I-TEC: Indiginous People’s Technology and Education Center
I-TEC: Develop, Produce and Distribute unique tools and training for frontier areas. Train and Equip indigenous God-followers to care for the physical and spiritual needs of their people. Build Bridges of understanding and partnership between Christian churches in developed nations and those in frontier areas.
I-TEC supports the Great Commission by assisting the “hidden” church in its journey toward independence under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
One of the great barriers that has prevented indigenous churches from growing to maturity is their continuing dependence on the welfare of outsiders. A native church that relies on the leadership, technology, and financial support of foreign missionaries rarely can stand on its own when that support is withdrawn. We are convinced from the Scriptures, however, that the goal of the Great Commission is to establish churches that are self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating.
A Focused Ministry:
At I-TEC, our focus is on enabling indigenous churches to overcome the technological and educational hurdles that stand in the way of their independence. Missionaries have long understood the value of technology, and they have employed every available tool to preach the gospel — from the machete to dental equipment to airplanes. But advanced technology is often impractical for use by a native church, where even the lack of electricity may be a concern. We aim to bridge that technology gap by equipping the indigenous church with technology suitable to their needs — technology that they can use and maintain with minimal outside support.
Projects Past and In Progress:
Our projects have included a portable dental lab, which is now used by a “stone age” tribe in the Amazon jungle to fill teeth. Another is on its way to Timbuktu. We have acquired portable, solar-powered radio transmitters for the Amazon jungle, so that believers can share the Good News with neighboring villages. We have trained indigenous church leaders to use a computer to draft their own governing documents for their church. Soon a group of people, first reached by a missionary pilot forty years ago, will support their own missionary pilot.
Filed Under: Engineers • Health Care
