can be resolved, to Vietnam in September. The travel and seminar cost of these Bible Schools are paid by us western missionaries because the native missionaries could not otherwise come. Thank you for helping fund their training by your gifts.

The faces of these native pastors and church planters are removed for security reasons.

Dr. Jim Randall