What does it really take to start a multilingual church? Hear the story of One Voice Fellowship, a church plant in Northern Virginia using spf.io to translate worship services into 10 languages. Discover why immigrants, refugees and people from many nations choose to worship in this multilingual community and how it reflects God's heart in Scripture. What are the challenges and how can technology help? Here's one choice quote from Pastor Chris Sicks: > There was one woman who had been coming for six months, is not a believer, but loved the way she was loved, she just really appreciated being prayed over, but she didn't understand a whole lot of what was going on until the first time we did spf.io. And the whole time I was preaching, she was like, elbowing the person next to her and smiling and nodding and pointing at the screen and at the end of the service, she said, "this is the first time I felt included". Languages spoken at One Voice include: English, French, Farsi, Amharic, Arabic, Spanish, Punjabi, Uyghur, Chinese, and Urdu Project Pentecost: www.projectpentecost.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

TheoTech Podcast

How to Start a Multilingual Church

What if churches had software tools that went “beyond Sunday” to enhance fellowship, ministry, and outreach? Jeff Hook is the founder and CEO of Communitas Technologies, a new congregant-centered church software platform. Jeff and Chris talk about trends in tech adoption in churches, what digital transformation means, and how technology offers new opportunities for churches to serve and support their members and communities. Join us in conversation about this topic at the TheoTech Forums! If you would like to personally support this podcast, you can sign up at Patreon. Thank you to all of our current Patreons, who make this show possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

Church Management Systems and the Digital Transformation

Recently churches around the world have been forced to make sweeping changes to their services and ministries, many operating exclusively online for months. Some of these changes have been fruitful. But as most of us have seen, the innovation of sacred space is a delicate process. How can churches move forward with new technology without resistance or, worse, leaving people behind? Jessica Pilsner is an Education Technology Coordinator at St. Thomas School, and currently studying for a graduate degree with the University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering program. In this episode, she and Chris talk about the lessons Educational Technology has for tech adoption in the church. They also discuss a virtual Hackathon event coming up this month called Code for the Kingdom, and how God how God has been at work in Jessica’s career, creating a path she couldn’t have anticipated. Join the discussion on this episode (and others!) at the TheoTech Forum. And to support future podcasts like this one, on the intersection of faith and technology, please visit our Patreon. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

EdTech Lessons on Technology Adoption in the Church

How can professionals use their valuable experience and skills to serve God? Silicon Valley Web Developer Matt Chan was driven by this question. Matt is the Co-Founder of Basil Tech, a company where Christian tech professionals can work with non-profit companies and ministries to build sustainable tech solutions. Their San Francisco based team has been working on "projects for the kingdom" around the world for about 5 years now. In this episode Matt talks with Chris about how God led him to this calling, and his insights on building a space where faith and technology based cultures overlap.  To learn more about Matt and his company, visit Basil Tech. You can support Theotech's future episodes on the intersection of faith and technology at Patreon.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

First Fruits: Tech Professionals Serving God

James Adams is an AI professional with 12 years experience in foreign missions. In this episode he and Chris discuss ways cutting edge AI technology could be applied to support missions to unreached populations. AI recommendations, AI generated media, and even chatbots could all be used to spread the gospel. If you’re interested in developing tech tools that make a difference for communities and churches, registration is now open for Code For The Kingdom, a virtual 24 hour hackathon on March 20th. The event is free and open to developers, creatives, church workers, and anyone interested. And as mentioned in the episode, you can get reminders to pray for the people in your life with the Ceaseless app, available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. And for free, quality small group discipleship training, be sure to check out Zúme. Thank you to our Patreon supporters, who make this show possible. If you would like to become a patron please visit us at the Patreon website. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

On The Frontier: AI & Missions

Are the Christians you know “quick to listen”? They could be, if they followed the Quick to Listen podcast, hosted by Christianity Today’s Global Media Manager Morgan Lee. As the host and producer, Morgan strives to “go beyond the hashtags and hottakes”, unpacking current events with insightful and invested guests. Morgan and Chris also discuss their co-operation in Christianity Today’s Global Initiative, which this year has completed 350 translations into more than 12 languages. Together they’ve been working to improve AI-assisted translation. And of course, Chris and Morgan address the current event of the year, COVID. They explore how the pandemic has forced the church to innovate, finding new ways to come together, fellowship, and serve one another digitally across the world. If you’re interested in working with Christianity Today, they are currently looking for new members to join their Translation Team. Free curriculum on the Church Digital Transformation is available, also check out SPF.IO, a platform for community sourced translation and accessibility. If you would like to personally support this podcast, you can sign up at Patreon. Thank you to all of our current Patreons, who make this show possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

Digital Transformation and the Global Church

Academic life is busy; students, postgrads, and faculty rarely find time to dig into “the big questions” of their work. Dr. Hannah Eagleson is Associate Director of the Emerging Scholars Network, an InterVarsity ministry supporting Christians with an academic vocation. And she believes that people of faith have an invaluable role in academia: making space to pursue these big questions. Chris and Hannah discuss her work in this area, from co-hosting a 500 person digital dinner party on the subject of science and religion, to publishing a book “Science and Faith: Student Questions Explored”. She shares her insights on how “charitable conversation” and “the gift of listening” can help people with seemingly disparate beliefs come together to find common ground and shared truths. To learn more about how the Emerging Scholars Network is encouraging and equipping undergrads, postgrads, postdocs, and faculty you can check out their Website. If you’re interested in the work Dr. Eagleson is doing, you can sign up to attend the Virtual Event she's hosting on December 16th, a relaxed and interactive evening reflecting on God’s work in student ministry at Cornell. And if you would like to support the TheoTech podcast, please visit our Patreon site to become a regular giver. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

Charitable Conversations: Bringing Together Faith, Science, and Academia

Ask a Software Developer about the hardest part of their job, and you may be surprised by their answer. It probably won’t be “de-bugging” or “deadlines”, you're more likely to hear about “communication” or “people”. In this podcast we speak with Todd White, a Development Manager at Faithlife. Faithlife is an established tech company with over 30 years experience in making Bible software and mobile apps. Todd shares with us the management strategies Faithlife uses to balance autonomy and teamwork, and cultivate a trust-based corporate culture. If you're interested in working for a company that uses technology to help the church grow in light of the Bible, go to their career page to see their current openings. To support Theotech and our discussions on the intersection of faith, technology, and entrepreneurship you can sign up as a regular giver on Patreon. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

Management and Trust Building in Software Development

“The opportunity to glorify God through language diversity is limitless, and as many pastors would testify, it brings tremendous joy to the life of their congregation. Climbing this multi-lingual hill is not easy...but the view will only get better and better because what we are delivering is a foretaste of heaven as described in Revelations 7:9 : A great multitude that no-one could count from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne, before the Lamb.”  “While we may not be able to achieve what heaven will be like, with people from 6,000 tongues worshiping together, we are one step closer each time we add a language translation to our worship service…”  This special podcast episode features content from a speech delivered early this year Kim-Fu Lim, TheoTech’s VP of business development. In this episode Kim-Fu shares scripture on God’s heart for language diversity, and how technology can make a difference. If you’d like to support the work TheoTech does in technology entrepreneurship for the gospel you can sign up as a regular giver on Patreon.   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

Fostering Language Diversity in the Church

What does it take to build applications that support ministry? In this episode Chris talks with faith driven tech founders Taylor Doe and Matt Lombardi. Taylor is the Co-Founder of Notebird, a relationship management software that helps organizations invest in their employees. Matt is the founder of Shaar, an online marketplace designed to help churches source freelance ministry talent. They discuss the launch and direction of their respective companies, and the needs of the modern church facing COVID. As Sir Winston Churchill famously said “Never let a good crisis go to waste”.  Chris, Matt, and Taylor talk about how the church can use technology to navigate the crisis, and become more personal and connected. To support Theotech and our discussions on the intersection of faith, technology, and entrepreneurship you can sign up as a regular giver at Patreon. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

Connecting the Church in the Digital Age

Digital Media Manager and Photographer Allen Wong talks with Chris about...talking. Chris and Allen share their thoughts on how to do the mental work that allows for big-picture thinking, collaborative communication, and mind-blowing A-Ha moments. Through back in forth discourse they build a word-picture of communication as jazz music, and Chris shares a musical metaphor of his own. If you liked what you heard on this episode, consider supporting TheoTech with a monthly gift on patreon. Your support is vital to TheoTech, we couldn't do it without you! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

#mindblown: Communicating for Insight

In this special episode Chris talks with guests David Brenner and Gretchen Huizinga, two founding members of AI and Faith. They explain what AI is, how it’s being used, why people of faith should care, and what a faith perspective can add to the AI ethics discussion. AI and Faith describes itself as a cross-spectrum consortium of faith communities and academic institutions. The AI and Faith organization strives to serve “as a channel for faith-based perspectives to help shape the development of AI in ways that are deeply ethical and life-affirming.” David Brenner worked as an attorney for 25 years, practicing law with a focus in technology and risk management. Having left private practice, he now serves as a founder of AI and Faith. He is also director of SCOPE, a partnership of the University of Washington Global Health Dept., Gondar University in Ethiopia, and the Diocese of Gondar of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which trains village priests as health advocates for mothers and infants and studies the efficacy of this approach. Gretchen Huizinga is the former Executive Producer and Host of the Microsoft Research Podcast and the founder of the Center for Digital Wisdom, a nascent consortium of cultural guardians dedicated to the qualitative search for wisdom in a quantitative world. She is currently completing a PhD exploring voices of faith in the responsible AI conversation. She is also a founding member and Executive Director of AI and Faith. If you want to be a part of making the TheoTech podcast happen, check out our Patreon. To support AI and Faith, visit their website directly to make a tax deductible donation.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

AI: What does faith have to do with it?

“What is God actually calling us to do with our lives? How can we use our gifts for His Kingdom?”  Henry Zhu has worked hard to try and answer these questions for himself. From his start as an Industrial Engineering graduate, through his first programming job with Adobe, to his current work as Core Maintainer for Babel (an Open Source Java Script Compiler). He has repeatedly chosen the path-less-taken. In this podcast we discuss his career, and how to take risks in faith.  How can we as Christian technologists integrate our faith and work? How can we build an inclusive culture that challenges and empowers others to do the same? If you want to be a part of making the TheoTech podcast happen, check out our account on Patreon. To support Henry's work you can sponsor him at GitHub or Patreon, and you can hear more of what he has to say on his podcast, Hope In Source. To learn more about Babel check out their site, and consider supporting the project directly on Open Collective. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

Hacking Together an Open Source Vocation

Today we're discussing church government and COVID-19 with our guest Eliana Maxim, Seattle Presbytery Co-Executive Presbyter. Eliana shares how Seattle area churches are ministering to their congregations and communities through the pandemic. Churches have been facing new technical problems, like how to have communion during a virtual service. And the solutions aren’t coming from denominations or church governments, but individual church leaders. So the Seattle Presbytery is stepping back to “let the church be the church”, and stepping up to having tough theological conversations that build a framework to support innovation. This new mission-oriented movement could take us in a new direction, away from institutionalism and toward becoming an agile church, able to move "where the Spirit blows". If you want to keep up with the work Eliana and the Seattle Presbytery are doing, you can follow them on Twitter @seapres. And if you love this podcast, please check out our page on Patreon. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

Supporting Transformation: The Role of Church Government In a Pandemic

John Johnson is the principal of a branding and design agency called “a small studio”. In this episode we discuss the uniqueness of each person’s story and how that motivates us to continually use our gifts for God’s purposes. As a black business owner, John decided to pause agency work in response to the national pain flowing from the death of George Floyd. His team is now dedicated to bringing peace to people’s lives through giveadose.co, a safe online space for people to learn from other perspectives and reflect on their own racial experiences. Listen in to hear Chris and John get vulnerable about their own sense of identity and calling and how a posture of continually seeking God’s will is the only way forward. Become a Patron at http://patreon.com/theotech Check out John's company "a small studio" and platform "giveadose.co" --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theotech/message

Race, identity and the courage to follow God's call

Technology Entrepreneurship for the Gospel

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TheoTech Podcast

hubhopper