Andy* still has material from his graduate thesis 20 years ago. One of the images from the thesis is a world map with dots indicating all the people around the world, at the time, who had connected to the internet. Another image shows people around the world who had internet-capable phones. The difference in the two images represented the opportunity for over 2 billion people to connect to the internet and have access to the Bible and the gospel—an effective way of reaching the unreached.
That was Andy’s mindset going into the job market. His career journey has taken him to Google, Twitter, Airbnb, Slack, and other companies that have changed how people connect, work, travel, and consume information.
‘There’s an opportunity for Christians to influence their coworkers, to be light among their colleagues. It’s important because they are very likely sitting next to someone from an unreached people group, and they spend the most time with this person. That’s a direct means of outreach, but it’s not the end of it,’ he says.
There are some important questions to ask as a believer entering the tech field, or any other workplace.
How important is it for believers to be working in these companies and praying for the actual products that are being developed? For example, praying for people who are coding, that the Lord would guide them on how they write, that God would breathe into how they code. How important is it for all of us workers to invite God into the conversation, into the project plans, into the marketing materials? What about inviting God to give us the words, the knowledge on how to go about our work?
Andy believes that such a mindset will influence products and steward them towards advancing the gospel. And it is the reason he and his family made a decision to stay in Silicon Valley. He wants to see believers working in these companies because they have a big responsibility in shaping the way people live.
When he took the role at Slack, he did it because he believed that such a product could be a huge mobilising force for missions.
‘Everyone was going remote during the pandemic. Companies were allowing people to move anywhere. You didn’t have to change your job. What if you did the same job and if you felt called to go to Indonesia, for example, you could just go? You have the most freedom you’ve ever had in corporate life. You can still do your job and be in a place that you’re called. I felt like it was important to work on these tools that allowed more and more tent-makers to be where God wants them to be,’ he explains.
“How would Jesus approach building these products?” There’s so much opportunity to invite the Holy Spirit into the design and decision-making process.
‘It’s important to think about all the products being built and ask the question: “How would Jesus approach building these products?” There’s so much opportunity to invite the Holy Spirit into the design and decision-making process. This calls on believers to prayerfully think about their influence in whatever role they hold’.
Sometimes important policies, such as data privacy, are made by one person in tech companies. A believer could be the decision-maker or could influence the decision-maker by displaying a Christ-centered approach.
Quantum Computing
Andy’s transition to a quantum computing startup was informed by the fact that quantum computing is going to be one of the biggest computing evolutions in the tech industry. It will completely change the infrastructure of the internet and have a massive impact in major industries such as logistics, drug discovery, cybersecurity, financial modelling, artificial intelligence, manufacturing, and more.
‘Because of the massive societal impact it will have, I felt that it’s important to have believers be part of shaping and influencing this technology when it’s still very early on. Because I think about my kids, who are really young. By the time they are older and working, quantum computing is going to be massively adopted. It’ll be ubiquitous. I want my kids to enter the working world knowing there were believers who shaped how this technology was developed and adopted, and they put safety and security guardrails to protect people and society’.
I want my kids to enter the working world knowing there were believers who shaped how this technology was developed and adopted, and they put safety and security guardrails to protect people and society.
Every technology comes with a dark side. There’s anxiety and fear about how malicious actors might use quantum computing technology in the wrong ways, and so there are a lot of policies to figure out.
Switchboard
Andy is also involved with Switchboard, an early-stage company that seeks to connect professionals with mission organisations that they can serve. Accountants, marketers, project planners, and others can contribute their skills to support mission organisations, who often lack skilled labor. Switchboard is a marketplace that pairs them up so that these workers can participate in missions.
FaithTech
FaithTech is a global community focused on stewarding our tech skills to glorify God together. Andy is involved with the Silicon Valley chapter, which brings together believers who work in different tech companies through events and discipleship sessions. They receive encouragement and also get to work on projects together.
FaithTech also had a book club during the Covid pandemic. Members would commit to reading books and get together weekly on a Zoom call to reflect on them. One of the books they read is From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology, by John Dyer1, a theological analysis on the interaction between technology and culture. Members of the book club shared their thoughts on the book and how it applies to their work in tech.
Being excellent in your craft is one of the most powerful ways to be a living testimony. Andy observes that in the tech industry, where there are a lot of atheists, the best strategy for ministry is to earn trust just by being excellent at your craft.
Work should be a vocation that we execute excellently, not an obsession that leads to idolatry, with the understanding that God is inviting us to devote it to him from the beginning to the end.
Conclusion
Inviting the Holy Spirit into how we build our products is applicable to all industries, not just tech. It’s small businesses like restaurants thinking about how they curate their menus to reflect the goodness of God, or a flower shop designing bouquets that reflect the creator of beauty, or a mining business intentionally thinking about equity and dignity of their workers.
Inviting the Holy Spirit into how we build our products is applicable to all industries, not just tech.
Bringing faith into the workplace goes beyond businesses making money and giving it to churches and ministries. It’s about businesses being built on the solid foundation that is Christ Jesus and stewarding products, talents, and resources for God’s glory.
*Pseudonym
Endnotes
- John Dyer, From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology. (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2011).