by Emily Smith

Our God is a God of detail. You don’t have to look far to find that this is true—for He arrays each flower of the field in a splendor of vivid color and never loses track of any sparrow soaring freely above the earth that He created (see Matt. 6:28–30, 10:29).

And not only is our God in every detail, but He is also a dreamer, a visionary—for He knows the plans He has for us, desiring hope and a prosperous future (see Jer. 29:11). Our God has a vision that spans from Genesis to Revelation, from Creation to Christ’s return and beyond, weaving together every necessary detail of history to make His dream of being with His people come true.

And, as ones made in His own image, we are like God—we are also detailed, and we are also dreamers. As the Apostle Paul so wisely shares in Romans 12, we are all individual parts of the same Body—we step into our roles to show off individual facets of God’s character through our unique giftings, working together to bring Him glory in a way none of us could on our own. A far cry from a cookie-cutter creation, God has made a diverse world with unique functions prominent in each individual He makes, filling us with passions and skills, all distinct and personal.

Preserved, Positioned, Equipped

This very “divine preservation, unique positioning, and strategic equipping,” as explained by Alliance international workers (IWs) Kaitlyn* and Ben,* is what led them to pursue using their degrees and skills in a more significant way for the Kingdom. As Kaitlyn and Ben worked with and witnessed a variety of sites and organizations, they were confronted with a persistent issue—many IWs and others around the globe laboring for Christ had a great vision to help people but were unsure of how to create facilities that would help them achieve their vision.

Kaitlyn and Ben knew there were many people with the gift of beautiful ambitions to help others to the glory of God, but they also saw a large technical gap in the details necessary to support the healthy, continual flourishing of these Kingdom dreams. As these dreams were pursued, questions were bound to arise: How big of a building do we need and how are we going to access it? What are our electricity needs? Are our buildings and outfitting cost-effective? How do I know what funds to raise for a new facility? Whether a children’s center, hospital, orphanage, or other ministry venue, IWs often experience realized, tangible needs that architecture and engineering—the kind of work that Ben and Kaitlyn are skilled and equipped to engage in—can help fix.

This work serves not only the unreached and needy but also IWs. In reflecting on these needs and her call to help, Kaitlyn shares, “It’s really life-giving and fulfilling to know that I don’t have the skills to be out there doing front-facing gospel impact work—it’s just not the way God has made me—but that many people are doing that, and I can come alongside them and use the things God has gifted me with to partner in powerful ways and enhance the effectiveness of the work they’re doing through having the right facilities to do it well.”

Tangible Answers for Realized Needs

Seeing this need within the mission field is what launched Kaitlyn and Ben to join marketplace ministries in 2017, becoming a part of Engineering Ministries International (EMI), after spending time in the United Stated in commercial engineering. Through EMI, they spent time in South Africa and the Middle East and moved to North Africa in 2023, where they currently reside, working on both local and global projects. Throughout their time in each of these locations since 2017, their work has included launching a new engineering office, outfitting media programming spaces that preach the gospel through radio and TV, overseeing construction of war refugee resettlement communities, and making services more affordable through sourcing expert volunteers from other countries to assist with projects and, in the process, witnessing to the gospel in both word and deed.

Their work with one organization, Living Water International, involved developing a water pipeline to bring clean water to those who live far from a water source. Women in this culture often drop out of school to dedicate their days to bringing clean water to their families—but with this new direct pipeline access, they are now free to pursue education and contribute to their families and communities in new and unique ways.

Another project they’ve been involved with is helping hospital facilities—through this work, they have a hand in arranging the hospital campus, confronting a common yet avoidable issue that faces many church-based hospitals. Because spaces are built as funds are accrued, there is often no cohesive plan tying all the moving parts together. As a result, many patients die, weaken, or, at best, risk further illness or injury simply because of the transportation between buildings.

For Kaitlyn, work like this hits home. While Ben was working on a missions hospital campus plan, Kaitlyn’s sister went into labor back home and needed an emergency C-section. Kaitlyn was struck by the provision that was available to her to go straight from labor into surgery. While the hospital her sister was at was equipped to keep her safe and healthy in transportation, Kaitlyn knew that was not the case at the hospital where Ben was working. Many women and babies there needing such care didn’t end up making it, simply due to the journey across campus, taking precious time and energy and presenting more opportunity for infection or injury. Ben’s project at the hospital included designing a new maternity ward equipped for emergency operations for lifesaving procedures. Because of this architecture and engineering work at the hospital campus, the reality for these patients now more closely aligns with the opportunities available for Kaitlyn’s sister and many others, ensuring mothers and their babies have the opportunity to survive and live with flourishing health.

Beyond water pipelines and hospital campuses, Ben and Kaitlyn have also been involved in engineering and designing children’s homes, partnering to create functional and fruitful spaces for children with disabilities, who are often abandoned or orphaned because of the sociocultural taboo associated with disability.

Through these projects and many others like them, Kaitlyn and Ben are pursuing tangible, lifesaving answers to realized problems. Their work offers a picture of how very simple steps, like thinking ahead and planning well, can save a life—how design can partner alongside medical care, doing even more than what other IWs may have initially envisioned, helping them do their work more effectively.

God, Our Architect

The work that Kaitlyn and Ben, along with many other gifted IWs, are doing speaks biblical truth to a dying world. “Architecture is a language,” Kaitlyn shares. “We don’t often realize what a building is saying to the people that it serves, and impart value to people, saying ‘You are worth this beautiful building.’ It’s just another way we can say how much God loves you.”

Just like the Tabernacle furnishings described in ornate, picturesque detail throughout the Book of Exodus, God still goes to great lengths to provide such detail in the lives of His children today. “Even Creation itself speaks to how much God loves beauty and order,” Kaitlyn remarks, “[and we can] draw people into a deeper understanding of the beauty of God.” God does strategic, detailed work—and He invites us to, as well. Where we enter into logistics-driven, detailed, and tangible work, God has gone before us and done the same, setting up every detailed, tangible step to provide for a person, physically and spiritually—to see needs met and to hear the good news of the gospel.

As Kaitlyn, Ben, and others labor to engineer facilities that meet the real needs of people all across the world, God labors too. He works to build a home, preparing a place for us to dwell forever: “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2–3). And He labors not only for our dwelling place, but for His, building us each day-by-day into a home for His Spirit to dwell in: “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5). God goes before us, working dreams and details to prepare for us—and prepare us for—a spiritual house, an eternal dwelling place, a forever home with Him.

*Names changed

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