Tentmaking and Business as Mission: LDI’s Free Online Training for Global Leaders
With our curricula tentmakers can learn missions and leadership,
What is a Tentmaker?
Tentmakers are ambassadors of the Lord Jesus, who hold “secular jobs”- and tentmaking is more than a strategy—it is a biblical model for missions that remains relevant in today’s globalized world.
The Apostle Paul the tentmaker (Acts 18:3) worked alongside Priscilla and Aquila, tentmakers by trade, while advancing the Gospel. This example demonstrates that ministry and marketplace can coexist for God’s glory. In regions where traditional missionary visas are denied—Creative Access Nations (CANs) and Restricted Access Nations (RANs)—tentmaking provides a legitimate pathway for believers to fulfill the Great Commission: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…” (Matthew 28:18–20).
Why Tentmaking Matters
The need is urgent. Over 3.4 billion people remain unreached, concentrated in the 10/40 Window (Joshua Project, 2024). Many countries prohibit missionary entry but welcome skilled professionals. Missiologists like Greg Livingstone (Planting Churches in Muslim Cities) and Patrick Lai (Tentmaking: The Life and Work of Business as Missions) affirm that tentmaking is a bridge to closed nations. It is not a compromise—it is a calling.
Tentmaking also addresses a practical reality: believers already working abroad. The Philippines OFW phenomenon illustrates this opportunity. Over 2.6 million Overseas Filipino Workers serve globally (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2024), many in CANs and RANs. Imagine the impact if these believers embraced their role as ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), living intentionally as witnesses in the marketplace.
LDI’s History in the Tentmaker Field
Our platform is fully digital and optimized for mobile access, allowing students to engage with the material from anywhere in the world. Whether they’re in a classroom, on the mission field, or balancing ministry and family life, learners can progress through the curriculum at a pace that fits their calling and context.
The curricula can be co-branded for smooth integration within your school or organization. It is fully digital and optimized for mobile access, allowing leaders to study from anywhere in the world. Whether your students are pursuing a cross-cultural ministry degree or a graduate certificate in global missions, our curriculum is designed for flexibility and global ease while maintaining both depth and quality.
Tentmaker Missionary Roles and Opportunities
Modern tentmakers serve in diverse sectors:
• Digital Tentmaker roles in tech, remote work, and online consulting.
• Tent Making Business ventures in community development, microfinance, and social enterprise.
• Business as Mission Training for entrepreneurs creating sustainable impact.
• Types of Tent Making include Ari Rocklin’s categories: Job Fakers, Job Takers, and Job Makers.
LDI challenges tentmakers to avoid deception and mediocrity. Authenticity matters. Tentmakers should not be “job fakers” who pretend to work while focusing only on ministry. Instead, they must excel professionally, using work as worship and living openly as Christ’s ambassadors. As the quote reminds us: “Be who you is, not who you ain’t, because if you ain’t who you is, you is who you ain’t.”
Tentmakers and the Global Shift
The center of gravity in missions has shifted. In 1900, 80% of Christians lived in Europe or North America; today, only 25% (Lausanne, 2024). Non-Western nations now lead the charge:
- South Korea sends over 30,000 missionaries.
- Brazil, Nigeria, and the Philippines are emerging as major senders (COMIBAM, 2024). Tentmaking is essential for polycentric missions. It empowers believers from the Global South to serve in places where Western missionaries cannot go.
Tent Makers Ministry and Local Church Connection
Tentmakers must prioritize the local church—even if its form differs from Western models. As LDI teaches, the church is an organism, not merely an organization. It may meet in homes or storefronts, but its essence remains: gathering, giving, going, and growing (Acts 2; II Peter 3). Tentmakers can strengthen existing believers, mentor emerging leaders, and catalyze multiplication. Sometimes, the most strategic role is not planting a new church but empowering locals to lead church growth.
Challenges in Tent Making Ministry
Tentmaking is not without challenges:
• Capital Resources: Starting businesses abroad can be costly.
• Resistance: Traditional missionaries and sending churches may question BAM models.
• Time Constraints: Language learning and short-term visas limit impact.
• Cultural Adaptation: Forms of worship and leadership must fit local contexts without compromising biblical functions.
LDI teaches life abroad as a tentmaker using their NEPHEW acronym, and addresses these challenges through training that emphasizes flexibility, humility, and reproducibility.
LDI’s Free Online Training Program
LDI offers a Global Missions Leadership Certificate (GMLC)—a free, online program designed for those who want to integrate faith and work in unreached contexts. Our curriculum covers:
- Theology of Missions
- Cross-Cultural Ministry
- Leadership Development
- Practical Tools for Tentmakers / Business as Mission (BAM)
Whether you’re a digital tentmaker, entrepreneur, educator, or healthcare professional, LDI equips you to serve abroad with an awareness of culture and a practical passion for the Great Commission.
Work as Worship
LDI calls tentmakers to live in the confidence of their calling and the grace given to them—using their work as worship, for God’s glory, and for the advance of the Gospel among the nations. The need is great. The time is short. Will you join in leading this generation into a relationship with Jesus Christ?