IBAM- International Business As Mission Biblical Entrepreneurship

IBAM- International Business As Mission
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Welcome to the IBAM Biblical Entrepreneurship Show with your host, Steve Adams. This weekly show inspires and equips Christian entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses that honor God and uplift impoverished communities. Join Steve for solo episodes and expert interviews as we advance the Great Commission by sharing insights, mentorship, and real-life stories of how biblical entrepreneurship is transforming lives and spreading the Gospel globally. Get ready to be inspired and empowered!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Donate to the IBAM mission here- https://www.ibam.org

  1. 6d ago

    EP 116: Do Your Work With Excellence and Let God Use It

    What happens when building a business becomes less about forcing your own plan and more about surrendering to God’s direction? In this Kingdom Impact Summit conversation, business strategist Buki Ekeowa shares the journey that took her from working in the City of London to entrepreneurship, property, YouTube, coaching, and helping women grow businesses online. Her path was not a straight line. After leaving her job in response to what she believed God was telling her, Buki experienced seasons of success, setbacks, experimentation, and plenty of questions. Eventually, she reached a place of surrender: “Not my will, but yours be done.” That posture changed the direction of her business. Buki shares how she felt led to start a YouTube channel even though being on camera did not come naturally. By simply sharing what she had learned, new opportunities began to open. Steve and Buki also explore what Kingdom impact can look like through ordinary business. It is not only about openly presenting the Gospel. It can mean serving people well, solving real problems, working with excellence, building trust, and allowing transformation to be demonstrated through the way you show up. Buki also introduces the O-I-L framework connected to her book Beyond Abundance: offering yourself in surrender, imagination with God, and launching out with your gifts. This conversation is an invitation to stop hiding what God has given you, stay open to His direction, and let your business become a place of service, excellence, and Kingdom impact. 00:00 Introduction01:06 Meet Buki Ecoa02:21 Finding Purpose03:35 The Journey Begins06:14 Uncovering Framework09:13 A Leap of Faith11:09 Surrender to God15:42 Business Excellence24:42 Faith and Work26:45 A Personal Touch30:13 Conclusion 5 Key Takeaways 1. Surrender can change the direction of your business. Buki describes surrender as the posture of saying, “Not my way, Lord, but yours,” while remaining open to new directions, ideas, and actions. 2. Stop assuming God’s direction will look like your plan. Buki resisted starting YouTube because it did not seem like an obvious path to building a business. Yet sharing what she had learned eventually opened the door to coaching. 3. Kingdom impact happens through service. A business does not have to be overtly Christian in every interaction to serve people for Christ. Buki emphasizes solving problems, helping people, and showing up with a posture of service. 4. Excellence builds bridges. The conversation highlights how doing excellent work can build trust, create conversations, and open opportunities to share how God has worked in your life. 5. Use the “oil” God has already given you. Buki connects the widow’s oil in 2 Kings 4:1–7 with the gifts and expertise God has placed in people. Her encouragement is to recognize those gifts, stop hiding them, and launch out with them. Buki explicitly describes surrender as being open to God’s direction, letting go when needed, embracing new ideas, and acting boldly despite discomfort. Her YouTube story and its connection to coaching appear earlier in the conversation. The service, excellence, and Kingdom-business discussion comes from the later portion of the interview. Watch full episode on YT - https://youtu.be/Y5v2OceCoYw Join the free Third Fish Academy at ThirdFish.org

    EP 116: Do Your Work With Excellence and Let God Use It

  2. Sep 21

    EP 115: How to Become the Choice, Not Just a Choice

    What does it take to go from being the world’s best-kept secret to becoming an influential trusted authority? In this episode, Ann Marie Cross shares how coaches, consultants, and multi-passionate entrepreneurs can clarify what makes them unique, uncopyable, and unforgettable—and position themselves as the choice versus just a choice for their ideal clients. At the center of the conversation is a simple formula: Clarity + Consistency + Time = Momentum. Ann Marie explains why clarity must come first, including clarity around your ideal client, your message, your positioning, and the expertise you want to become known for. She also unpacks the five pillars of her Core Business Foundations: your lucrative niche, signature brand, signature system, signature programs, and digital asset. Drawing from her own business journey—including what she describes as her worst business failure and the podcast that unexpectedly generated two four-figure clients—Ann Marie shows how challenges, milestones, and lived experience can become part of your unique message. You’ll also hear how to create an umbrella statement, identify three core themes, develop focused content topics, find your “tip of the spear,” and use a digital asset such as a self-evaluation or quiz to help potential clients identify their gaps. If your expertise is broad but your message feels unclear, this episode offers a practical way to bring greater focus to your brand, message, and visibility. ▶️ Watch the full long-form video: https://youtu.be/W3jtZlyI5g4 🌍 IBAM: Join the mission: www.ibam.org 5 Key Takeaways 1. Clarity + Consistency + Time = Momentum. All three matter, but Ann Marie emphasizes that clarity is the starting point. 2. Your message needs focus. Becoming an influential trusted authority requires consistency not only in how often you communicate, but in what you consistently become known for. 3. Build the foundations before relying on more marketing. The five Core Business Foundations discussed are your lucrative niche, signature brand, signature system, signature programs, and digital asset. 4. Find your “tip of the spear.” One specific area of expertise can become the conversation starter that helps you cut through the noise and connect with what your ideal client is already struggling with. 5. Your story can strengthen your authority. Significant challenges, markers, milestones, and results can form an “invisible thread” that validates the methodologies and steps you now teach others.

    EP 115: How to Become the Choice, Not Just a Choice

  3. Sep 14

    EP 114: Kingdom Business in Your Second Act

    Can you build a purpose-driven business without returning to hustle, grind and exhausting work hours? In this episode, Kingdom business coach Gail Root shares what she has learned about entrepreneurship, calling and Kingdom impact in the second half of life. Gail reflects on her own entrepreneurial journey and the realization that, although she was a believer, she once viewed her business ambitions as something unworthy of God’s attention. That changed when she felt called to coach Christian women and began approaching business as a partnership with God. She explains three important shifts she helps women make: releasing the hustle, reclaiming their calling and building systems that create greater rhythm and flow. The conversation also explores stewardship. Gail discusses money, time, social media, automation and AI as tools that can be used for good when they remain in their proper place and are governed intentionally. She also shares how Kingdom principles can reshape marketing and sales. Marketing becomes less about amplifying yourself and more about helping the people you are called to serve hear you. Sales becomes an invitation rather than something pushy, spammy or driven by anxiety over the outcome. Throughout the conversation, Gail returns to the importance of seeking God first, working from rest, staying connected through fellowship and allowing purpose, peace and joy to coexist with meaningful marketplace impact. 00:00 Introduction00:56 Second Half Life03:23 Purpose Driven05:11 Biblical Insights08:38 Empowering Tools18:17 Sales Approach20:57 Kingdom Principles22:00 Global Mission 5 Key Takeaways 1. Release the hustle. A successful, purpose-driven business does not have to require constant hustle and grind. Gail encourages women in the second half of life to embrace a different rhythm that allows room for peace, joy, family, travel and meaningful work. 2. Reclaim your calling. Experience matters. Gail describes the second half of life as a season in which wisdom, clarity and what a person has already walked through can equip them to serve others through their calling. 3. Build systems that create rhythm and flow. Systems can help create greater freedom. Gail especially highlights automation as a tool that can save time and allow entrepreneurs to spend more time with people instead of behind screens. 4. Steward the tools you have been given. Money, time, social media, automation and AI are all discussed as tools. Rather than fearing or demonizing them, Gail encourages intentional self-governance and using them for good while keeping God first. 5. Shift the way you see marketing and sales. Marketing does not have to be about self-promotion. It can help the people you are called to serve see and hear you. And sales, Gail says, is simply an invitation—one that builds through relationship while leaving the outcome with God. Watch full episode on YT - https://youtu.be/Q8kfr-4T47E Join the free Third Fish Academy at ThirdFish.org

    EP 114: Kingdom Business in Your Second Act

  4. Sep 7

    EP 113: God’s Blueprint for Building a Business

    Can business success and wholehearted faith really belong together? In this episode, Tom Carter talks with entrepreneur, bestselling author, speaker, and King’s Council founder Rylee Meek about his journey from pursuing financial success to building businesses from a biblical worldview. Rylee shares how, by 2019, he had reached what felt like the financial pinnacle of his companies while feeling spiritually bankrupt and deeply unfulfilled. That season forced him to wrestle with a question that had followed him for years: Could he be successful and still be a good Christian? His search took him back to Scripture, including Joshua 1:8, and ultimately helped shape the King’s Council, a ministry focused on discipling entrepreneurs through a biblical framework. Rylee also walks through the business framework he sees in the Genesis creation account—from vision and atmosphere to structure, order, momentum, multiplication, dominion, and Sabbath. He explains how entrepreneurs can use that framework to identify where their businesses may be out of alignment. The conversation also explores fear, indecision, wise counsel, and the difference between constantly asking God for clarity and having faith to take the next step. As Rylee puts it, “God blesses our footprints, not our butt prints.” If you are an entrepreneur, business leader, or someone considering stepping into business, this conversation offers a challenging look at what it means to pursue excellence, steward your gifts, and bring Kingdom culture into your work. 00:00 Introduction01:22 Riley Meek's Journey05:38 Discovering Purpose09:58 Impactful Business13:05 Framework for Success22:00 Practical Advice24:15 King's Council26:07 Conclusion 5 Key Takeaways 1. Financial success does not automatically produce fulfillment. Rylee describes reaching a financial high point in 2019 while feeling spiritually bankrupt and asking whether that was really what life was about. 2. Scripture can shape the way entrepreneurs build. Rylee says studying Joshua 1:8 and the Bible for himself changed how he viewed success, business, and stewardship. 3. Genesis provides a framework Rylee applies to business. He connects creation with vision, atmosphere, structure, order, momentum, multiplication and dominion, and Sabbath. 4. Fear can keep entrepreneurs trapped in indecision. Rylee encourages seeking counsel and wisdom while refusing to stay stuck on what he calls “the fence of indecision.” 5. Faith does not always come with complete clarity. Rylee explains that his prayer shifted from asking God for constant clarity to asking for faith to move in a direction while trusting God with the outcome. Watch full episode on YT - https://youtu.be/gNSrYDGGn5I Join the free Third Fish Academy at ThirdFish.org

    EP 113: God’s Blueprint for Building a Business

  5. Aug 31

    EP 112: From Quiet Faith to Bold Kingdom Leadership

    What happens when faith stops being something you practice only on Sunday and becomes part of how you lead, work, and serve every day? In this episode, Tom Carter speaks with Michelle Schaffer, founder of Kingdom Alliance, author, speaker, podcaster, and entrepreneur, about bringing Christ boldly into the marketplace and using business as an opportunity for discipleship. Michelle shares her journey from keeping her faith relatively quiet in her early career to building a faith-centered community focused on personal development, professional growth, leadership, and discipleship. She explains why she believes business can reach people who may never walk into a church or attend a Bible study—and why the way believers lead can give others an opportunity to encounter Christ. Michelle also opens up about the structure behind her academies, including studying Scripture, weekly activations, accountability, engagement, biblical affirmations, and putting what participants learn into action. She shares the remarkable transformation of one reluctant participant whose life changed through the discipleship experience. The conversation also explores Kingdom identity, leadership modeled after Jesus, pursuing wisdom and excellence, overcoming complacency, and using your voice in a way that encourages others to use theirs. For Michelle, the goal isn't simply to create people who receive information. It's to develop people who activate what they learn—and ultimately become disciples who raise up disciples. 00:00 Introduction00:36 Meet Michelle Schaefer02:27 Michelle's Story11:58 Discipleship Success19:48 Michelle's Books22:51 Practical Tips26:52 Global Impact30:16 Conclusion Five Key Takeaways 1. Business can become an opportunity for discipleship. Michelle believes people who may never enter a church or Bible study may still interact with believers through business—and can encounter Christ through those relationships. 2. Faith is meant to move from information to action. Her discipleship approach combines studying Scripture with activations, accountability, engagement, workbooks, and biblical affirmations. 3. Leadership should point back to Jesus. Michelle says everything in her programs models the leadership of Jesus and continually turns participants back to the Word of God. 4. Kingdom identity can influence every area of life. She describes seeing participants change careers, start businesses and ministries, improve relationships, increase income, and reconsider where God was calling them to focus. 5. Believers should resist complacency. Michelle encourages Christian business leaders to keep learning, pursue wisdom and excellence, actively pursue Christ, find a community that pushes them forward, and live their faith beyond simply showing up at church. Watch full episode on YT - https://youtu.be/1YUF-UwIZEw Join the free Third Fish Academy at ThirdFish.org

    EP 112: From Quiet Faith to Bold Kingdom Leadership

  6. Aug 24

    EP 111: How Adversity Can Lead You Into Your Calling

    What happens when following God means walking away from everything familiar and starting again with almost nothing? In this episode, Steve Adams sits down with author, redemption speaker, and transformational storyteller Selvin Hicks to hear a remarkable story of adversity, faith, business, and purpose. Selvin shares openly about being arrested 19 times, carrying 12 felonies and five misdemeanors, and spending much of his twenties working in the secular entertainment industry. Then his life began to change. After stepping away from his businesses and spending months seeking God, Selvin felt led to leave Atlanta and move to Tampa—with just $199 to his name. Now, while rebuilding his life and business, Selvin is serving people experiencing homelessness through food and clothing campaigns and using his entrepreneurial work to support that mission. Steve and Selvin explore how business can disciple us, why difficult seasons can break pride and deepen faith, and how adversity can help remove the masks that keep us from living authentically. Selvin also explains the principles behind discovering your true North Star, removing the mask, and aligning purpose with action. For entrepreneurs walking through uncertainty, Selvin leaves one clear encouragement: pray your way through it. Keep God at the center when you make the plan, when you launch, and when the hard seasons arrive. 00:00 Introduction00:48 Inspiring Stories01:11 Selvin Hicks' Journey03:22 Personal Transformation06:27 Finding Purpose14:11 Challenges and Faith24:01 Coaching and Guidance27:23 Conclusion 5 Key Takeaways Adversity can become preparation for purpose. Selvin views much of what he experienced earlier in life as preparation for what he is walking into now. Business can disciple you. Selvin says the harshness he experienced in business created a longing for something more and ultimately pointed him toward God. Removing the mask is part of discovering your calling. Selvin explains that you have to move beyond the facade and become honest about who you actually are before identifying your true North Star. Knowing where you are going changes everyday decisions. A clear guiding direction makes it easier to determine whether individual choices align with the person you are striving to become. Prayer belongs at every stage of entrepreneurship. Selvin encourages believers to pray before making plans, while building their businesses, and throughout difficult seasons—not merely after trouble arrives. Watch full episode on YT - https://youtu.be/9eSDwqWrM5E Join the free Third Fish Academy at ThirdFish.org

    EP 111: How Adversity Can Lead You Into Your Calling

  7. Aug 17

    EP 110: Faith, Business, and the Fight Against Chaos

    What if the way you run your business could create opportunities for conversations that go far beyond business? In this episode, Tom Carter speaks with Scott Beebe, founder and head coach of Business on Purpose, about building businesses around biblical principles while helping owners move from chaos toward greater clarity and purpose. Scott shares the four foundational areas his team focuses on with business owners: purpose, people, process, and profit. He explains why these four areas can either become cornerstones of a healthy business or sources of pain when they are neglected. One of Scott's central ideas is simple: “Your process is your product.” Products can look similar from one company to another, but the process through which they are delivered can become a meaningful differentiator. The conversation also explores vision, mission, unique core values, the difference between principle-based and strategy-based leadership, and Scott's own journey through seminary, sales, pastoral ministry, nonprofit work in Nigeria, and eventually business coaching. Scott also shares a powerful story of a successful business owner who admitted, “I've got everything I've ever wanted and I could not be more unsatisfied.” Years of excellent coaching created the trust that opened the door to a deeper conversation about Jesus. You'll also hear Scott's perspective on profit, generosity, scaling a coaching business, the challenges of people and money, spiritual disciplines, and removing technological distractions so leaders can make space for quietness and walking with Jesus. 00:00 Introduction00:48 Kingdom Impact01:36 Guest Scott Beebe04:18 Empowering Businesses06:00 Business Story08:46 Business & Faith13:06 Core Values24:54 Distraction & Focus26:08 Get in Touch27:32 Conclusion 5 Key Takeaways 1. Your process can become your differentiator. Scott argues that in many businesses the product itself may be a commodity. What differentiates the business is the process through which that product or service is delivered. 2. Purpose, people, process, and profit are foundational. Scott describes these as the “four Ps.” They can function as foundational cornerstones—or become four areas of pain when they are not intentionally developed. 3. Build from enduring principles, not only changing strategies. Strategies can change as circumstances and innovation change. Scott emphasizes grounding business leadership in principles drawn from God's Word. 4. Excellent work can earn the opportunity for deeper conversations. Scott's story about one of his team's clients illustrates how years of being a “world class coach” created enough trust for a two-hour conversation about the gospel. 5. Faith and business cannot be completely separated. Scott says life and business “necessarily intersect.” What happens at home follows us into work, and what happens at work follows us home—making spiritual disciplines, quietness, and time with God's Word especially important. Watch full episode on YT - https://youtu.be/wRvBbiXwS-0 Join the free Third Fish Academy at ThirdFish.org

    EP 110: Faith, Business, and the Fight Against Chaos

  8. Aug 10

    EP 109: Your Story Is Bigger Than You

    What if the story you have been holding back is exactly what someone else needs to hear? In this episode, Devin Shubert shares how an unexpected experience involving Willie Robertson became a powerful confirmation of his calling, his approach to influence, and the reason he believes entrepreneurs need to stop hiding their stories. Devin introduces the SOS Method: Social Media, Opportunities, and Stages—a simple approach to becoming more visible, building meaningful relationships, and getting your message in front of more people. For social media, he breaks the strategy down even further with the ABCs: Attention, Beliefs, and Call to Action. Get people’s attention. Be bold enough to shift beliefs. Then clearly tell people what to do next. But influence is not only about attracting customers. Devin explains why people who never buy from you can still become dedicated followers, advocates, referral partners, collaborators, and connections who open unexpected doors. His challenge is to prioritize relationships over busy work and recognize the opportunities already around you. He also shares what entrepreneurs need when they want to take their message to bigger stages, including a clear niche, a signature framework or talk, a place of influence, and speaker or media materials. The episode closes with Devin’s deeply personal story of nearly losing his life, the moment he believes Jesus told him he still had a story to tell, and the mission that followed. His challenge is simple: Stop hiding. Start sharing. Don’t take your story to the grave with you. 00:00 Welcome & Introduction01:15 Inspiration & Achievement04:14 Adoption Story09:30 SOS Method17:13 Power of Story26:29 Voice & Influence35:21 Legacy & Mission36:11 Conclusion 5 Key Takeaways 1. Your Presence Online Should Match Your Calling Offline Social media is a place to intentionally share your message, story, and business. Devin challenges listeners to stop posting simply for likes and start posting for legacy. 2. Use the ABCs of Social Media Devin’s framework is simple: A — Attention: Give people a reason to stop and notice you. B — Beliefs: Be bold enough to shift what people believe. C — Call to Action: Give people a clear next step. 3. You Don’t Need More Followers—You Need the Right Relationships Not everyone who connects with you will become a customer. They may instead become an advocate, referral partner, collaborator, supporter, or someone who introduces you to another opportunity. 4. Take Your Story to Stages Stages can include podcasts, summits, panels, virtual stages, and physical stages. Devin encourages people to prepare their message so they are ready when opportunities appear. 5. Your Story Is Not Just About You Devin’s closing message is that your story can meet someone else’s need. His challenge is to stop hiding what you have lived through and start sharing it with the people who need to hear it. Watch full episode on YT - https://youtu.be/52C23g5HT4A Join the free Third Fish Academy at ThirdFish.org

    EP 109: Your Story Is Bigger Than You
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About

Welcome to the IBAM Biblical Entrepreneurship Show with your host, Steve Adams. This weekly show inspires and equips Christian entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses that honor God and uplift impoverished communities. Join Steve for solo episodes and expert interviews as we advance the Great Commission by sharing insights, mentorship, and real-life stories of how biblical entrepreneurship is transforming lives and spreading the Gospel globally. Get ready to be inspired and empowered!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Donate to the IBAM mission here- https://www.ibam.org

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