You’ve Never Experienced a Q&A Like This!

You’ve Never Experienced a Q&A Like This!

We recently launched our first text-based live Q&A series on WhatsApp, and it was a game-changer. With 190 members from our global network, we dove into an interactive and insightful session about God’s work in South Asia.

I had the pleasure of conversing with Karan, a leader championing the Indigitous vision through Hallowed Code, a “faith meets tech” event hosted on 15th June. Karan highlighted the key elements of organizing every successful event, including vision, communication, funding, and networking.

Check out the full Q&A session to gain skills you can apply to your ministry and other spaces.

Q: I heard Hallowed Code was an amazing journey. Could you tell us more about the event?

Karan: We were three leaders in South Asia, each from different cities and diverse backgrounds, united by a common vision. Despite our varying skill sets and expertise, we all saw the same future.

My role was primarily that of a collaborator and visionary. A significant part of my job was to connect with like-minded faith and tech leaders across South Asia, ranging from well-established professionals to newcomers.

My goal was to bring everyone on board to dream about synergy. Hallowed Code was our initial step towards realizing a larger vision of fostering a culture of consistent innovation for missions in South Asia. Although we cannot predict what it will look like in ten years, we knew we had to start somewhere.

Q: Could you tell me more about your vision?

Karan: Our vision is to see a culture of consistent innovation for missions in South Asia.

This journey began when my wife and I found ourselves leading a church in a tech-centric neighborhood. With 90% of our congregation working in IT, I constantly wondered how we could connect them to meaningful opportunities to serve God.

Given the limitations of a budding church plant in a transient neighborhood, I envisioned a forum to bridge this gap.

[Indigitous co-founder Russ Martin] introduced me to the work of Indigitous, and as I explored their website and saw pictures of vibrant tech communities, I thought, “This is something we could try.” Russ was visiting the country for other work, and I arranged a few meetings with like-minded leaders over coffee and meals. In those conversations, a great idea began to take shape.

Sneha, Aniket, Rahul were some of those like-minded leaders he met. 

Q: I love this journey that you’re on! What steps did you take to see your vision through?

Karan: One Saturday morning, I gathered a group of pastors and techies in a common space and invited Russ and teams from cities in Asia and Africa to share their experiences via Zoom. We spent the next hour brainstorming ideas.

But building momentum around this vision proved challenging since none of us had the time or energy to pursue it full-time.

It was slightly discouraging, but I stopped, paused, pondered, and started thinking about a different approach. That’s when I connected with leaders from other cities.

Hallowed Code emerged as an effort to unite these individuals from across South Asia. (We were honored to have 65+ participants from 11 cities come together, marking the beginning of a journey toward our vision.)

Q: We connected earlier and you said that you weren’t a glimpse of the target audience. I’d love to know more.

Karan: That’s true—I am not a techie myself.

I don’t understand coding, testing, or software development.

But since the Lord placed my wife and me in this neighborhood, I have constantly engaged with the tech community through a pastoral lens.

I learned how they think, how they make decisions, and how scripture fits into their thinking patterns.

[One member of] this group is also a pastor in this same neighbourhood; we share a similar kind of community at our churches.

Unfortunately, successful IT engineers are often seen by the church primarily as “sources of funding and donations,” which limits the impact they can have if missional opportunities are not made available to them.

So, I began thinking differently.

I started asking questions like, “What would your role look like if you began coding for kingdom expansion?” and “What kinds of software would you develop if you knew people could be transformed through apps based on godly behavior patterns?”

Sneha and Rahul were part of a company project that was developing some missional tools/apps. Both of them and their spouses are a part of our church.

I could feel like they started enjoying these conversations with me.

Q: “You need to be able to constantly articulate the idea God gave you. How do you separate the value of the conversation if they fund it or regardless of if they fund it?” I remember we touched on these 2 ideas. Let’s dive into the funding aspect of the event.

Karan: One of the biggest lessons I learned in fundraising for Hallowed Code was that I couldn’t just ask people to fund an event.

It wasn’t effective to create the impression that I needed them to finance something “I wanted to do.” I had to articulate my vision more compellingly.

I needed to show them why an idea like this was worthwhile for South Asia.

Hallowed Code didn’t have a budget when we started. (In fact, one of our first donors who pledged an amount ended up not funding the event.) We began speaking with several smaller organizations and individuals who believed in our vision.

Through these conversations and with God’s supernatural intervention, we were able to secure the necessary support. It seemed to many of them that the timing of something like this was perfect, since they were also pondering on similar ideas.

Truth is, Hcode simply became an implementer of already existing (God-birthing) thoughts in several people’s minds.

Q: How did you manage to build trust across teams to ensure accountability and transparency?

Karan: Building trust and ensuring accountability and transparency across teams was a journey rooted in relational investment.

Crucially, I didn’t rush into organizing events. Instead, I prioritized personal connections. I made time to travel to where potential collaborators were, spending entire days fleshing out the vision, exchanging ideas, and genuinely engaging with their stories and life testimonies.

This approach, whether over meals, coffee, or journeys together, laid the foundation of trust, transparency, and unity. For me, the goal wasn’t merely to run successful events but to embark on a meaningful journey of eternal impact together.

IF THIS IS THE ONLY THING YOU WILL REMEMBER FROM THIS CHAT, REMEMBER THIS:

Christ needs to be celebrated in these relationships, nothing else. If Christ is celebrated, then His mission is treasured. Hallowed Code was deeply rooted in the mission of the great commission.

Q: Effective communication was a crucial part of executing the event. What were some of the challenges you faced?

Karan: This was a significant undertaking. We brought together people from different denominations and regions across South Asia, reflecting the rich diversity of our Christian faith in an ethnically diverse nation. Initially, I felt tempted to push my own agenda and perspective, but I quickly realized the importance of embracing diverse viewpoints.

As organizers, we had to learn to value each other’s experiences, and I’m grateful that the other two organizers were gracious in allowing flexibility in compliance and decision-making processes.

Q: What are a few steps you took to ensure effective communication?

Karan: In any collaborative effort, clear communication is crucial to prevent misunderstandings and maintain unity. We learned firsthand that without communication, assumptions can derail unity.

To avoid this, I made a commitment early on not to make decisions without consulting the other two organizers, and they embraced this practice as well.

Though it sometimes meant taking more time, our commitment to open communication kept us unified and focused on our goals.

In any collaborative effort, clear communication is crucial to prevent misunderstandings and maintain unity.

Q: What kingdom impact did you see from Hallowed Code?

Karan: The impact on the Kingdom was evident in several ways.

Firstly, the majority of participants were enthusiastic about the integration of faith and technology, affirming this forum as a credible platform for connection—this itself was a big win!

Additionally, a prominent technology leader expressed interest in organizing a similar conference in a major tech city in South Asia—we love this!

In one city, several individuals showed interest in hosting a design think tank gathering and participating in the global Indigitous #HACK. Some of the volunteers are here in this group—another kingdom impact.

Furthermore, participants from another city are planning a follow-up meeting to establish a tech community, guided by one of the conference speakers who is based there.

These tangible outcomes highlight the Kingdom impact we observed. Pray that all of this will become a reality.

Feel free to check out Hallowed Code on Instagram.

Would love to learn new things, in different places!

<end of conversation>

To everyone out there pioneering new ideas and projects, we invite you to connect with us. Share your story and engage with our supportive, co-learning community.

If you have a story you’d like to share or know someone who does, please mail us at stories@indigitous.org.

Note: This transcript was edited for readability. Some names have been changed for security reasons.