The Radius curriculum was designed in terms of what long-term, incarnational, cross-cultural church planters need by way of knowledge (know), skills (do) and character (be). This section summarizes what the component of the program that many refer to as BAM or Business and Missions.

Approximately 75% of our graduates are heading into restricted access contexts, and we want to prepare them for the unique challenges of serving in those places. We cover the biblical theology of work, which breaks down the erroneous “Sacred/Secular Divide”. We study the Apostle Paul’s income-generating activities, and discuss the New Testament reasoning behind engaging in income-generating work. We also look at the history of the spread of the Gospel in terms of the use of “craft” and professional work. Finally, we provide an introduction to business planning with plenty of discussion about the real issues involved in doing business as part of being properly related to a community for 15 years or more. The course highlights biblical identities that need to be at the core of our work, and helps students understand the need to move away from unhelpful labels and identities like missionary and church planter.

We propose that there are three important commitments that must be pursued: Integrity, Longevity and Impact, and that letting any of them fall will likely stop them from achieving what the Lord is sending them out to do. The instructors for this course have years of experience in doing business cross-culturally, and we also bring in a good number of current, on-field practitioners to round out the discussions and the opportunities for learning and preparation.