LA MIRADA, CALIF. — Leading developers, designers and practitioners will gather at Biola University June 5 to 7 to discuss the disruptive nature of digital technologies and find ways to employ these new applications for the cause of Christ.

The conference will include a “Hack-a-thon” — an application development competition offering $3,000 to the best ministry app developed. The three days of sessions will focus on three key topics: how theology informs the use of digital tools, strategy to form effective plans for this use, and new ways to design, develop and implement these tools successfully.

Contestants will form a team and attempt to create a working mobile, web or desktop application in 48 hours. Competitors will need to submit a prototype during the allotted time period and winners will be determined based on implementation of conference theme, the practical usefulness to churches and/or ministries, the leveraging of mobile and/or social technologies and the “coolness factor” of the model they invent. The winner will be announced on Thursday morning.

On Wednesday, June 5, Liferay Brian Chan's keynote session will be open to the public as the only free session of the conference. The session will discuss how open source can be a means for funding missions that involve sending people to physically interact with other people in far away places who have never heard the Gospel.

SPONSORS

The conference is sponsored by four innovative supporters in the technology industry; FiveQ, Liferay, Inc., Monk Development and FaithVillage. 

FiveQ, an agency designed to help ministries and non-profits get the most of the web, works hard to understand the unique mission and then collaborate as part of teams to produce exceptional results.  

Liferay, Inc. is an open-source portal software company. It was founded for a purpose greater than revenue and profit growth. Every quarter, they donate to a number of worthy causes decided upon by employees.

Monk Development builds web-based solutions to achieve their client’s goals. These solutions are built on Monk’s software suite that includes a web-based Content Management System built from the ground up around best-of-class technologies.

FaithVillage is the new social network for faith experiences. Move your faith here. 

Press passes available. Contact Jenna Bartlo for more information at 562.777.4061 or jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu.

ABOUT CONFERENCE

For more information and to register, please visit the http://events.biola.edu/digita.... The Biola Digital Ministry Conference, formerly known as GodBlogCon and Christian Web Conference has continued to expand its mission since its establishment in 2005. Its mission is to empower individuals with the vision, knowledge and relationships necessary to be thoughtful designers, developers, and practitioners of digital technologies for the cause of Christ.

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Biola University, named one of 17 “up and coming” national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2011, is a private Christian university located in Southern California. For more than 100 years, Biola has remained committed to its mission of biblically centered education, integrating biblical principles with every academic program. With a current record-high enrollment of 6,250 students, the university’s six schools offer 145 academic programs, ranging from the B.A. to the Ph.D. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.biola.edu.

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