Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Code for the Kingdom 2016

I have taken a back seat from constant meet ups and hack weekends the past few years - I started The London Web a group which has 4800 members and counting… Kids are now the priority without grandparents around for us in London - getting out to London when you’re based close to the school run can prove quite difficult to co-ordinate.

I am fortunate enough to have combined my Christian faith with my passion for code and web application development - for the past 3 years I’ve been building and maintaining Lepton - a church giving app.  I’ve been doing web development for 20 years, but only just 3 years ago got the chance to do this for the thing that I’m most passionate about - my faith and love of Christ and his church.

Many have this perception that it is the clergy - the church leaders, that have the main role to play - that’s not quite true.

As christian developers and technology professionals, I believe we play the most important background scene in this technology based world. 

The church is about communicating Christ and his message - before I was a teenager, computers were for insular activities - your own games, your own code - then the internet came and every bit of our Communication sphere has changed - now the church is still in many ways in the dark ages - well we have at least moved on from OHP’s (Over Head Projectors) - and we have computers for things now - and you get emails - wow that’s a change - 

For most churches, their IT department is under-utilised, a bit of a mess to be frank - IT contractors are expensive, and IT is a bit ‘ad-hoc’. We have a major role to play over the next few years to ensure the church “Gets with the times”..

Join me and other christians in tech - and we’ll change this - co-ordinate visions, work out our passions, our interests, and apply them to our faith..

The Code For the Kingdom Hack weekend is the second EVER in London - the first year, 

 = Voice Recognition Slide Transitions
 = iBeacons for the homeless - give to them without risk of them using your money for alcohol and drugs.
 = Refuge Homes - a registry of the places UK refuges can be accommodated by our communities
 = Prayer app collaborations
 = just a few to spark your interest.

This year I’m planning on hitting the ground full force with coding tools I am totally familiar with - last year I tackled Django for just the second time and it was a bit much - this year the code will be cranked out with passion through the night - and I’ll still probably get more sleep than when my kids are around!


Search “Code for the Kingdom” and get your tickets - it’s a global event with 16 cities taking part on one weekend ! It’s on the 21st to the 23rd of October 2016 - it’s going to be awesome!