Nonprofit Innovation Lab · Portland, Oregon
Brilliance — Ignited
Brilliance Labs is a Christian nonprofit innovation lab in Portland, Oregon.
Faith, technology, and entrepreneurship meet here. Bring us a problem, an idea, or a gift, and we’ll turn it into something that serves God’s mission in the world.
Our Mission
We equip Christian leaders to discover and deploy upstream solutions to hard and neglected problems.
Our lab is where it all comes together. Research surfaces a hard problem. Consulting and grants put solutions into practice. Media spreads what worked. The network brings the next problem to our door, and the cycle turns again.
As freedom technology like Bitcoin and open-source AI reshapes how money and information move, we’re building the trusted bridge that carries the best of it to the global Church, especially where it’s needed most and where traditional systems fall short.
Our aim is simple: to be the people Christian leaders turn to when the problem is hard, neglected, and upstream, and the place the freedom-tech world turns to when they want their tools to serve the vulnerable and advance the gospel. We scale upstream work for the sake of what flows down: strong families, flourishing communities, thriving churches, and the good news of Jesus carried from our own backyard in Portland, Oregon, to the ends of the earth.
Bringing bright ideas into dark spaces. We call that Brilliance — Ignited.
In the Field
Design Labs in El Salvador, Kenya & India
In 2023, a $50,000 innovation grant from Missio Nexus asked us one question: how might Bitcoin be used to advance the Great Commission? We answered it in the room with missionaries, technologists, and national leaders.
Our
Initiatives
What We're Building
Thank God
for Bitcoin (opens tgfb.com in a new tab)
Books, a podcast, and an annual conference that help Christians understand Bitcoin. Led by Jordan Bush.
02 Consulting · StrategyFrontier Finance
Consulting
We help missions agencies send money into countries where wires get blocked, using Bitcoin and dollar stablecoins. It starts with a free 30-minute call.
03 Community · GrantsPortland Grants
& Community
Micro-grants of $1,000 to $7,000 for churches, nonprofits, and grassroots projects in the Portland metro area.
04 Training · Community · ResearchBitcoin for
Missions
Design labs, training, grants, and a practitioner network for missionaries who use Bitcoin in the field.
05 Research · IdeasBright Ideas
Think Tank
Research on the theology of money, the ethics of AI, and how Bitcoin works in missions.
06 AI · IntegrationIgnite AI
Consulting
We help churches and ministries decide where AI fits, write a policy for it, and build tools their own staff can run.
Wednesday, September 30, 2026 · Trinity Church of Portland
Discern & Build:
AI for Ministry Leaders
A one-day conference and hands-on build lab, 9 AM to 4 PM. Learn where AI fits your ministry (and where it doesn’t), then build one working tool with a coach at your side. Tickets are $99 and include a catered lunch. For ministry leaders who want to go deeper, an invite-only, two-day Builders’ Retreat follows on October 1 and 2.
Register for September 30 →From
the Lab
All Posts From the Lab →
Fall 2026 Micro-Grant Round
Our tenth round is open to nonprofits, churches, and grassroots projects across the Portland metro area. Applications close Friday, October 23, 2026.
Apply by Oct 23 →A Christ-Centered Framework for Using AI
Our living guide to using AI faithfully in ministry. It keeps prayer, discernment, community, and the people God made at the center of the work.
Read the Framework →Inside the First Annual Bitcoin for Ministry Summit
In April 2026, missions finance leaders met in Arlington, Texas, to test whether Bitcoin can help the gospel reach the hardest places. Together they oversee $60 million to $120 million a year in cross-border transfers.
Read the Summit Recap →Support the Work
Give
to Brilliance
Labs
Our endowment and consulting revenue cover part of the work. Gifts from people like you pay for the rest: grants, design labs overseas, research, and training for ministry leaders. Tell us which initiative you care about most and we’ll honor that whenever we can.
Choose How to Give →Card · Bank Transfer · Check · Stock · DAF · Bitcoin