Last weekend, an additional 740 participants from 84 locations around the world hacked for the unreached in the second weekend of Indigitous #HACK2020. Participants in 38 cities had previously met for the first weekend of the global missional hackathon. The theme for #HACK2020 is hacking for the unreached, so projects were created to bring the Gospel to where it’s not.
The global pandemic forced most of the locations to meet online, but that didn’t stop people from hacking away at projects as an act of worship. Christian technologists, designers, creatives, and students around the globe felt God in their midst as they rallied around important causes and applied their talents to their faith. Here are a few of the highlights.
#HACK Singapore
Nearly 70 people met virtually around Singapore to work on projects related to their passions. One such project was a training simulator to help people identify and engage with those who may have depression so they can assist them with getting help.
#HACK Mozambique
In one of the few in-person gatherings, seventeen people met in a socially distanced way to work on projects to help the church, including an app that helps those who are listening to sermon podcasts to give to the church.
#HACK Thailand
A group of 22 met online throughout Thailand to work on three projects. One highlight was an online biblical seminary that repackages long lectures into a shorter and more interactive format. Other projects included an electronic hymnal to help people learn Gospel songs and an evangelistic chatbot.
#HACK Panama
The ten hackers in Panama focused on helping the church become more digitally mature so that it can better reach the unreached and bring the Gospel to younger generations. To that end, they created a Digital Academy that trains churches in how to use digital strategies to reach their cities.
#HACK Chilandix
No, there isn’t really a place called Chilandix. This is a collaboration between three U.S. cities: Chicago, Orlando, and Phoenix. Partnering with FaithTech, these locations saw 64 people work on ten exciting projects, including a platform that fights poverty by connecting people to local human development opportunities, an app to distribute audio Bible stories for an unreached people group, and a tool to improve Bible translation.
There are still several #HACK locations that have yet to meet. A few African locations will hack October 23-25, an Indian event will take place October 31- November 1, and several Latin American locations will meet in mid-November. This year, a global panel of judges will vote on the most impactful projects from the hackathon. The winners will be announced on October 23.
Next steps
Whether you took part in #HACK2020 or not, there are a number of steps you can take to be involved in using digital to take the Gospel to where it’s not. Join our Facebook Group to take part in online discussions about making Jesus known, whether it’s to an unreached people group or to your neighbor. Join our Slack community to collaborate on projects, especially if you’re interested in helping one of the projects listed above move forward. You can also join us for the #HACK2020 Global Presentation and Celebration on October 23-24.