Whatever you do, do it for the Lord
Servants, in everything obey those who are your masters on earth, not only with external service, as those who merely please people, but with sincerity of heart because of your fear of the Lord. Whatever you do [whatever your task may be], work from the soul [that is, put in your very best effort], as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [greatest] reward. It is the Lord Christ whom you [actually] serve.
Col 3:22-24 (AMP)
College changed my life – college is supposed to do that. And I graduated in 2013, eagerly answering a calling from God to serve him with my vocation in technology. I couldn’t wait to dive headfirst into missional software development.
I learned a hard lesson pretty quickly: “Missional, God-serving, Kingdom-advancing software developer” rarely pops up on job sites.
At first, I focused on other things, like my church and my relationships, and I took a “regular” job. But that sense of calling kept nagging at me, and my efforts to find a place to live out that calling kept coming up short. I struggled even to find like-minded people who shared a similar calling.
Then, in the spring of 2015, Slack was taking the tech world by storm as a new platform for communication and communities. And, with a little help and encouragement from some really important sources, I decided that if I couldn’t find a place to connect with others over this purpose, I could make one. So I did. And I called it Kingdom Builders.
It started slowly, first with friends I knew personally, and a few professional contacts. Urbana ’15 was a major milestone – the first Hack4missions not only gave me a chance to meet and work with dozens of likeminded people, but I could invite them all to a common space, continuing to share and collaborate and pray for one another’s initiatives. And God invited me to finally serve him through my vocation, working as a web developer for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship from 2016 to 2019.
God gave the growth
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Just servants through whom you believed [in Christ], even as the Lord appointed to each his task. I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was causing the growth. So neither is the one who plants nor the one who waters anything, but [only] God who causes the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one [in importance and esteem, working toward the same purpose]; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers [His servants working together]; you are God’s cultivated field [His garden, His vineyard], God’s building.
1 Corinth 3:5-9 (AMP)
As my responsibilities with InterVarsity grew and changed, as God’s purpose for me grew and changed, as I grew and changed, I gradually spent less and less time actively investing in Kingdom Builders. But the beautiful thing is that God did not stop actively investing in Kingdom Builders.
I was over the moon in July 2015 when Kingdom Builders crossed the 50 member mark. I considered that a wild success, and by rights it was.
Today, Kingdom Builders has over 3,000 registered members. What I planted, what dozens of faithful Kingdom-minded tech folks have watered, God has been faithful to grow. I’m proud of my part in it, but I’m also incredibly humbled by how it has outgrown me.
My life has changed wildly since the summer of 2015, and God has new plans for me. But he also has new plans for Kingdom Builders. And that’s why I’m entrusting the leadership and ownership of Kingdom Builders to Indigitous. God is doing something amazing with this growing collection of Kingdom-minded tech people. So really, this isn’t about me giving control over to Indigitous; it’s about both me and the leaders and Indigitious continuing to faithfully, prayerfully give control over to God. It doesn’t change Kingdom Builders’ mission. It will remain a place for Christian technologists to gather, form relationships, and serve God by collaborating on missional projects.
I pray for success that outstrips my imagination.