Michael Weaver

I'm going to Southeast Asia to help reached the unreached with the gospel through mobile apps!

here's the story

Years ago, I started learning how to write code and create websites, a path that eventually led to my current job as a programmer with a large banking company. In that time, my love for coding has stayed with me, but I've increasingly felt a need to use my skills for something that I believe in.

Late last year, I started reaching out to missionary organizations to see if anyone could use a programmer in a short term role. My search was remarkably short, as it turned out Pioneers was looking for tech interns to do exactly what I was interested in. After completing the application process, attending an orientation at the Pioneers US base, and meeting my prospective team members online, I'm now slated to travel to Thailand in August and spend about four months working with a small team of software developers on the field.

The mission of Pioneers is to initiate church planting movements among unreached people groups, where few if any people know Christ or have a Christian witness in their lives. Working with technology doesn't accomplish this in itself, but it has become important to missions in this part of the world, where many people have access to a smartphone even if they don't know any Christians.

My team develops apps based on requests from missionaries working directly with unreached peoples. These apps serve as a way of sharing Scripture, Bible stories and worship songs, and emphasize audio and visual content in order to be accessible to people with limited reading ability. The team has already produced apps that are now in use among the Tibetan, Burmese, and Rohingya people.

My primary job will be helping the team build an admin website, which will make it easier for missionaries to customize and manage the apps themselves. I'll also have a chance to experience a new culture, be involved in local ministries and get an up-close look at missions in a part of the world where Christianity is still largely unknown.

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