Back in early 2021, a few of us were huddled around a whiteboard asking a big, bold question:
What if every Believer—no matter where they lived—could use their skills to help fulfill the Great Commission… without quitting their job or leaving home?
That hope-filled idea became Switchboard.
Most ministries begin with a calling and a commitment. Ours started with a challenge and a conviction. Before we wrote a single line of code, our board was clear:
“If we’re going to build this, we have to build it to last.”
In those early days, we had hundreds of conversations with people who got what we were trying to do. Many of them had tried to solve similar problems in their own ministries. They rolled up their sleeves, helped design the platform, and brought others along with them.
Generous churches, families, and foundations stepped up in amazing ways to help us get off the ground, but we didn’t want to rely on cyclical fundraising forever. So we asked each other: Could we build a Christian nonprofit that self-funds by actually serving the global Church?
Steve Richardson, president of Pioneers USA, said, “I’ve long dreamed of something like Switchboard, an easier way to connect the vast (and often underutilized) resources in the Church with strategic needs among the least-reached.” He called the platform “a digital breakthrough” to help advance the Gospel.
And it wasn’t just mission leaders like Steve. Foundation directors saw untapped potential. Pastors saw in Switchboard a resource to activate their whole congregations. Everyday Believers started asking, “How can I help?”
Together, that early community helped us raise $1.4 million. We saw God raise up partners that He had gifted with financial stewardship. They came around the vision with funding to research and validate ideas and then build and launch the platform. Believers pooled their expertise and , and resources to create a space where thousands of volunteers are using their skills and life experience to help fill needs and expand capacity for missionaries and ministries around the world. Every dollar went toward one goal: empowering Believers to serve.
This Great Commission network has grown into a community of global connection with members in over 100 countries! But from day one, we’d made a quiet commitment: No one should ever have to pay to use Switchboard.
But, we also believed that people would want to give if it made a difference. So we introduced a patreon-style model. The platform is free to use, but anyone can chip in based on what they can give, what the platform is worth to them, and how God has uniquely equipped them to participate.
We call it social philanthropy:
It works because the Body of Christ was made to function together with each person doing their part.
Looking forward, we have an ambitious goal. We want Switchboard to be fully self-sustaining by the end of 2026. That means covering our technology, support, outreach, and everything else—not with grants, but through the people who use and love the platform.
We’re also building partnerships with churches and mission organizations who want to sponsor their members and missionaries on Switchboard. It’s not flashy. It’s not complicated. It’s an opportunity to exponentially resource the Great Commission through a community built by connection. So far, it’s working.
We’re still writing this story—and just like the early “super-connectors” that helped Switchboard get started, you can help shape the next chapter.
Switchboard isn’t just software. It’s a way for Believers—ordinary people like you and me—to step into God’s global story. It’s about saying yes to the Great Commission in a new way. We believe Kingdom work should be built to last. Thanks to super-connectors like you, we’re getting there.
Want to help us finish development and grow our reach? Every $10 given today is projected to create $60 of long-term Kingdom impact.
Or join the growing community of believers who give each month to keep Switchboard free and growing. Today we’re asking God to connect us with 100 churches that want to make Switchboard a driver for their missions program, supporting the platform with a $100 monthly gift, and 2,000 individuals that would sponsor the platform with a $20 sustaining contribution each month.
Will you help shape the next chapter of global kingdom mobilization?
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