Business as Mission from an Indian Perspective
So many of our business as mission stories are about westerners doing BAM. As vital and inspiring as those stories are, we want to add some spice into the mix and highlight business as mission from an Indian perspective. In this e.zine edition, we tell the story of Turbocam, a business as mission company with operations in India and also Gateway Ventures, an Indian-led company in Central Asia. We interview Joseph Vijayam, founder of Olive Technology and long-time ambassador for BAM, on what it's going to take to see Kingdom-business multiplication in an Indian context. We share Joseph's Lessons from the Edge, hard won insights from a BAM practitioner. 
Turbocam India A Business as Mission Company
Like many small business stories, the story of Turbocam India involves the spark of opportunity, mixed in with a great deal of perseverance and one or two major breakthroughs that have set the course of the company. But perhaps the most important ingredient of all has been a firmly held belief from it’s inception that Turbocam was to be a ‘Kingdom company’, existing as a business for the purpose of honouring God.
Turbocam International was founded by Indian Marian Noronha in New Hampshire, USA in 1985. Turbocam’s core business revolves around manufacturing specialised machine parts for turbines and turbochargers, using sophisticated software to machine very high-precision, delicately balanced parts. Right from it’s earliest days Marian envisioned the company would be used in the service of God. The ideas of creating jobs and generating wealth, supporting Christian service and manufacturing high quality turbo machinery products have all been integral to the mission of the company from the beginning.
Embracing the Call to Business An Interview with Joseph Vijayam
Joseph Vijayam has had many years to think about how to integrate his Christian faith with his business life. He started Olive Technology in 1996 with a vision to support himself to do ministry. Since then, Joseph’s understanding of ‘mission’ has developed to embrace ‘business as mission’. Here Joseph shares some of his reflections on being Kingdom-minded in business and the role of Christian business people in bringing transformation to India.
What are you most passionate about as you think about business as mission and your company today?
Well I am obviously excited about what we are doing through Olive as a company and how our own business is growing. But these days I am also thinking more and more about how we can get greater numbers of business as mission efforts started in India and around the world. I am focusing more of my energies on being a catalyst for multiplying business as mission enterprises.
Daniel in the Lions Den The Extraordinary Story of Gateway Ventures
Daniel Gunaseelan has a very colourful story indeed. Starting in a tiny village of 100 houses in his native Tamil Nadu, a state on the southern tip of India, Daniel’s story stretches all the way to a multi-million dollar company in the oil and gas industry in Kazakhstan. On the way he tells of false starts and successes, of making and losing his fortune and of a business breakthrough in a blizzard. At every turn, one theme stands out. It is very well summed up by the verse in Psalm 119, '’Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path’'. Daniel's story is about the extraordinary impact we can have for Christ in business as we are faithful to follow Him. As Daniel puts it, ‘As we are prepared to make Jesus our CEO, our boss, He can bring fruitfulness far beyond what we can imagine.’
Lessons from the Edge Insights from a BAM Practitioner
Wait for God to guide as you make decisions about opportunities
Don’t jump into an opportunity which might end up being a distraction from Kingdom goals. Rather be discerning about which opportunities fit what God has put on our heart to do. One of the hardest things to do for a highly driven entrepreneur is to wait. But, waiting on the Lord is not a passive stance. It is a proactive leaning on God for his direction.
Be committed to the development of employees, suppliers and customers
Every person with whom we interact within the context of work is a relationship entrusted to us. Each is a child of God and a ‘neighbor’ whom we are commanded to love as ourselves. These are the people to whom we must commit to serve in a manner that brings out the best in them, whether they are employees, partners, suppliers or customers. Delegate responsibility and build up a strong second line of leadership
Building strong leadership in any company is important. In a BAM company it is absolutely imperative since it enables leaders in your business to step up to Kingdom opportunities without hurting the day-to-day operations of the organization. We will be called on to mentor and give input to other ministries with the business experience that we have, whether it is strategic decision making, leadership development, management, finance, technology, or so on.
Extracted from 7 Kingdom Business Principles by Joseph Vijayam
Joseph has been in business in India and the USA for 15 years. |
Issue 8 : December 2011
