It’s time to #Hack4Missions (again)

ali llewellyn
Sep 2, 2018 · 3 min read

I first heard about Urbana in college.

I wasn’t in InterVarsity, and honestly don’t remember even knowing about it as a college student. But a friend gave me the legendary book In the Shadow of the Almighty, by Elisabeth Elliott, and I devoured it. Jim Elliott’s givenness, how fully laid down his life was, drew me all the way in. And there was a mention of this student missions conference he attended, and the vision he gained from the experience, how it opened a door for him to live out the life that God had called him to.

72 years later from his first conference, Urbana is still doing the same thing for all kinds of people: inviting them to give their whole lives for the Gospel across the whole world.

I had worked on thousands of hackathons and been on scores of mission trips before we were invited to help lead the inaugural Hack4Missions at Urbana 15. I had a lot of experience in training people for missions, and a lot of experience equipping communities to build new technologies to help solve real problems. But I had rarely seen environments that did both at scale, in a sustainable way, and to the specific end of long-term mobilization. When we put together Hack4Missions, we wanted good products, sure. But even more than that, we wanted to develop fiery, mission-minded technologists who were committed to new approaches and new tools for God’s age-old purposes in the Earth.

And here’s the thing: it worked. It worked gloriously. Each leader led out of their gifts and their callings. Every person who was part of the community went past their comfort zone and trusted each other and tried new things, invited new people in. Every team had an ethos of listening and service and covering each other that meant that they could accomplish so much more. The reality of a Kingdom-ordered community took what we could learn and do together to a whole new level. And we were permanently impacted by what we experienced.

So naturally, we’re doing it again. There’s no more missions as usual. We’re taking what we started with Hack4Missions and making it even better than before. We’ll have hardware, software, mobile app and data visualization projects, all prepared by and for real workers on the field.

We often think that only specific people can be used for missions: preachers, teachers, translators, and doctors. But in the 21st century with more and more missions organizations relying heavily on technology to run their operations and innovate in brand new ways, the need for technologically-gifted, mission-minded servants has increased exponentially. #Hack4Missions gives you a glimpse into how God could be calling you to join his mission using your passion for technology.

Join us! Any Urbana participant (conference registration is here) is able to apply for the hackathon as their afternoon program commitment (hackathon application here.) We invite everyone from advanced technology experts, to developers at any level, to designers and digital natives who are just really comfortable working online — and anywhere in between. We’re all part of this community. Applications are open until October 27.

Urbana 15: 200+ hackers and staff celebrating shared work and shared mission!

Written by

love God, love people, love space exploration, love making a difference. #DareMightyThings

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