This article was written for the Trinity Digest, and published on February 26, 2010.
Sophomore Kingsley Chinye has invited the Trinity community to support and join Kingdom Agents, a Christian social network site he designed and operates.
Chinye established Kingdom Agents as an alternative to Facebook or MySpace that is designed to connect believers from all over the world to fellowship together online. The mission of Kingdom Agents is further described on their website as desiring “to break through the four walls of the church to connect the body of Christ, and to minister to the needs of all people.” The Scriptural inspiration for Kingdom Agents’ mission came from Psalms 133:1 which says, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
Chinye said that he brainstormed the idea for Kingdom Agents in September 2008. While surfing a music website, he saw an advertisement that said “Create your own social network.” He did not think much about it, and just clicked on it for fun. Chinye named the social network Kingdom Agents and invited a few friends to join. He created the name Kingdom Agents from a sermon his pastor in Miami, FL gave about becoming a kingdom seeker.
Chinye said “Kingdom Agents” had become a part of him and was his slogan.
Chinye said that his girlfriend at the time was very excited about Kingdom Agents, but told him “the Lord has given you something better.” She encouraged him to drop the original website and her brother began to advise Chinye about the business.
Chinye did not think he would have the money or time to pursue developing Kingdom Agents because of his academic commitments. He decided to go on a seven day fast to make sure the idea was from God and said he received more guidance the longer he fasted.
Chinye began to do web design research and found that the price of starting a social network was out of his range. It was not until he found a company named Heritage Web Solutions, now named Heritage Internet Technologies, that he found a cheaper price. The initial website design cost was $17,000, but after a phone conversation with the president of Heritage Web Solutions, he was put on a special payment plan and was able to afford it. According to Chinye, the president told him his ideas were “really revolutionary.”
“You have found favor in the sight of God. God has instructed me to help you out,” the president told him.
Kingdom Agents has similar characteristics to other social networking sites, such as a Play List, where users can listen to clips of Christian music. It also has a “Prayer Bucket” where users can subscribe to and post prayer requests. According to Chinye, Kingdom Agents will soon introduce new software that will allow churches to access these prayer requests, as well as users. Kingdom Agents also advertises and represents Christian music artists on their website, including a biography of their featured artist. Chinye said his goal wasn’t just having users on the website, but getting them involved in the community.
According to Chinye, Kingdom Agents will offer scholarships and mission involvement to bring users out of the online focus, along with free concerts and events for anyone to attend. Kingdom Agents’ next event will be at the F.A.T. worship service in the A.T.O. Chapel on April 8 at 9:30 p.m., where merchandise will be available to purchase.
“It’s an awesome ministry that God has blessed me with. I’m humbled to see what God wants to do with it. God is the founder, I’m just the caretaker,” Chinye said.
The current Kingdom Agents staff consists of Executive Administrator Alex Peterson, Event Coordinator Jonathan Reynolds, Public Relations Assistant Garrett Kling, and President and Chief Executive Officer Kingsley Chinye. Chinye said his father is very supportive of the business and is acting as chief advisor and accountant from Miami, FL., where Kingdom Agent’s only office is located. According to Chinye, they hope to open one in Deerfield soon.
“I hope it becomes something that Christians can go to get encouragement, to have fellowship with other believers, and grow with the Lord,” Kling said.
There are currently 84 Kingdom Agents users. Students can sign up for Kingdom Agents at www.KingdomAgents.org.
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