Programming for Jesus

In an increasingly digital world, access to quality software and technical support can make or break a ministry.

With that barrier in mind, in 2016 the nonprofit Indigitous—its name a mashup of “indigenous” and “digital”—launched #HACK. It’s grown into an annual, global mass collaboration, or “hackathon,” where teams of young people complete pro bono programming and design projects pitched by ministries across the globe. It’s about leveraging young minds and new technologies in order to take the gospel to “new people, places, and spaces,” explains the event website. 

Bethel’s involvement was spearheaded by Nicholas Pederson ’25, an applied physics and computer science major who had heard about Indigitous years before. He first committed to hosting a casual Hackathon site with a few friends, picturing grabbing pizzas and working on a project in a dorm room. “It got a little bigger than that!” he says, recalling praying about his role and trusting that God would work through the event.

Pederson explains the first time he learned of the meaning behind the word “hacking.” In his senior seminar course “Humans and Computers,” he learned of the original “‘computer virtuosos’ who wrote elegant and clever programs. They expanded the frontier of computer science and created the first operating systems,” he says. The negative connotation, where “hackers” take down companies or steal personal data, only came about once hackers began to break ethical limits in addition to technical ones. For Pederson, who plans to attend graduate school and potentially pursue a ministry-related technical role, the idea of bringing together like-minded students with diverse strengths to quickly tackle a problem for the sake of the gospel was exhilarating.

Their project, one of 50 submitted for the fall event, was to streamline and automate the transcript submission and verification process for Miscio, a learning company dedicated to creating access to quality online Christian education around the world. The students developed a front-end web portal that allows prospective students to submit their information and transcripts via an easy-to-use online form. A back-end service parses and verifies the information and organizes it in Google Drive for a quick manual review. By significantly reducing the amount of data entry and administrative time required from Miscio staff, they’re eliminating a significant barrier to underserved communities accessing Christ-centered training.

"It was truly a joy to work with the students during the 2024 Hackathon. I was not only impressed by the wide range of talents on the team, but also the positive, godly, and collaborative spirit with which they approached the project,” says Professor of Mathematics Emeritus Patrice Conrath, Pederson’s aunt, who now works for Miscio. “It was inspiring to witness the 'dance' that unfolded as the teams collaborated.” 

The hackathon brought together a diverse group of individuals, featuring four alumni and eight students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, who leveraged their unique skills to tackle this real-world challenge. Additionally, Steven Yackel ’07 and Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Computer Science Eric Gossett offered valuable consulting to the team at the project's outset.  

“Throughout the process, grace, humility, mutual respect, and a commitment to excellence were evident—even when they were tired. It was a true joy to watch them work and give of their time so freely,” Conrath says, adding that she was encouraged to learn, during the Intigitous virtual celebration held in November, that Bethel’s project was recognized as one of the top 11 out of 50 projects spanning several cities around the world. But for the students, it was personal. “They understood the transformative impact of Christian higher education on their own lives and were eager to extend that same opportunity to others around the world."

Study math and computer science at Bethel

You’ll gain in-demand skills that’ll serve you well in many ever-changing career fields. As computing technology and the use of mathematics affect more of life, you’ll be ready to lead with confidence and integrity.

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