Missional
by Design.
Strategic design, theological reflection, and ministry innovation — for churches, startups, and the teams building technology that serves human flourishing.
All ministry
is designed.
"All ministry is designed — whether you know it or not." — Tyler Prieb, Missional Labs
In rapidly changing contexts, faithful witness requires continual re-contextualization. Churches and ministry teams need the same strategic muscles that startups have developed over the last two decades: cultural exegesis, rapid iteration, user-centered thinking, honest measurement.
Missional by Design is a body of work that adapts these tools — rigorously and theologically — for ministry. It includes strategic frameworks for churches, principles for building digital tools that serve formation, and consulting for teams working at the intersection of faith, design, and technology.
Three tools.
One approach.
Ministry Model Canvas
A nine-block strategic planning framework for churches and ministries — adapted from the Business Model Canvas to help teams clarify their target, name their good news, and design toward missional effectiveness.
Missional Product Design
Nine principles and six diagnostic questions for building digital tools that serve spiritual formation — resisting engagement optimization in favor of human flourishing. Drawn from 195+ sources across theology, behavioral science, and product design.
Writing
Essays on missional design, digital formation, ministry innovation, and the surprising overlap between churches and startups. Thought leadership from the field, not the seminar room.
Four values
we choose first.
Whether building a church, a ministry, or a digital tool for spiritual formation, we have come to value the items on the left. While the items on the right sustain institutions and serve users, we choose the items on the left first when the two conflict.
In ministry: A full sanctuary isn't the goal if no one is being formed. Attendance is a lagging indicator; discipleship is the point.
In product: Daily active users are the wrong target. Measure whether people are growing in freedom, depth, and love of neighbor.
In ministry: Accompaniment rather than conversion pressure. Collaborative leadership rather than charismatic control.
In product: Users as co-creators of their own formation — not targets of growth-hacking funnels.
In ministry: Prophetic honesty rather than therapeutic deism. Discipleship costs something; we don't soften that for fundraising.
In product: Design for growth, not gratification. The best experience sometimes resists the user's immediate preferences.
In ministry: Mutual participation rather than performative production. The body of Christ, not the celebrity pastor.
In product: Real community ties, not parasocial feeds. Infrastructure that connects, not extracts.
Bring in
Oratio&Co.
These frameworks were developed inside Oratio&Co — a strategic design consultancy for churches, ministries, and faith-driven teams. If you want help applying them to your context, that's what Oratio&Co does.
- → Ministry consultation & strategic design
- → Canvas workshop facilitation
- → Innovation training for ministry teams
- → Online cohorts for practitioners
- → Product design for faith-tech teams