The third entry of nerd ministry that is being done - and I’m nowhere close to the end of my research. How are you enjoying these lists? Are they helpful for connecting you with others out there doing this work? I’d love your feedback. These are intended to be brief ventures into the world of other ministries, so I will end my waxing poetic here… enjoy the list!
These will be specifically related to nerd ministry, so be aware that these are not the be-all, end-all of resources. There are also only so many hours in the week - so these will be brief and unedited. I also will not be discriminating against these sources much. I don’t condone or approve of the theology, actions, or anything else that these entities might be involved with. These are purely things I find interesting or worth considering. Venture at your own risk or reward.
Yes - I clearly have a bias for Crossfire: Faith+Gaming. I want to always strive to support any of those doing the same nerdy ministry that I am doing. If they are also in my Methodist connection, well, to be frank, they might get preferential treatment. But that doesn’t mean I won’t include other denominational voices - it’s just most likely I will be directly exposed to those within my circle. I’m always open to submissions and love the possibility of reaching beyond those pesky denominational walls.
This is a great interview with Rev. David Petty and totally worth the listen! They talk about plenty of awesome topics, including the start of Crossfire and a list of David’s favorite games.
If you haven’t read Adam Grant’s Think Again, then that’s the first thing to add to your book list. Given how much I enjoyed that read, I was thrilled to hear the linked podcast show up on my newsfeed. In the talk, Adam Grant goes into detail on how Mario Kart helped build relationships with his family and helped them find a sense of flow during those early quarantine days. There really is something about video games - and this is another example to throw at the naysayers! Video games just plain ol’ ARE good for you.
You should read this book anyway - especially if you are in the church planting world. But there is an added bonus on Page 87 of the book, should you choose to read it. Let’s just say that a certain church for nerds, geeks, and gamers gets a name drop.
Faith & Fandom is an awesome book series, podcast, and so much more from the mind and writing of Hector Miray - who will be our next guest on the Nerds of Pray podcast. Hector is a fascinating character who has become fairly ubiquitous in the nerd ministry sphere and is definitely worth the time to research. Not to mention - all of the devotionals are now available in blog format on his website IIRC, which is quite the deal!
I’m going to choose not to weigh in too much here, because this is a somewhat tempting method that I can see a lot of perspectives on. God Squad is another church pursuing gaming ministry on Twitch and has recently started encouraging folks to come together and lurk so that their video might be pushed to the top of the charts on Twitch. These are real people, presumably, so this isn’t exactly buying bots. But they are providing a link and hosted site where folks can go and watch the stream and count as viewers even if they aren’t watching or have the screen minimized.
I totally understand what Souzy is doing here, but I’ll leave it up to your discretion on the ethics and morality behind the program. If it is effective at spreading the gospel in a way that builds positive relationships with Jesus Christ, then that’s a good thing. What are your thoughts on this method? I have to commend GSC on all of their awesome ministry and innovative ways to reach new people for Jesus.
And that wraps up this Nerd of Mouth post. What did you think? Was this helpful? Encouraging? Inspiring? Or do you have some ideas of how we could make it better? Even better, would you be interested in doing it better? For now, that’s where we’ll leave it. Send ideas for improvement or ideas to be included to checkpointchurch@gmail.com.
Until next time,
God loves you.
We love you. You matter.
Buh-bye!