When Andy Mayer looked around Sheffield’s thriving tech scene, he noticed something unusual, something that ‘irked’ him - not in what people were talking about, but what they weren’t.

“I knew a lot of successful people in the Sheffield tech scene who also had a strong faith in Jesus,” he says, “but nobody talked about faith at work thinking that others wouldn’t be interested - or maybe it wasn't relevant to a modern world. It was almost a secret and most people kept those two parts of their life separate.”

After two decades running his own tech business while remaining active in a local church, Andy wanted to address this disconnect. “The two worlds rarely met,” he recalls. “I wanted a meetup where people could talk openly about working in tech and also having faith. To talk honestly about the issues we face and figure out how to follow Jesus while working in the tech world.”

A quick Google search revealed that he wasn’t the only one asking these questions. He discovered FaithTech, a global nonprofit uniting people who “love tech and love Jesus”, with thousands of people already connected around the world.

“It felt exactly like the thing I’d been missing,” Andy says. Within months, he had applied to start the first UK meetup, been approved, and even hosted FaithTech founder James Kelly, who flew from Canada and stayed on Andy’s sofa to help launch the Sheffield group.

Why Sheffield? Why now?

“Sheffield was the natural place to start because it’s home for me… I care about making Sheffield a great place to work in tech.” Andy explains. With no FaithTech presence anywhere in the UK, launching in Sheffield felt “both obvious and needed.” 

He wanted to add something meaningful to the city’s collaborative, community-driven tech culture and Sheffield Technology Parks (STP) felt like the obvious home for the event.

“The boardroom at STP fits our usual group size of about 25. Having the same venue each time helps people feel settled,” Andy says. “It’s central, close to the station, and easy for people travelling from other cities, which happens a lot because we’re the first FaithTech community in the UK.”

STP also brings something less tangible: the right atmosphere.

“You walk into STP and it feels like a tech environment,” Andy explains. “It keeps things grounded. We want people to feel welcome even if they’re just curious about the subject matter. Some might not feel comfortable walking into a church for a tech meetup, so meeting at STP removes that barrier.

A growing community

What began as a small experiment has quietly grown into a diverse, multigenerational network. “We have around 120 people on our email list,” Andy says. “Students, engineers, founders, product and data specialists… anyone exploring how faith and tech fit together.”

“One of the beautiful things about FaithTech is the ethnic mix.” He adds. “We get one of the most diverse groups you can imagine. The thing we all share is our faith in Jesus.”

Eat, learn, build

Each meetup follows a similar pattern. “We start with pizza so people coming straight from work aren’t hungry. Then we dig into the intersection of Christian faith and digital technology: AI, digital addiction, cybersecurity, career development, the theology of tech etc.”

Afterwards, we try and encourage people to work on Labs projects: small teams using their tech skills to help charities or local community groups, others just hang out and chat - and both options are encouraged.

One event stands out for Andy: the cybersecurity night, which he describes as “powerful”.

“A Christian friend who works at a high level in cybersecurity came over from Hungary. He gave us a clear picture of what threats Christians around the world are facing online. He shared how digital threats are growing fast; things like ransomware attacks, targeted government surveillance and monitoring of Christians in countries hostile to faith.”

“Hearing all of that made it hit home,” Andy says. “It helped people realise that digital persecution and physical persecution are often linked, and that our skills in tech can actually make a real difference and help keep people safe.”

Another highlight was an AI ethics panel featuring a senior engineer, a tech CEO, and an author on humanising AI.

“It was honest, hopeful and practical - the kind of conversation where everyone leaves with something real to think about.”

These events underscore what FaithTech is all about: “Faith and technology aren’t two separate tracks. When you look at the world through both lenses at the same time, the overlap becomes impossible to ignore.”

Breaking down silos

“The biggest impact has been community,” Andy says. In a city with hundreds of churches and a sprawling tech workforce, it’s easy for people to live in “our own little worlds”

“People don’t feel alone anymore,” he explains. “FaithTech helps break down those silos – local, national and even global. Being part of a global family is a key part of the faith journey for many of us. It gives perspective and reminds us we’re part of something bigger.”

Sheffield FaithTech is now helping other UK cities to start their own communities, with people from Manchester, Newcastle and London all having visited to learn from Sheffield’s experience.

Andy himself now speaks regularly with FaithTech leaders around the world, from Silicon Valley to Australia. One mentor, he says, is “an ex-Meta product manager whose work at Facebook is used by one in three human beings on the planet.”

Without FaithTech, Andy says, “I’d never get time with someone like that, let alone be mentored by them.”

The role of Sheffield Technology Parks

“Sheffield Technology Parks host us, support us and make the logistics easy,” Andy says. “We rely on volunteers and so every little helps. Not having to worry about the venue each time is one less thing to worry about.”

He’s also grateful for the human side of STP. “Emma on the front desk has been amazing. She’s such a welcoming presence and helps direct new people to the right place.”

STP’s connection to Sheffield Digital is another plus, helping to promote meetups, list events in one calendar and bring organisers together.

“FaithTech fits into Sheffield’s thriving meetup scene as a community of practice,” Andy adds. “It encourages collaboration and creation together and brings additional value to the local economy and the city in general.”

Looking ahead: the future of FaithTech

Andy has some clear and ambitious goals for the next couple of years:

• grow the community at a healthy pace

• bring in more volunteers

• support new UK cities starting FaithTech groups

• run more national events; maybe even a FaithTech UK hackathon

• expand Labs projects to help local charities with real technical needs

“Our community has real potential to use tech skills to help local organisations that don’t have the resources to build the tools they need,” he says. “We’ve already seen how powerful this can be.”

Why it matters

Leading FaithTech Sheffield has clarified some important points for Andy.

“It’s shown me that faith and tech aren’t separate lanes,” he says. “With faith at the centre, tech can be built in a positive way that helps people.

“The tech world can be dark and isolating and often causes real harm. Faith brings hope and light. It reminds us that tech should serve people, not treat them as data. Popular tech ideas like ‘move fast and break things’ can damage society. Faith shifts the focus toward community, care and humility. It pushes us to choose what’s right, not just what’s possible, which leads to tech that helps people on the margins and supports healthy communities.

“When faith and tech work together, good things follow,” he reflects.

The most rewarding part is, for Andy, the sense of community that FaithTech delivers. “Seeing other Christians in tech realise they’re not alone,” he says. “The room feels lighter when people find their people.”

Get involved

FaithTech Sheffield meets every six weeks at Sheffield Technology Parks. “The best way to get involved is to come to a meetup,” Andy says. “Talking with people in person helps you see what FaithTech is about.”

The next event is on Wednesday 28 January, 18:00-20:30. You can book a spot here.

You can sign up for updates at: https://mailchi.mp/faithtech/sheffield and you’ll find event listings on the Sheffield Digital events calendar.