The New York Times edition of November 14, 2005 highlighted the
global nature of the "Missionary Business" or in other words,
evangelical missionaries who run businesses to fund conversion
activities around the world.
Andy Newman, in this NYT article called "Their Mission: Spreading
the Word Through Business", has painted a glowing picture of these
"preying vultures". Yet we quote "faithfully" from the
article:
'Tom Sudyk is not most people's idea of a missionary. On paper, he
looks like a modern global capitalist, which he is. Mr. Sudyk, an
entrepreneur from Michigan, runs, among other things, an
outsourcing company in Chennai, India, providing medical
transcribers and software engineers to American businesses. In six
years, the Indian company -- a subsidiary of EC Group
International, a larger outsourcing company that Mr. Sudyk founded
in Grand Rapids -- has grown to 75 employees and is moving into a
building triple its present size.
But the Gospel, Mr. Sudyk says, illuminates every aspect of his
business, from its ethics to its help to local ministries to the
technical support it lends a Christian-run vocational school for
polio victims in Chennai. Each afternoon at the Chennai office,
there is a 10-minute prayer, and while the prayer is
interdenominational, employees who ask to learn more about Jesus
Christ -- as many have -- are gladly accommodated.'
While portraying their tactics in a positive light, the NYT article
continues:
'Christian-run companies are multiplying in just about every corner
of the globe, reshaping overseas mission work. These businesses
form a movement known variously as business as mission, kingdom
business and great commission companies, after the biblical charge
to "make disciples of all the nations."
In Romania, for example, a Californian who runs a Tex-Mex
restaurant and catering hall said that he expected to clear
$250,000 in profit this year, most of which will be donated to
local ministries. And in a Muslim country with a history of
hostility to Christianity, a medical-supply
importer from the Midwest leverages the trust she earns through her
business dealings to quietly spread the word.
Full Article here:
http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1133940251
