In 2026, everyone is a builder.
Over the next few months, we're introducing you to a few of the people who competed in last year's Gloo AI Hackathon. These people showed us that you don’t need to be the most technical person in the room; you just need a problem worth solving and the passion to solve it. We call them Heroes of the Ecosystem, not because they took home the top prize, but because they’re on the frontlines every day, building for their communities, causes, and missions.
Meet Troy Evans, who runs Nitrogen Urban Network, an organization built to equip the Church for urban ministry. He also runs SimpleNow, a for-profit venture helping make AI simple for the Church. He has never written a line of code, yet he showed up to last year’s Hackathon with the passion to help the Church exponentially grow disciples.
The Problem Worth Solving
Two out of five Christians have never made a disciple. That's the gap Troy couldn't shake, and it's the kind of thing he started noticing from inside a small, under-resourced, urban church. Troy has spent thirty years pastoring exactly that kind of church. In fact, he grew up in that same kind of church.
So he built Thrive at the 2025 Gloo AI Hackathon, which has now grown into a three-part platform under a new name, Multiply. It uses AI to help churches actually see discipleship happening, rather than just hoping it is. He built it for the churches he already knew, because he knew exactly what they needed.
Not All Builders Are Equal
Troy is quick to say he's not a developer, but he's also quick to say that it doesn't matter as much as people think.
"I do agree that everyone is a builder," he says. "But I believe that all builders are not created equal."
His own team is built around that idea: creatives, vibe coders, testers, and three senior engineers, each staying deliberately in their lane. "You suck, God's awesome, and we're all in desperate need of him," he says. "So you ain't as dope as that developer, and that developer ain't as dope as that vibe coder. So why don't we build in our own lanes?" He puts it in basketball terms: the vibe coder brings the ball down the court, gets to the top of the key, and finds Shaq (the developer), who finishes it.
Troy is building with a community deeply committed to serving like he is. He didn't need to be the expert; all he needed was to know the needs of his community well enough to build the right thing that serves a real need.
What community are you called to serve?
If everyone is a builder, the claim is simple: You have a part to play.
Troy's part was a discipleship gap inside the church he's spent his life serving. What's yours? What community, cause, or mission could you champion this year? What problem are you seeing that can be solved? What team do you need to assemble to build together?
Let’s get building.
Register for the 2026 Gloo AI Hackathon
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