A CHURCH in London was a hive of innovation on the weekend as Christian technologists gathered for a 24-hour hackathon event.
The Kingdom Code’s annual BUILD event teamed coders, developers, and programmers with ministry partners, including Stewardship, Safe Families UK, and Mission Assist, to create, design, and construct apps and programmes.
Working within the sanctuary of St John’s, Hoxton, from late afternoon last Friday through to eight p.m. on Saturday, they worked on games, giving apps, AI tools, and assistive-listening technology. Regular prayer and worship punctuated the tapping away at laptops and tablets, while some participants brought sleeping bags in order that they might nap while working through the night.
The event, which has been running for 15 years, attracted about 100 people from across Europe. Many met for the primary time around their project table.
The director of digital and content strategy on the Bible Society, Toby Beresford, said that the charity took part in Kingdom Code since it was a spot where latest ideas for digital apps could possibly be tried and tested: “We are aware that the digital world is a mission field in and of itself. We actually need to see the Bible being a part of that mission.
PHIL CREIGHTONOne hundred people attended the event in St John’s, Hoxton
“You can get quite a good distance in 24 hours and have a workable prototype that individuals can touch, feel and take a look at. For Bible Society, it’s a extremely great way of seeing innovation occur with some great Christian designers, developers, and entrepreneurs.”
Another team, led by Onyinye Nwachukwu and sponsored by Christians Against Poverty, developed a tool to assist debt clients to upload and process paperwork. “The project automates the scanning and processing of documents,” she said. “It means debt coaches can have beyond regular time to construct a relationship with a client, providing them with help and support.”
The team at Discipleship Tech worked on expanding The Serpent and the Seed — currently an adventure game for smartphones — for desktop computers. “We wanted to construct something a non-Christian would enjoy playing,” Andy Geers, who organised the event, said.
FaithTech, a world movement linking Christians within the technology industry, supported the event. Its director of worldwide communities, Kevin Burgess, flew in from Canada for it and said: “The volunteers take these causes, problems, and challenges, and take a look at and never just construct redemptive solutions, but construct in a redemptive way.”
Next yr’s BUILD will likely be held from 9 to 10 October, hosted by FaithTech London. For more information, visit: kingdomcode.org.uk and faithtech.com
