News, Grants & Research
News from every Brilliance Labs initiative: grant rounds, events, research, and reports from the field. Newest first.
Our mission says "upstream." Here is what we mean by it, what Dan Heath's book Upstream taught us, and what it means for your Portland micro-grant application.
Read More →: What We Mean by Upstream SolutionsApplications are open for the Fall 2026 Portland micro-grant round, our tenth. This round is open to nonprofits, churches, and grassroots projects across the Portland metro area. Applications close Friday, October 23, 2026.
Read More →: Fall 2026 Micro-Granting RoundA one-day conference and hands-on build lab for ministry leaders at Trinity Church of Portland on September 30. 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.
Register →: Discern & Build: AI for Ministry LeadersFive years, nine rounds, $263,710, and 42 Portland organizations. The full story of the Brilliance Labs micro-grant program: every round, every recipient, and the work it set in motion.
Read More →: Five Years of Coming Alongside: The Portland Micro-Grant StoryMission finance leaders from around the world gathered in Arlington, Texas, to test whether Bitcoin can help the gospel reach the hardest places. Together they represent an estimated $60–120 million in annual cross-border transfers.
Read More →: Inside the First Annual Bitcoin for Ministry SummitA living document on using AI faithfully: six principles, four filter questions, two lanes, and four anchors that hold a life of faith together through the work.
Read More →: A Christ-Centered Framework for Using AIWeaver recounts helping friends move about $80,000 in savings from US and Canadian bank accounts to buy an apartment in Istanbul. They bought bitcoin through Swan, held it in BlueWallet, carried it on a phone, and converted it through USDT into nearly three million Turkish lira.
Read on Substack →: From Bank Accounts to a Building (opens in a new tab)A panel discussion with Ahshuwah Hawthorne, Mike Peterson, and Eric Hersman exploring how Bitcoin intersects with the development of 21st century villages and community-driven innovation.
Read More →: Bitcoin and 21st Century VillagesHow missions agencies use bitcoin and dollar stablecoins to fund field workers: costs vs. wires, 2026 survey data, risks, and how to start a small pilot.
Read Guide →: Crypto for Cross-Border Missions FundingHow to send bitcoin to a missionary in 8 steps: ask the field first, pick a wallet, send a small test, and plan how they'll turn it into local money.
Read Guide →: How to Send Bitcoin to MissionariesWhat Bitcoin grants are, which programs fund nonprofits in 2026, how to apply, and our $1,000 to $7,000 Portland micro-grants.
Read Guide →: Bitcoin Grants for NonprofitsWhere AI helps a church, where it should stay out, how to start in 90 days, and which guardrails to set first. A guide from Brilliance Labs in Portland.
Read Guide →: AI Strategy for Churches and MinistriesA faith-based innovation lab finds hard problems in churches and missions, builds a first answer, and tests it in the field. Here's how ours works in Portland.
Read More →: What Is a Faith-Based Innovation Lab?After the February 6, 2023, earthquake in Turkey, Paul helped raise six figures for tents, food, shipping containers, and tiny houses distributed through local churches. When he tried to send leftover designated funds farther east, the government froze the account for more than 18 months, and by the time it was released the chance to help had passed.
Read on Substack →: Bitcoin, Generosity, and the Future of the Church (opens in a new tab)Frontier Finance offers a $2,000 pilot for missions agencies that want to try Bitcoin and dollar stablecoins for cross-border payments. It runs about six weeks in nine steps, ends with a live transfer to one of your field partners, and starts with a free 30-minute call.
Learn More →: Frontier Finance Pilot Consultations Now AvailableSamuel Kullmann and Ahshuwah Hawthorne present a masterclass from the Plan B Forum in Lugano on helping charities and NGOs better understand Bitcoin.
Read More →: Bitcoin for Good: Orange-Pilling NGO's and CharitiesIn this plenary session from the 2024 Thank God for Bitcoin Conference, Ahshuwah Hawthorne explores how Bitcoin addresses real-world financial challenges facing missionaries and nonprofits around the globe.
Read More →: Bitcoin Solves Real World ProblemsIf you're a Bitcoiner and want to get your church on a Bitcoin standard and have no idea where to start, or maybe you've already tried but been shot down, check out this video series: https://www.yout...
Read More →: How to Orange Pill Your ChurchNate Scholz and Ahshuwah Hawthorne sit down with Jordan Bush to discuss how Bitcoin is solving financial challenges for missionaries serving in developing countries, from currency instability to high transfer fees to restricted banking access.
Read More →: Podcast: How Bitcoin Solves Financial Challenges for Missionaries in Developing CountriesAhshuwah Hawthorne discusses how Bitcoin is transforming funding for global missions by removing barriers, reducing costs, and enabling direct support for workers in the field.
Read More →: Podcast: How Bitcoin Transforms Funding for Global Missions with Ahshuwah HawthorneA panel discussion on Bitcoin and global missions, exploring how this emerging technology is being adopted by missions organizations and what it means for the future of cross-border funding.
Read More →: TGFB Panel: Bitcoin and Global MissionsEvery one started with a problem the church needed solved.