Engineers or missionaries?

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School of Engineering and Computational Science works with nonprofits

The school of engineering and computational sciences has partnered with LU Serve International to begin providing engineering and software services for non-profit and mission organizations through students’ capstone projects.

Dr. Robert Tucker, associate professor of computer science, said several ministry-focused projects have already been completed by the department.

One of their main projects was creating secure browsing for missionaries in countries closed to Christianity to visit Christian websites without leaving evidence in case their computer ever gets searched.

Other projects have included creating website templates that cater to the needs of missionaries, an app that helps organize short term mission trips, and an app that would work alongside another ministry to provide creationist commentary at select natural history museums.

The range and quantity of related proposals is expected to increase by connecting missionary organizations directly to capstone projects, which serve as an internship of three classes where students work on a project for a real client for a full year, according to Dr. Carl Pettiford, professor of electrical engineering.

Developing a way for non-profit organizations to submit ideas so that capstones consistently contain a ministry focus is just beginning because David Donahoo, the dean of the school of engineering and computational sciences, said engineering and missions are traditionally not combined.

“When you’re out on the mission field you don’t naturally think, ‘How can I use engineering?’” Donahoo said.

“You might be out there thinking of how to get water from the creek to the village, but that’s not necessarily thought of as an engineering issue.”

However, neither tradition nor logistical challenges stopped senior industrial and engineering students Corey Messer and Nick Losee from pursuing their dream of connecting engineering and missions.

Messer originally presented the vision for “Engineers on Mission” with a group for one of his engineering classes.

However, the vision died until Messer met Losee during the 2016 spring semester and realized they shared a passion to use their majors for ministry and were not content waiting for a diploma to begin.

“People want to be used by God, but they continually create excuses by saying, ‘I’m just a fill in the blank,’” Losee said.

“It could be, ‘I’m just a sophomore’ or ‘I’m just an undergrad student.’ Whatever it is, that’s the blank that’s preventing you from something the Lord wants you to do.”

Together, Messer and Losee began to write out what a system of collecting missions-based capstones would look like.

They gauged the interest of missionary organizations and then started meeting with engineering and computational science faculty.

Finally, they got the chance to meet with Donahoo to explain their idea, but Messer said the first meeting did not go as the two students had hoped.

“While we might have been good engineers, we were not good salesmen,” Messer said.

Even so, Donahoo said he could see Messer’s and Losee’s passion and that they were determined to see something happen.

Faculty members like Valda Rowe, the directed programs manager, soon began to support the vision as it showed the bridge between skill and ministry.

“We want them (students) to see there is opportunity to be a whole Christian and to not separate faith and work,” Rowe said.

“It’s a blessing at Liberty to not have to separate faith and education, and we want them to carry that out into the world. They don’t have to separate their career and faith.”

Faculty meetings continued and eventually prompted LU Serve International’s involvement as a means of helping relevant organizations become more aware, according to LU Serve International director Steven Gillum.

LU Serve International will also help sort through the applications in order to not waste the school’s money or the students’ time.

“The ultimate goal is we don’t want to see students working on a project that has international ramifications that isn’t being used for Great Commission advance,” Gillum said.

“If it doesn’t, we want to present that caution and say we’re not sure that this project is as worthy as another because there is no real follow up for discipleship or church planting.”

The follow up will be from Liberty’s end as well, as Gillum said there is a goal to have the students that work on these projects travel to the locations that benefit from their work so the students can connect the dots and see the stories that result.

Overall, Donahoo said “Engineers on Mission” is in its beginning stages, but depending on how it develops it could significantly change how students experience their professions while at Liberty.

“It’s got a lot of potential,” Donahoo said. “It could go as far as God could make it go, or it can go as little as our limiting minds limit it to go.”

Losee said the project is evidence that God can use anyone, especially considering how their first meeting with Donahoo went.

Losee also said that this success is not going to let him become complacent with the rest of his time
at Liberty.

“One way to look at it is, it’s something surreal,” Losee said. “But another way is that our God is big, and I believe he’s going to do even bigger and greater things through Corey and I because of our faithfulness and because of his faithfulness to us.”

Rowe said the application for ministries and non-profits will be accessible through both the school of engineering and computational science’s webpage and the LU Serve International’s webpage as soon as the application is complete.

PRICE is a news reporter.