God equipped Moses with a staff which he used for everyday “mundane” tasks, including the humble call of shepherding for many years, knowing one day He would work wonders through it and prove Himself to an entire nation, but Moses was not yet aware of it until He asked “What’s In Your Hand?” The Lord continues to ask this potent, pivotal question today. His aim is to awaken us to what He has already invested in us.
My introduction to and involvement in information technology started when my father brought home a Windows ’95 computer in 1996. I still remember him unboxing it while I stood there in amazement. It was fascinating growing up in a house with a computer. Whenever I got the chance, I would engage it and just click around…trying to figure it out… “How does this work? How can I change things? Where are the settings? How can I make it faster? What’s inside?” It was not about the games for me…it was about how I could make it do unconventional things.
GOD’S RE-PROGRAMMING
Even though my fascination with computers started in 1996, my decision to really venture into IT came at the beginning of my Upper 6th form year at Campion College. At that time, I was failing academically. I was even called into a meeting with the dean about possibly having to drop a subject, but my computer science teacher, Mr. Henry, challenged and inspired me, and that’s when I fell in love with the vast and indefinite world of computer programming.
Initially, I did horribly in the subject, but my interest fuelled my determination to do well. Not all things were ideal; my computer was a dinosaur. Tasks that would take my classmates 15 seconds took me about 15 minutes because of the speed and age of my computer at home. Nevertheless, my passion was too strong to be ousted. My only option was to let my brain do all the work by writing perfect codes without help from the computer and anticipate all errors myself. Little did I know, God was training me to be His IT man.
I learnt to pray and ask God for help in the rough times and to always acknowledge Him otherwise. It was then that I realised God’s omniscience did not only cover knowing the future; it covered information technology, too! This was a crucial part of learning because knowledge has the ability to build pride and cause one to feel self-reliant. But I quickly learnt that whatever I knew, it was God who taught me and gave me the ability to grasp it. He was also using the disadvantage in my equipment to train me in being disciplined and meticulous. He set a very high standard for my work, and I refused to be mediocre.
AKA “JAVA MASTER”
Very soon, I was able to look at my classmates’ codes and point out all their errors. This was a special ability that I had developed, and so for the rest of high school, I was referred to as “The Java Master.” My cell phone became a hotline as my debugging skills were noised throughout the entire campus. I would go around the computer lab like a chess grandmaster, fixing and improving my classmates’ projects in seconds—without thinking!
After attaining a perfect score in my CAPE exams, I went on to study computer science at the University of Technology, majoring in enterprise systems, and continued to excel in programming. During college, I was asked to work in the IT department of the ministry of Bible Teachers International, a ministry that spans several continents with over 20 locations. During that time, I got the opportunity to work on a (then) new Christian television network in Jamaica called Bible Teachers Broadcasting Network. The goal was to have a 24/7 Christian network covering the globe through the internet in full high definition. Being on this team and starting from the ground up was hard work, but it taught me things that I would have never experienced otherwise. Today we have an audience of over 12,000 households, and the reach continues to grow day by day.
ACCEPT THE HUGE PROMOTION OR…?
By the end of the 4-year degree programme, because of my extensive experience in IT through ministry, I was already employed by the largest hotel chain in Jamaica, working directly with the chairman of the company and benefiting from his 80+ years of wisdom and business experience. After one year, I got a huge promotion to work closer to home in the Kingston Hotels, but my season of working on a secular job was now over. The Lord made it known that He needed me to serve Him on a full-time basis in the church. It was time for Him to reap the returns on the investments He had planted since 1996.
Now, I continue to work in information technology, travelling the world to set up platforms for the Gospel to be spread, as it has become an important tool in accomplishing the Great Commission today. I believe that Paul (the apostle) would have given his left arm to be able to send out YouTube videos and write blogs to the Macedonian Church. He would be ecstatic as he FaceTimed Timothy to discuss the mysteries of God. And not to mention live streaming, emails, text messaging, and the like.
Technology is a great gift! It offers us the opportunity to reach those who we will never meet physically. It immortalises our ministry and places us in all four corners of the earth. Because technology was sovereignly created by God for the Gospel, I urge you all to choose to use your knowledge of it for ministry to the glory of God. We must also consider that, as with all good things, having seen the value and potential for ministry, the enemy has corrupted some aspects of technology in order to spread His own influence in the earth. But greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world!
If you have a passion for technology, pursue it! Allow God to lead you in using it to spread the Gospel in your own sphere. Fulfil your part; do what is on your heart to reap the ripe harvest of souls in the earth. The Lord has need of those who will submit to His will and use their talents to bear more fruit in His Kingdom.
Note:
Though Daniel no longer serves in Passion and Purity, we wholeheartedly endorse the essence of his testimony. It is one that points to the reality that all have been given a measure of gifts/talents/callings from eternity (Eph 2:10) that can only be truly unearthed and maximized as we humbly submit our lives to God, understanding we were sent into the earth to build His kingdom, not our own.