The final words of Jesus on earth still echo as the Church’s unfinished assignment: “Go make disciples of all nations...” Yet as global missions have expanded in reach, many remain cut off not only by language and religion, but by economic systems, political barriers, and failing infrastructure. As traditional methods strain under new global realities, a surprising ally has emerged from the world of decentralized digital technology. Could bitcoin offer strategic advantages for engaging the hardest-to-reach peoples on earth?

The Edges of Mission

Just before ascending to heaven from his earthly post-resurrection ministry tour, Jesus offered his disciples a summary of his instructions that we call the Great Commission:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.1

Crucial to our task is to develop our best interpretation of what all nations means and what Jesus meant by discipling them. Most agree that nations are not about geopolitical boundaries on a map but relate to people group identities. For evangelization purposes, Ralph Winter defined a people group as “the largest group within which the gospel can spread as a church planting movement without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance.”2

Unengaged Peoples

Likewise, our responsibility in discipling can be thought of as presenting the gospel in a meaningful, relational way that will impact at least a portion of each people group’s population, to the point where they are able to take on the rest of the task themselves. An unengaged people group is one that has no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.3 No one has been sent to them.

There are 17,350 ethno-linguistic groups globally. We have come so far, but there are still 1,586 groups that have no access to the gospel. 69% of these remaining unengaged people groups live in just seven countries: India, China, Sudan, Laos, Chad, Indonesia, and Nigeria.4 In essence, these people groups are the edges of mission.

Constraints-based Design

As missions innovators with Brilliance Labs, we have embraced the task of full engagement by putting the theory of constraints to work for us.
A constraint is normally thought of as some obstacle that stands in the way of success, but a constraint can be- come a defining parameter, offering a stimulus to finding a better way of doing something.5 In the book, A Beau- tiful Constraint, the authors suggest that if a bold ambition is paired with a significant constraint, they combine to form a propelling question that launches us beyond the path of normal thinking into truly innovative ideas.6 Our bold ambition is completing the Great Commission. Our familiar constraint is money, but it goes deeper than simply fundraising capacity.

The most difficult places in the world to reach are also stricken with poverty, government corruption, and a lack of electrical infrastructure. The common root of these problems is the broken global monetary system. Since the world left the gold standard in the early 1970s, money has only continued to carry value through government decree— people accept it as money because a national government or central bank declares it to be legal tender. Governments have too frequently succumbed to the temptation to print more money with no asset to back its value, which causes inflation and eventually hyperinflation. This dilutive practice impacts everyone but has more dire consequences in developing countries where the least reached peoples need both spiritual and physical salvation. The problem in the developing world is that the money itself is broken and is, in fact, designed to keep them in poverty. Alex Gladstein, with the Human Rights Foundation, is outspoken about the neo-colonial economic practices of Western nations and institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).7

Historically, the Western missions movement has had the advantage of operating with the tailwind of the globally dominant currencies of Europe and North America. Now, the Church in the Global South is taking more of a leadership role in finishing the task of global evangelization, yet no satisfactory answer has been given for how they will be able to create self-sustainable funding models for missions mobilization when the entire global monetary system is designed to keep them in the back seat. Enter bitcoin.

An Alternative to Government Fiat Currencies

Bitcoin is an emerging monetary technology developed apart from central banks or governing authorities. It is what economists would call a neutral currency, meaning it has grown because of free market dynamics rather than government fiat and it can be traded across borders without a bias towards any one nation or bank. Bitcoin is native to the internet and decentralized by design so it cannot be controlled or manipulated by any single group or individual. It is an open-source network that allows anyone with internet access to participate regardless of who they are or where they come from. Its auditable monetary policy, decreasing inflation rate, and provable scarcity make it a hard currency—like a digital version of gold.

When compared to other currencies,it has appreciated significantly in value over the past 15 years. Against the US dollar, bitcoin has appreciated at a compound annual growth rate of 142%. When compared to bitcoin, every single developing world currency has lost over 85% of its value in just the past five years and some have lost over 95%. After five years of researching how bitcoin is being used around the world, our propelling question has emerged: How might we holistically engage the remaining unengaged people groups in the world with the use of bitcoin?

Bitcoin Solves Real World Problems

Through numerous personal interviews, site visits, and online research, we have gathered a comprehensive collection of case studies that demonstrate how bitcoin is being used around the world to benefit the lives of people and facilitate gospel ministry. We’ll mention a few.

Bitcoin Beach is an economic community development project in El Salvador.8 It was founded by a team of missionaries who saw an opportunity to introduce bitcoin to an unbanked community. Over the past five years, this “bitcoin circular economy” has infused millions of dollars of value into this community, instilling hope for the future.

Gridless Compute is a bitcoin mining company founded by two missionary kids who grew up in East Africa. They have a vision to bring electrification to all of Africa. They accomplish this by co-locating bitcoin mining computers alongside underutilized and unprofitable renewable energy infrastructure. Gridless becomes the anchor tenant and purchases all the energy that is unused by the community. In doing so, they lower the electricity cost for everyone else, while also making the build-out of new energy infrastructure profitable for the first time.9

A third compelling use case is creative-access funding for ministries in authoritarian regions of the world. Missions entities often utilize complex, slow, and expensive money-flow processes, or unreliable and risky cash mule strategies to get money into the hardest to reach places. As an internet-native currency, bitcoin can be sent anywhere in the world instantly and anonymously. As the 7th largest global currency, there is demand for bitcoin in every country on earth.

Chadian Demographic Analysis

Based on these use cases, how might we use bitcoin as a tool to reach one of our countries on the unengaged watch list? Chad is an African country that hosts 39 unengaged people groups. In Chad, 76% of adults are unbanked.10 Mobile phone penetration is 68%,11 and only 11% have internet access.12 Only 12% of Chadian homes have access to electricity.13 Another challenge is the lack of access to US dollars, due to external capital controls. However, a benefit is the lack of focus on internal financial surveillance.14 An alternative monetary technology may be a good fit for this situation where it’s hard to use dollars, and the government has not yet developed bitcoin policies or regulations.

The lack of energy infrastructure in Chad could be addressed with bitcoin mining. Miners and utility owners profit-share the bitcoin that is produced with excess power, hastening the profitability of the power grid. The presence of electricity makes Starlink internet viable, which in turn would empower the commonly owned mobile phones to run bitcoin wallet apps. The community deciding to use bitcoin in a circular economy, as in the Bitcoin Beach model, would help people avoid theft and save for the future. Though bitcoin’s value is known to be volatile, it has consistently trended up, while fiat currencies erode consistently through inflation. Over time, the local community will climb out of poverty. Missionary bitcoiners would have a clear purpose for being present as community development specialists and bitcoin miners, and bitcoin’s global network would allow missions funding to be efficiently sent in and out of Chad without endangering gospel workers.

Implications of Adoption

While the advantages of bitcoin are interesting and offer many benefits for missions organizations, it is also important to recognize the potential hurdles that come with adopting this technology. Missions organizations need to consider and address these challenges carefully to ensure the successful implementation and integration of bitcoin into their operations. If you would like to learn more about how to get involved with the Bitcoin for Missions project or explore what it would take to adopt this new technology to impact the kingdom, look at the Brilliance Labs website at www. brilliancelabs.org/bitcoin.

Imagine a world where organizations and missionaries can send and receive support instantly, securely, and at minimal cost. Picture communities in the most remote and underserved regions gaining access to financial services and economic opportunities through bitcoin. Envision a future where missions organizations operate with greater financial transparency and integrity, strengthening their relationships with donors and supporters. If we believe the gospel is for all peoples, then we must be willing to explore all means to get it to them. Bitcoin is not a silver bullet, but it is a bold, underutilized tool that aligns with the decentralized, grassroots nature of kingdom movements. Join us in exploring how a potential bitcoin future can dismantle financial barriers and allow missions work to thrive unimpeded until all have heard.