What is Redemptive Technology?

About This Episode

What does it look like to build technology that reflects the gospel? In this episode of the Built for This Podcast, LETU President Dr. Steve Mason sits down with James Kelly — founder and CEO of FaithTech, a global movement of Christian technologists now active in 50 cities across 22 countries. James shares how FaithTech began with 35 people in a coffee shop and grew into a worldwide community of builders, developers, and leaders committed to redemptive design. Together, they explore the difference between reckless, responsible, and redemptive technology; why a biblical framework matters more than ever in the age of AI; and how Christians in tech can stop feeling sidelined and start shaping culture for the kingdom. If you work in technology — or are training to — this conversation will challenge and inspire you to build differently.

Key Takeaways:

• Technology has a disproportionate influence on the world — and Christians in tech are uniquely positioned to shape it for good.
• "Redemptive technology" goes beyond responsible building. It reflects the self-sacrificial way of Jesus: you win, even if I gain nothing.
• Biblical impact isn't about force and speed — it's about friendship over time, going deep with a few rather than scaling fast.
• Christians in tech often feel underutilized and misunderstood, both in church and in the workplace. Faith Tech exists to bridge that gap.
• AI built around God's unique attributes (all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal) is idolatry. Built around His communicable attributes (holiness, compassion, love), it can be a force for good.
• The future of Christian higher education may lie in dynamic, AI-assisted learning tailored to how each student is uniquely made.

What happens when faith meets the most influential industry in the world? For James Kelly, founder and CEO of Faith Tech, that question has driven nearly a decade of work bringing together Christian technologists around the world. 

In a recent episode of the Built For This podcast at LeTourneau University, Kelly sat down with host Dr. Steve Mason to talk about redemptive technology, the spiritual state of Silicon Valley, and why a Jesus revival in the tech sector could change the world. 

The Goal: A Jesus Revival in and Through Technology

At its core, Faith Tech exists to see an unexplainable work of the Holy Spirit in the most influential industry in the world. Kelly describes it simply: a Jesus revival, awakened in and through technology, across every corner of the globe.

It's a bold vision, but it's grounded in a conviction that the Word of God has a way of creating things. After years of training technologists by essentially sprinkling Scripture onto existing industry frameworks, Faith Tech stepped back and asked a harder question: how does God actually create, and how does He call us to create? That two-year study of Scripture from beginning to end reshaped everything about how they equip and disciple Christian builders.

The result is a growing movement now present in 50 cities, 22 countries, and counting — with a waiting list of 150 more cities ready to join. At Google, Amazon, Apple, and Meta, thousands of Christian employees gather in fellowship communities every week. Faith Tech comes alongside those leaders, equipping them to live out their faith with courage in the places where technology is actually being built.

Technology as a Vehicle for Redemptive Good

Technology has changed the world—our habits, our relationships, what we consume, how we work. In some ways, that's been radically beautiful. In others, terribly dark. But for Kelly, the answer was never to abandon technology. It's to pursue it differently.

Jesus changes everything, including technology. When the gospel enters the scene, it doesn't leave any corner of life untouched. That means Christians in tech have both the opportunity and the responsibility to bring the gospel into their work, relentlessly pursuing a way of building that aligns with the Word of God, which shapes and forms all things.

That pursuit also means being honest about limits. Kelly emphasizes placing healthy boundaries with technology. Not out of fear, but out of conviction: God says there are limits, and they are good for us. Technology is no exception. Without boundaries, even the best tools can quietly reshape us in ways we never intended.

Reckless, Responsible, or Redemptive?

One of the most clarifying frameworks Kelly shared is a three-part way of thinking about how we build and use technology.

Reckless technology operates on an "I win, you lose" mentality — move fast, break things, extract as much value as possible.

Responsible technology is the best the world has to offer — ethical, well-intentioned, and still centered on mutual benefit.

Redemptive technology looks like Jesus. It says: I sacrifice, you win. I might gain nothing, but you flourish. It builds in ways that form people rather than exploit them, and measures success not by user count but by depth of impact.

Kelly challenges the standard tech industry success equation — maximum force in minimum time — and replaces it with a biblical one: friendship to the power of time. Jesus didn't scale a massive following. He went extraordinarily deep with a few, and that changed everything.

Building AI After God's Attributes

When Kelly presented at Harvard on a biblical worldview of artificial intelligence, he offered a framework that's both theologically grounded and practically urgent.

God's incommunicable attributes — all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, eternal — belong to Him alone. When we build AI that mimics those qualities without limits or accountability, we're not innovating. We're building an idol.

But God's communicable attributes — holiness, compassion, love, wisdom — are attributes He shares with us and calls us to reflect. AI built to embody those qualities, Kelly argues, is AI that can actually serve human flourishing. 

Why This Matters for Christian Higher Education

Kelly believes the universities that will thrive in the next decade are those willing to ask hard questions, embrace dynamic and personalized approaches to learning, and create communities where faith and vocation are genuinely integrated, not just coexisting on the same campus.

For an institution like LeTourneau, already rooted in hands-on, professionally oriented education and a deep commitment to faith integration, the conversation with Faith Tech feels less like a challenge and more like a confirmation: the work of forming graduates who build redemptively, think theologically, and lead with courage is exactly the work worth investing in.