Zoom in on the photo accompanying this article, the one up by the headline. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
…
What do you see?
Do you see a sea of people? Lots of color? A bunch of teenagers? Large screens? Some kind of event?
Look again. Look closer. Is there anything else you see?
Do you see a mission field? Its founder does. You should, too.
The fields are ripe
Dean Kamen is a scientist and an evangelist who sees the world as his mission field. Kamen founded FIRST Robotics 35 years ago. FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. Though FIRST spread to 50 countries within 25 years, Kamen wants to see FIRST in every country of the world—to “just plant a seed.”
Kamen knew from what happened in the United States and those 49 other countries how robotics spreads organically. He believed if he planted the seed of robotics with just one team in each of the remaining countries of the world, each country would develop its own programs with multiple robot teams and district competitions.
Christians and students of the Bible should hear Jesus likening God’s kingdom to a seed, a powerful little thing that grows exponentially, fills the garden and produces much fruit. But as far as I know, Kamen isn’t talking about God’s kingdom.
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Referring to a handful of countries where he had planted the seed of robotics, “it sort of worked,” Kamen told the crowd of tens of thousands gathered for the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston on April 20.
Sending them out
To fulfill his mission, Kamen gave the crowd two homework assignments.
He exhorted them to help a robotics team somewhere else in the world that needs help getting to FIRST Global—a more recent annual event Kamen envisions functioning like the Olympics. The goal of this assignment is to “help accelerate the growth of a global network of FIRST.”
“The whole point of FIRST Global is to start in every country what we are doing here, so you need to help them each grow,” Kamen said, believing FIRST Robotics will become the “universal, dominant global sport” in the lifetime of his teenage disciples.
To introduce the second homework assignment, Kamen sounded like so many pastors in the United States when he said, “We took a little bit of a hit in our growth during COVID” but since then have rebounded to about 4,000 FIRST Robotics Competition teams. Kamen wants more.
To achieve his vision of doubling the count, Kamen wants each current team to start a new team, saying he, the staff and the board of FIRST Robotics have their hands full with their own current work to grow FIRST themselves.
Christians and students of the Bible should hear Luke telling of the first deacons being tapped for service, or Jesus sending out the 12 and the 70.
Bringing in the sheaves
In past years, Kamen’s homework assignments included bringing the press, getting FIRST on TV, “get your political leaders, and you’ve done that.” Now, he wants them to bring in another 4,000 teams by January 2025.
He spurred the crowd by saying they have a vested interest in—a reason for—growing FIRST Robotics, “unless you’re not thinking FIRST is useful.”
“So, I’m asking every team here, and I don’t think it’s a big ask … every one of you … figure out how you can bring me at least one more new FIRST Robotics team. I want to have 8,000 teams next year, and I want them all to be brought in by you,” Kamen said.
He then called on teams to mentor—Christians use the verb “disciple”—the teams they start to get them up to speed by January for the 2025 season.
The altar call
Consider the evangelism and mission in Kamen’s closing remarks:
“To be clear, everybody, FIRST needs to grow, and it needs to grow at a much higher rate than a typical company would grow. The world is in desperate need of people that know how to solve problems, that know how to communicate, cooperate, respect each other.
“Things that are so powerfully part of the culture of FIRST need to be much louder in the world. And the 4,000 schools that we have are fantastic, but we need 40,000 or 400,000.
“It’s really not unreasonable to believe that if we do things right, as you people go through your college and career, the impact of the network of FIRST could have a material effect, not just on your life and your career, but on the whole progress of this human experiment we’re in.
“You people really can be an example to the rest of the world, and if we can include thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of kids in the current generation—your generation—and they can become part of the FIRST community, you will literally change the future.”
“So, please … do the homework. … Get to work!”
Keep in mind, tens of thousands of people, mostly youth, sat through and listened to most of Kamen’s more-than-20-minute appeal—what Christians might call a sermon.
Dean Kamen sees our youth as a mission field. Do you?
Making an impact
The FIRST Impact Award is FIRST Robotics’ most prestigious award. “It honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST … to [transform] the culture in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology, as well as encouraging more of today’s youth to become science and technology leaders.”
Christians are supposed to have an impact in this world, too. To have an impact, we have to be there—where the people are. FIRST Robotics is just one of those places.
We have a mission, too—to make disciples of Jesus from all people, a mission that “will literally change the future” in ways no amount of robotics, science and technology can or will.
Kamen’s mission and values are being absorbed by hundreds of thousands of young people and adults around the world, starting in elementary school with First Lego League. If we want God’s mission and values to impact all these people, we have to be there. We have to be where they are.
We can do this by forming teams. CPR Team 3663 is an example of Christians engaged in FIRST Robotics. We can serve as mentors, coaches or other volunteers for a team in our area. We can engage as individuals or groups, as churches, associations or institutions. And we should. Not to take over FIRST Robotics. To be the salt and light of Jesus within that community.
Maybe robotics isn’t your thing. Maybe you don’t want to get mixed up with FIRST. Fine. What is your thing? What will you get involved in for Christ’s sake? My hunch is it’s a ripe mission field, too—if you can see it.
Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.
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