This week, we’re privileged to have a guest blogger, Ken Arnold. Ken is studying at Harvard and the founding director of a new ministry that brings together tech and missions-minded leaders in Boston. It’s exciting to see how influential technology can be in impacting the nations!

On November 4-6, 2016, 1,426 technologists, developers, designers and mission workers in 28 cities and 16 nations around the world came together to build technology to support Christian missions, as part of an event called Indigitous #Hack. At our city’s event, 40 people gathered at the MIT Media Lab and formed six project teams to work on challenges posed by missions agencies. Projects included investigating the causes and consequences of youth sexting, configuring a portable router to distribute the Bible and other literature in remote areas, prototyping an app to connect people for spiritual mentoring, facilitating connections between Christians in Metro Boston, assisting people in searching for job opportunities abroad, and developing an information management system for a network of orphanages in Southeast Asia.

We worked late into the night. We worshipped and prayed together. We connected with cities around the world. Some of the things we built may already be in use in the mission field, while others explored an idea that may come to fruition years down the road. But the biggest impact was on our community. Nearly every Boston participant said the best part of the event was connecting with other believers and working with them towards God’s mission:

• [The best part was] “Meeting friends, coding globally, dreaming about what missions will look like in the next ten years”
• [It was] “fun to see other Christians come out of the woodwork, especially in a faith-hostile place like Boston where we are all hidden.”
• “I’d never heard of any event like this that brought together technology and digitally minded Christians.”

What’s next?

• Let’s do it again this year! This event was possible because of the passionate work of a diverse planning team. Want to be part of it? Let me know: kenneth.arnold@gmail.com.

• Let’s connect ministry and tech. We’re building a broader community, starting off with a kickoff event one evening in April or May. Details coming soon, sign up for updates or just email me.

• Share your challenges. What inspires you? What would you like to work on?

For those in other fields of work, what would it look like to gather people together to think about using their work and skills for the Gospel?

Come and join us as we dream with God about changing the world through innovative technology!