With our first ever State of the RE:Union a few weeks ago, we made the announcement that Checkpoint would be instituting something new in our community: the Guardian role. We discerned that, with our ever-growing server, it was time to really consider what safety looked like online. This is something that we've seen other online communities fail at honoring and we wanted to be the best we could possibly be.
When exploring what it looks like to protect the members within our digital walls, we began to envision a very specific level of servant-hearted volunteer. They would be given more power over the Discord and thus, as Uncle Ben (or Aunt May) have said, with great power comes greater responsibility. This meant that these volunteers would be expected to comply with a background check. They would understand that this role comes with expectations - something we've never asked of our volunteers until this point. It would require a spirit of generosity with one's time. It would require discernment, patience, but also grace in complex situations.
Thankfully, this is an ever-evolving and growing platform. We have plenty of mistakes and failures in the future that will allow us to improve upon our current iteration. Even still - we don't intend to wait on failure to happen. Our number one priority in the Guardians is ensuring that our community is safe. Our number two priority is ensuring that our community is provided with the gift of presence in this space. We aren't interested in policing or domineering over others. This role is intended to be a servant through and through. The Guardians will be available when stuff hits the fan, yes. But they will also provide spaces for gaming together - one of them has already hosted a ridiculously fun Among Us session. We want to ensure safety, but we aren't fuddy-duds. We play games for a living, for Pete's sake. I'm delighted to inform our loyal newsletter-ists of this development because it's just the beginning for our intentional efforts of making Checkpoint Church the best possible place it can be. Thank you for supporting us.