If you have a couple of minutes, check out this article by one of our innovators, Rev. David Petty with Crossfire:faith+gaming! David was one of our Hatchletes in 2020 in the Mountain Sky Conference.

For decades, people have talked about churches “meeting people where they are.” Getting out of the building and into community requires speaking the language of the people, being where the people are, and engaging deeper than a pre-church coffee and cookie. In 2017, David asked the question, “Could church exist as a group of gamers with a shared purpose, faith, and community?” The answer has become a resounding “YES!”

Since 2017, Crossfire:faith+gaming has actively created a faith-based community of gamers who engage in life-changing fellowship and share practical tools for resilience in a challenging world, aiming to break down the barriers many gamers face: social isolation, disconnection, and stigma. Crossfire does outreach and builds community with their Twitch stream, Facebook group and page, and podcast.

In 2020, the long-standing debates about whether online church was “valid” ended. With this shift, Crossfire:faith+gaming was in a unique position to showcase the resilience of gamers and be a model for how to do ministry. Read the article to learn more!

Rev. Petty also currently serves as the pastor of Meeker UMC.