What if your 9–5 job isn’t just a career—but a calling big enough to transform cities, restore dignity, and even change nations?
This is the story that unfolds when you sit down with Mats Tunehag, one of the world’s most influential voices in the Business as Mission (BAM) movement. His journey—from studying maps as a Swedish preacher’s kid to shaping a global shift in how Christians approach business—is one of courage, clarity, and compassion.
And it’s exactly the kind of story that sits at the heart of Cities Project Global, where faith, work, and impact intersect.
A Childhood Obsession That Became a Global Calling
Before Tunehag ever stepped onto a stage or led a global think tank, he was a twelve-year-old boy lying in bed at night, studying maps of the world and whispering a bold prayer:
“God, send me to the places with the deepest needs.”
He didn’t know what that would look like.
He didn’t know it would one day reshape mission strategy for churches, entrepreneurs, investors, and entire nations.
But God knew.
When the Soviet Union Collapsed, a Door Opened
In the early 1990s, Tunehag landed in Central Asia after the Soviet Union collapsed. Overnight, unemployment skyrocketed—from 0% to over 70% in some regions.
People were hungry.
Families broke apart.
Millions were trafficked, displaced, or desperate.
Mission teams came with Bibles and Jesus films—good and necessary tools.
But something was painfully missing:
“People can’t eat a Bible verse. They needed jobs. They needed dignity.”
—Mats Tunehag
That realization became the spark.
If broken economies produce broken families, maybe godly businesses can restore both.
The Birth of a Global Movement: Business as Mission (BAM)
Tunehag knew this wasn’t simply about opening businesses in unreached nations.
It was about redefining work itself.
So in 2002, he launched the first-ever global BAM think tank under the Lausanne Movement. He gathered 75 leaders—entrepreneurs, theologians, pastors, economists—from every continent.
The question was simple:
What does Scripture teach about business, work, wealth creation, and mission?
After months of research, thousands of emails, and a weeklong gathering in Thailand, something historic emerged:
The Business as Mission Manifesto (2004).
A one-page theological foundation that removed the sacred-secular divide and gave the global church a new language for calling and vocation.
It defined business not as a “platform for ministry,”
but as ministry itself.
Business as Mission is business that intentionally serves:
The Four P’s (Tunehag’s BAM definition):
- People – serving customers, employees, suppliers, communities
- Purpose – aligning business with biblical values and God’s mission
- Planet – stewarding creation, innovating solutions, restoring broken environments
- Profit – ensuring sustainability, dignity, and ongoing blessing
This wasn’t a slick slogan.
It was a theology of work deep enough to transform nations.
Why This Matters for Cities Project Global
At Cities Project Global, we see the same reality Tunehag encountered:
✨ Most Christians spend 90,000+ hours at work.
✨ Less than 1% work in traditional ministry.
✨ And yet, most churches train people only for Sunday—not Monday.
Business as Mission reconnects calling to reality.
It restores dignity to work.
It gives believers permission to say:
“My business is my mission field.”
This is why the Leadership Circle course, the Intersection Podcast, and CPG’s global training efforts exist—to awaken and equip believers for this exact integration of faith + work + impact.
The Barrier: Churches Still Struggle to Embrace Marketplace Calling
Tunehag shares a surprising truth:
- 0% of businesspeople he surveyed had ever heard a sermon on faith and work
- 0% had ever been asked by a pastor, “How can I pray for your business?”
- 100% had been asked for money
No wonder so many Christian entrepreneurs feel like “second-class citizens in the kingdom.”
But CPG believes the opposite:
Work is worship. Business is ministry. Calling is for everyone.
And that’s why Cities Project Global teaches churches, leaders, and entrepreneurs how to reclaim this truth.
From Korea to Brazil to Indonesia: BAM Is Spreading Globally
The BAM movement is not Western.
It’s not American.
It’s not even English-speaking.
Tunehag shares remarkable examples:
- Korea has four BAM-integrated MBA programs
- Indonesia has 30,000 BAM entrepreneurs
- Central Asian nations now partner with BAM leaders
- Over 40+ global think tank reports and 20+ languages now support the movement
This is global Christianity rebuilding cities through business.
This is urban mission re-imagined.
The North Korea vs. South Korea Lesson
Tunehag often points to one of the most powerful illustrations in modern history:
Two nations.
Same culture.
Same ethnicity.
Same language.
Yet one is free, flourishing, innovative.
The other is starved, oppressed, and economically frozen.
Why?
Because God-given principles—freedom, dignity, creativity—were embraced in the South and suffocated in the North.
This is what happens when business thrives in alignment with God’s design.
If We Want to Build Cities That Last, We Must Dig Deep
Tunehag ends with a simple but profound reminder:
“A tree with deep roots laughs at the storm.”
Cities Project Global exists to build cities, leaders, and businesses that withstand storms—economic, cultural, political, spiritual.
BAM is not a trend.
It’s not a program.
It’s a way of seeing work the way God sees it.
And when believers embrace this, entire cities flourish.
CONCLUSION: Your Work Matters. Your Calling Matters. Your Business Matters.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a professional, a student, or a pastor…
Your work is not second-class.
Your calling is not “less spiritual.”
Your business is not separate from God’s mission.
It is God’s mission.
And this movement—this intersection of faith, work, and life—is exactly what Cities Project Global is championing around the world.