TechMission
TechMission is a Christian nonprofit organization focused on technology-enabled education, ministry development, and nonprofit leadership training.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
TechMission is a United States Christian nonprofit organization whose work grew out of community technology ministry and later concentrated on online higher education. It originated around 2000 as an extension of the PREP Computer Center in Dorchester, Massachusetts, a computer center operated through a partnership involving Bruce Wall Ministries and local churches. Andrew Sears, then PREP's executive director, worked with leaders of other Christian community computer centers to establish the Association of Christian Community Computer Centers, or AC4. The network was designed to connect faith-based computer centers, share practical resources, and expand access to technology education in underserved communities. At its peak, AC4 served more than 500 centers, including organizations connected with the Salvation Army, the Christian Community Development Association, and the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions. TechMission became a separate nonprofit entity in 2002. During its early period, it operated a broad portfolio of programs intended to strengthen community organizations through technology, volunteers, online collaboration, and educational content. Its TechMission Corps internship program placed full-time interns with after-school, teen, and adult technology-education initiatives. Placements included organizations in Boston, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, and Western Massachusetts, and the program received AmeriCorps funding for several years. Through the wider AC4 network, participating organizations could also obtain curriculum resources and software benefits. The organization expanded into online safety and volunteer coordination during the middle of the 2000s. Its Safe Families Program, launched in 2005, promoted safer internet use through training and web-filtering software. In 2006, TechMission launched the TechMission Volunteer Network under the ChristianVolunteering.org name, seeking to connect volunteers with Christian ministries and nonprofit service organizations. In 2007, it introduced UrbanMinistry.org, a Web 2.0-oriented platform that enabled user-submitted information and encouraged collaboration and resource sharing among Christian community-development ministries. TechMission's principal current program is City Vision University, an online Christian university serving people working in urban ministry, nonprofit management, addiction counseling, and related social-service fields. The institution traces its origins to Rescue College, created by the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, now known as Citygate Network, with an initial focus on urban missions. After TechMission acquired the college in 2008, it was renamed City Vision College to broaden its appeal to social-service organizations. It later adopted the name City Vision University as it expanded into master's-level education. The university received accreditation from the Distance Education Accrediting Commission in 2005, before the acquisition, and its offerings have included programs in addiction counseling, business, Christian ministry, nonprofit management, urban missions, and an MBA. City Vision University is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, while TechMission's work is delivered primarily through online education and partnerships with ministries and nonprofit organizations. The institution also developed internship and scholarship arrangements with North American urban ministries. Public coverage has highlighted TechMission and Andrew Sears in relation to technology access, nonprofit education, the response of Boston-area organizations to the Boston Marathon bombing, and approaches to stackable global credentials. In 2018, City Vision University received special recognition in the Pioneer Institute's Better Government Competition for offering relatively affordable degrees for low-income people seeking to serve disadvantaged communities. TechMission's present identity is therefore centered less on a standalone technology-center network than on City Vision University's online, mission-oriented education and professional training.
History
TechMission emerged from the Christian community-technology movement associated with the PREP Computer Center in Dorchester, Massachusetts. PREP was operated through a partnership involving Bruce Wall Ministries and local churches and provided a setting for technology access and education in an underserved community. Around 2000, PREP executive director Andrew Sears and leaders of comparable Christian computer centers organized the Association of Christian Community Computer Centers, known as AC4. The network linked centers, shared educational and software resources, and helped participating ministries develop technology-based services. Its membership eventually included more than 500 centers and organizations connected with national Christian service networks such as the Salvation Army, the Christian Community Development Association, and the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions. In 2002, TechMission was established as an independent nonprofit. Its early identity was that of a network and service organization rather than a conventional consumer brand. The organization supported community ministries through training, technology resources, internships, and collaborative platforms. TechMission Corps provided full-time interns to after-school, teen, and adult technology-education programs in several United States cities and regions, including Boston, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, and Western Massachusetts. The program received AmeriCorps funding for part of its history. AC4-related benefits also included curriculum and software resources for participating centers. TechMission added online-safety programming in 2005 through the Safe Families Program, which combined free training with web-filtering software. In 2006 it launched the TechMission Volunteer Network, operating under the ChristianVolunteering.org name, to help connect volunteers with Christian ministries and nonprofit organizations. In 2007, UrbanMinistry.org extended the organization's collaborative ambitions into a user-contributed online environment. The site used Web 2.0-style features to support information exchange and resource sharing among Christian community-development ministries. The organization's subsequent development became closely connected to City Vision University. The school began as Rescue College, founded in 1998 by the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, now Citygate Network, to offer education in urban missions. It received accreditation from the Distance Education Accrediting Commission in 2005. TechMission acquired the institution in 2008 and renamed it City Vision College, reflecting an intention to serve a wider range of urban ministries and social-service organizations. As graduate-level programs were added, the institution adopted the name City Vision University. City Vision University became TechMission's primary program and the main expression of its current operating model. Its online programs have addressed Christian ministry, urban missions, nonprofit management, business, addiction counseling, and related social-service work, including master's programs and an MBA. The university also developed internship and scholarship partnerships with North American urban ministries. This model connected formal distance education with practical service placements and the needs of low-income or community-based organizations. TechMission and City Vision received public attention through nonprofit and religious-sector coverage. A 2013 Christianity Today article profiled Andrew Sears and the organization's technology-poverty work. Religion Today reported on TechMission's involvement in responses to the Boston Marathon bombing. Northeastern University professors included the organization in a nonprofit case study published in the Case Research Journal. Sears also contributed discussion of standards strategies for stackable global credentials through the Clayton Christensen Institute. In 2018, City Vision University received special recognition in the Pioneer Institute's Better Government Competition for providing affordable degree options in fields relevant to low-income students and disadvantaged communities. Today, TechMission is best understood as a Christian nonprofit whose historic technology-network activities have been consolidated around online education and professional preparation through City Vision University. Its legacy programs remain important to the organization's history, while its principal public-facing role is the delivery of mission-oriented higher education for nonprofit, ministry, and social-service leaders.
- 2018
City Vision University recognized by Pioneer Institute
[1]City Vision University received special recognition in the Pioneer Institute's Better Government Competition.
- 2013
TechMission received media and case-study attention
[1]The organization was profiled in Christianity Today, covered by Religion Today, and examined in a Northeastern University nonprofit case study.
- 2008
TechMission acquired Rescue College
[1]TechMission acquired the online college and renamed it City Vision College to broaden its institutional mission.
- 2007
UrbanMinistry.org launched
[1]TechMission introduced a collaborative Web 2.0 platform for Christian community-development ministries.
- 2006
ChristianVolunteering.org launched
[1]TechMission launched its volunteer network to connect people with Christian ministries and nonprofit service organizations.
- 2005
Safe Families Program launched
[1]TechMission introduced an online-safety initiative offering training and web-filtering software.
- 2005
Rescue College received accreditation
[1]The college received accreditation from the Distance Education Accrediting Commission.
- 2002
TechMission became an independent nonprofit
[1]TechMission separated from its originating ministry context and began operating as a distinct nonprofit organization.
- 2000
AC4 created
[1]Andrew Sears and other Christian community-computer-center leaders created the Association of Christian Community Computer Centers as a resource and networking initiative.
- 1998
Rescue College founded
[1]The Association of Gospel Rescue Missions established Rescue College, the institution that later became City Vision University.
Products and positioning
A Christian nonprofit education and capacity-building organization serving ministry workers, nonprofit leaders, and social-service professionals through affordable online learning, technology resources, volunteering networks, and community-development programs.
Online Christian higher education · 2008
City Vision University
TechMission's primary current program is an online Christian university headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. It prepares students for work in urban ministry, nonprofit management, addiction counseling, business, and social services. Its offerings have included undergraduate and master's-level programs, including an MBA, and it has combined academic study with internship and scholarship relationships involving North American urban ministries.
Community technology internships
TechMission Corps
TechMission Corps was an internship program supplying full-time workers to after-school, teen, and adult technology-education projects. Interns served community organizations in several United States cities and regions. The program also connected with the broader AC4 resource model and received AmeriCorps funding for several years.
Online safety · 2005
Safe Families Program
Launched in 2005, the Safe Families Program promoted safer internet use through free educational training and web-filtering software. It formed part of TechMission's effort to help families and community organizations manage technology risks.
Volunteer network · 2006
ChristianVolunteering.org
The TechMission Volunteer Network, launched under the ChristianVolunteering.org name, was designed to connect volunteers with Christian ministries and nonprofit service organizations. It extended TechMission's role from technology support into volunteer coordination and community service infrastructure.
Online ministry collaboration platform · 2007
UrbanMinistry.org
UrbanMinistry.org used user-submitted content and other Web 2.0 features to help Christian community-development ministries exchange information, collaborate, and share resources. The platform reflected TechMission's early emphasis on networked digital tools for mission organizations.
Marketing campaigns
- 2007UrbanMinistry.org
United States · Online
UrbanMinistry.org encouraged Christian community-development ministries to share information and resources through user-submitted online content.
Outcome. It provided a digital collaboration layer for ministries working in urban communities.
- 2006TechMission Volunteer Network
United States · Online
Through ChristianVolunteering.org, TechMission created an online mechanism for matching volunteers with Christian ministries and nonprofit organizations.
Outcome. The initiative extended TechMission's network-building activities into volunteer recruitment and service coordination.
- 2005Safe Families Program
United States
The program promoted internet safety through free training and web-filtering software for families and community organizations.
Outcome. It broadened TechMission's technology mission from access and education to online-risk awareness and prevention.
- 2000Association of Christian Community Computer Centers
United States
TechMission's AC4 initiative connected Christian community computer centers and supplied shared resources, curriculum, and software-related benefits. The network grew to more than 500 participating centers at its peak.
Outcome. It established TechMission's early national network and capacity-building role among faith-based technology and community-development organizations.
Brand decisions
2008
Acquisition and renaming of Rescue CollegeM&ABackground
TechMission sought to connect its nonprofit technology and ministry mission with a formal online college serving urban ministries and social-service organizations.
Action taken
TechMission acquired Rescue College and renamed it City Vision College.
Aftermath
The institution later became City Vision University as it expanded into master's-level education and became TechMission's primary program.
- Shift toward online mission-oriented higher educationStrategy
Background
After years of operating computer-center networks, internships, online platforms, and safety programs, TechMission increasingly centered its work on City Vision University.
Action taken
The organization made online degree and professional education its principal program, with subject areas including nonprofit management, addiction counseling, business, Christian ministry, and urban missions.
Aftermath
TechMission's public identity became closely associated with City Vision University's affordable online education for ministry and social-service workers.
Recent events
- 2018
City Vision University received Pioneer Institute recognition[1]
Other
City Vision University received special recognition in the Pioneer Institute's Better Government Competition for its relatively affordable programs in addiction studies, nonprofit management, business, and urban missions.
- 2013
TechMission and Andrew Sears featured in Christianity Today[1]
Other
Christianity Today profiled TechMission and Andrew Sears in an article examining the organization's efforts to address technology-related poverty and expand opportunity through mission-oriented education and services.
- 2013
TechMission involved in Boston Marathon bombing response[1]
Other
Religion Today covered TechMission's involvement in community responses to the Boston Marathon bombing.
Sources2 sources
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