Registration is open for ICCM Americas, and friends, you don’t want to miss out.

Last year was my first ICCM experience, and while I understand it’s different on every continent, it was easy to get swept up in the ICCM community. ICCM (The International Conference on Computing and Mission) claims to be part spiritual retreat, part tech conference, and part small group. I can attest: those claims are true. There were workshops ranging from Raspberry Pi to inter-office dynamics; there were Sunday-morning type worship services and small prayer circles; there were fun get-to-know-you games and late night card games (I mean … really late).

If you’ve never been to such an event before, there’s one thing you need to know: you are welcome. I was nervous to go and quickly thought of reasons I shouldn’t:

1. I won’t know anyone
2. I’m not an overseas missionary
3. I’m really not super techy (web design and social media strategy)

None of it mattered. First and foremost, it’s not exclusively for missionaries. If you care about advancing the Gospel – if you love Jesus – you’re in. Yes, there were missionaries there, but there were also college professors, students, and many people who worked for secular organizations. And as for not being “super techy”, I cannot say enough about how valued I felt despite not being on the same technological level as most attendees. So many people asked questions and expressed interest in what I did – many even asked for my advice on handling certain online communication issues. Everyone at ICCM realizes that we all have gifts to offer, and those gifts are valued and welcome. And as for not knowing anyone … that didn’t last too long. I made many friends, several of whom have remained in touch. I so look forward to seeing them all again next month at ICCM 2017.

If you are at all interested in using your computing gifts for Gospel purposes, or if you want to see what others are doing, I strongly encourage you to register for ICCM Americas 2017.