The Geography of Innovation and Ministry

Are there hubs of innovation in ministry like there is industry?

Innovation tends to be geographically bound. Some places are more innovative than others. Among those who follow innovation theory, this is not controversial. For example, if you want to see a map of innovation based on patent filings, you can click here. You can also track this by venture capital investment and research and development investment. I have seen startups tracked by where they are located, the growth curves of new companies plotted on maps, and employee hiring by city. These all suggest that there are geographic centers of innovation.

Anecdotally, we all know about Silicon Valley. One might think that a highly regulated state like California would not be a place where innovation flourishes, yet California continues to set the pace for technological innovation.

There are plenty of reasons that have put forth as to why there are geographic hotspots for innovation. Here are a few:

• Corporate networks (finding talent requires high levels of connection within organizations that focus on innovation)

• Social connectivity by peers focused on innovation.

• Natural resources that might be exploited for innovation.

• Industry specialization (innovation clusters based on industry, where access to ideas, money, and people follow the industry focus)

• Demographics, including the culture of the people (visit India for an example of an entrepreneurial culture, for example)

• Access to investors (physical proximity seems to matter here – see “Importance of Spatial Proximity between Venture Capital Investors in Germany”).

Currently, the hotspots seem to be moving to the US Southeast. Miami, for example, has a thriving crypto industry and is a magnet for tech entrepreneurs right now. The same is true for other cities in the Southeast. Texas has famously attracted Elon Musk. Some believe that Zoomworld is reducing the geographic concentration of innovation. I am doubtful, but maybe. Time will tell.

What I want to ask here is, “What does the geography of innovation look like for ministry innovation?” Are there geographic centers? If so, where? How would one find these, and measure them? What might be learned in these ministry innovation corridors?

Based on my quick evaluation of Missio Nexus members, ministry startups were once clustered in New York, Pennsylvania, and other mid-Atlantic states. Since that time, the trend has followed the same Southeastern push as our newest, and youngest, members are also in the Southeast. This includes some startups that are clustered in and around Atlanta. There appears to be another batch in Texas. In both cases, I do wonder if these are the logical spillover from largely Christian populations.

Recently, innovation labs have sprung up. These are often started inside extant organizations, and thus, they are not geographically different than their parent organizations. Most (not all) are dependent on their parent organization.

Wheaton? Colorado Springs? Orlando? All these cities have attracted ministry organizations. These are centers of ministry organizations, probably not classifiable as geographic centers of innovation. Like multi-ministry buildings (found in three or four different cities), multi-ministry cities do not seem to be innovation hubs. They rise and fall. I would be hard-pressed to suggest any city or place in the US that we could point to as a ministry innovation hub.

How about globally? Once again, I could not point to a place where innovation is particularly rising above other places. It might be that the polycentric nature of the church makes us fundamentally different than industry. Feel free to tell me where they are if I am wrong about this in the comments.

What are the ramifications for ministry leaders? Here are a few scattered thoughts:

• It may be an indicator of how little is spent on venture ministry and research/ development activities.

• The pattern of giving, in which no funds are made available that are unencumbered by projects and restrictions, may be a major reason for this.

• The Evangelical view of stewardship in which risk taking is considered off limits (the opposite message of the parable of the talents) may be a factor as well.

Tt could be that these are simply choking off innovation altogether. Thus, there is not enough momentum for innovation hubs to develop.

This points to the importance of associations and networks, like Missio Nexus (and there are others). Where else can we develop deeper pools of expertise, ideas, relationships, and shared learning? How can an innovator find his or her tribe and be encouraged? Where can embryonic ideas be floated and discussed? Where can we connect venture ministry capital with great ministry minded innovators? Isolated ministries (and there are plenty of them) lose out on these network benefits.