BAM is something that Sean and I have always thought about, even before we had heard much about it.  There are opportunities for Christians to get into closed and hostile countries are often far more practical for those going in with a specific skill set, and they are given access where as traditional missionaries might not get such access.  It really is exciting to think about the endless possibilities that business as missions holds.  

One guy at the convention (I don't remember his name) is living in LA (that's Los Angeles, not Louisiana).  He's not a pastor or in full time ministry right now but he is about to be.  He and his wife realized that buying property in Germany is a lot cheaper than buying property in LA.  So, he and his wife are buying property in Germany... but not just any property... they're buying an entire hotel.  They will move there and live as keepers of the hotel.  They are also planning to run a coffee shop out of their hotel and they are also going to have a Christian resource library in the hotel!  How creative/cool/exciting/awesome is that?

Another lady I met this weekend, an old friend of my moms from when we lived in Mississippi knows a guy who live in CA and travels frequently to a very wealthy country in the middle east with a couple of music groups, running their sound and media.  Apparently several of the princes of this Mid East county are fond of these bands, so this CA guy is able to travel with the band, ministering to them, as well as to the people he meets in the ME.  How awesome is that?!

There are a ton of websites on the subject, but the whole movement towards this kind of ministry is really exciting.  I kept hearing this over and over from very well respected people (Doug Lucas, Mark Moore, to name a few) and am just so excited about what the future of missions holds.  Here's some info:

Don't Go To Seminary Article (read this!!!!)

How to Get Involved in BAM (VERY Practical for all business people!!)

I could go on and on, but I'll just let you google "Business As Missions" and see where the web takes you.  This is so exciting... I can only imagine and anticipate with great prayer where this shift in missions will take us in the coming years.  Sure, there may be some new strategy for missions 10 years from now, but for today, 2008 and beyond, this is an exciting thing to see happening.  Gone are the days of the "spiritual elite" (I say this tongue-in-cheek... and mean the idea/falsehood that preachers and seminary students are the only ones with the task to preach and share the gospel) being the only ones who minister to their neighbor.  I think and pray we will see very powerful business men brought to their knees in repentance and prayer.  I pray we will see an increase in giving globally, and that the places and people who are making money in high power jobs will give their lives to Christ and in turn, give more than they ever imagined.  I pray and hope we will see business men and women of all professions joining together to get their hands dirty... to get out of their highrise buildings and visit the poor in the slums... the hungry in the villages... and that they will be moved to do something about it.  Yes, its very exciting.  :-)