Indies and Ministries

Early in my career, my business partner and I pitched a popular children's ministry the idea of building a Flash gaming portal. Strategically, it made a ton of sense. Sites like Kongregate and Miniclip were blowing up, and most of their audience spent hours each week playing video games, especially free web games. From a brand and ministry standpoint, it would drive regular engagement and supplement their midweek gatherings.

It was our first significant pitch, and we were nervous—butterflies had more than taken over our stomachs. Despite our nerves, the pitch was met with an enthusiastic reception from both the marketing and creative teams. Our ideas sparked their ideas, and the flame of creative energy grew. You could feel genuine excitement throughout the room. The only thing left to do was sell it to their higher-ups.

We held our breath over the next few weeks and waited for the next steps. We attempted to keep the creative energy up by brainstorming game ideas and strategizing the portal's design until, one day, we received the news. Despite the enthusiasm of the internal teams, the organization would not add games to its ministry strategy. Exhale.

I'm going to say something here that might sound ageist; forgive me. I believe the age gap within the ministry was a significant cause of its failure to incorporate games into its curriculum. The leaders were older, non-gamers; thus, they could not see the changing youth cultural landscape and the growing significance of games. It was almost twenty years ago, so I get it, but there is little doubt in my mind that they missed an incredibly huge opportunity—one that would have bolstered the trajectory of their ministry.

Change is in the air

Fast-forward to today. It feels like things are changing. More and more ministries are waking up to the importance of gaming in our culture, and they recognize the need to start engaging with it. Sure, we could lament their slow arrival at the party, but the better response would be to celebrate their arrival! So what has changed? A lot, actually.

For one thing, leadership has changed. Younger generations, who grew up playing video games, are coming into leadership positions. Based on statistics, we can assume many leaders continue incorporating gaming into their leisure time alone or with their children. Furthermore, ministries have become savvy about creating and distributing digital content.

Significant changes have also taken place within the church. Since 1999, church membership has declined sharply, with a 20 percent drop. American church attendance patterns have also taken a hit, with members attending less frequently and younger demographics being the least likely to participate. Finally, there has been a notable rise in the "nones"—Americans with no religious affiliation.

However, the trends have been much brighter on the video game side. In 2004, it was estimated that there were around 1 billion gamers worldwide. Today, there are more than 3.32 billion players! 300+% is unquestionably strong growth, but the sales growth during this time is even wilder. According to NPD Funworld figures, the industry's sales reached $9.9 billion in 2004. Compare those figures with 2024; Newzoo predicts the global video game industry will reach $282.30 billion. We can thank much of this growth to the rise of cheaper devices, mobile and online gaming, and esports.

On a personal level, I also experienced a rollercoaster of change as I rode the ups and downs of being an independent game developer and entrepreneur. There were times of provision with miraculous breakthroughs and seasons of leanness and wandering in the wilderness— all the while growing in my craft and walking with the Lord. And then last year, seemingly out of nowhere, God directed me to join a ministry.

Missing link between indies and ministries

For several years now, as I've looked at our Christian game developers' community, I have had the nagging feeling that people are missing. It feels incomplete, like a baseball team without outfielders or a basketball team without a center or a body without all its parts (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). It can function, but it will only thrive if it's whole. Our community consists of engineers, artists, writers, producers, and evangelists. Still, we desperately need people skilled in business, fundraising, marketing, and public relations.

Since joining Salvation Poem, I've started learning the workings of a non-profit ministry, and the Lord has begun to show me some things. For example, many established ministries are blessed with financial resources and have established audiences hungry for content, entertainment, and resources. However, they need more experience and talent around games and cutting-edge interactive media. Conversely, Christian game developers have the skills, passion, and ideas around how to create games and interactive content that glorify God, but they lack the funding and the audience. If we could connect these two dots, it would unlock untold blessings within the church and the world.

Opportunities

When I think about the potential opportunities created by connecting indies and ministries, I feel the same excitement I had twenty years ago pitching that ministry. With gamers making up almost half the planet's population, it's vital to not only take the gospel to where they are but translate it into a form they will and engage with. The urgency of need is real, but opportunities abound! Let me tell you what I see.

First, new distribution channels could emerge for Christian developers. They would represent new opportunities and audiences outside the established game industry platforms. Today, a handful of ministries have developed massive digital content distribution platforms that reach millions of people globally. We're talking about online storefronts and apps that deliver large digital videos through download and streaming. With that infrastructure already in place, adding games to these platforms would be a nominal effort. And because they are trusted brands, customer adoption would be quick.

Second, the funding structure of non-profit ministries would allow the development of high-quality games to be given freely away as gifts and love offerings. I cannot overstate how massive this change would be! How many beautiful, creative projects fail to get off the ground because of market concerns? How much innovation and creative risk-taking has been hindered by the need to realize a return on investment? Freed from the constraints of monetization loops, retention metrics, and what the competition is doing, this model could move Christian game developers into positions to pioneer the medium. They could break new ground in game design, tell stories that need to be shared, and push the direction of video games toward the good, beautiful, and true.

Third, for the first time in the games industry, we could forge healthy, sustainable career paths. Today, much of our community struggles to support their families while juggling multiple jobs, hoping and praying to jump into full-time game development. Even the ones blessed with full-time employment in the industry experience frequent periods of instability, stress, burnout, and abbreviated careers. It's a harsh, competitive industry that disproportionately favors singleness and youth. But we can change it. With a stable work environment and the loving support of Christian brothers and sisters, our game development teams could eventually look more like multi-generational churches, including opportunities for youths to get involved earlier in life and older, seasoned veterans to contribute meaningfully late into life.

Within these new careers, I can picture a host of opportunities. I see the forming of new consulting businesses specializing in advising ministries on game outreach and development strategies. I also envision new game studios springing up to support ministries via outsourcing development or co-developing games. With time, we will see new positions within ministries as they build internal development teams. BCC Media and The Salvation Poem Project are already leading the way with the games Clayfire and Gate Zero, which are currently in development. Finally, I imagine ministries and donors partnering in new and creative ways, like creating a guild to train future generations in the craft and develop replicable processes and teams. With the right investment, a one-time gift with continued stewardship could fund that effort indefinitely.

Can you see the possibilities? Aren't they beautiful? I think so, but I may be wrong and things are just like they were twenty years ago when I was waiting for that ministry to let me know they were ready to take the next step. But it feels different now, and over the last two decades, I've only grown in confidence that God wants to do something powerful through games. As my friend and CGDC board member Mark Webster quipped, " Wouldn't it be just like God to use something as silly as video games to make an impact for his kingdom?"