Checkpoint Church (CV, WNCC) Creates Video Game for Advent

By: Rev. Nathan Webb

Don't just read a devotional for Advent this year - play one!

That's the mission of the latest project by digital-first church plant Checkpoint Church with their release of Not Another Advent Story. Volunteers within their community have worked together to craft and publish a video game as their latest act of innovative ministry in the digital space.

Naming their arm of game publishing  LUDOGOOD (literally, Game Good), the team of volunteers has created a four-episode visual novel that is available for download on their itch.io page, with the first episode available as of November 21st, 2021. 

From their website:

The Story:

In the game, you will control the journey of MC as they try to make their way to church on Christmas Eve. You will run into a series of roadblocks and unexpected changes to your path. As you meet the cast of lonely characters, you will be given chances to make a connection, take action, or simply try to survive the night on your own.

The Game:

Enjoy a fully original soundtrack created by members of the Checkpoint Church community. The soundtrack is available for streaming on all major streaming platforms. 

This game is browser-based and can be played on desktop and mobile browsers.

The game was built in Twine and developed by Ludogood, the game development arm of Checkpoint Church, the church for nerds, geeks, and gamers. 

With the intention of reaching a new audience, Checkpoint Church is creating innovative ministry regularly and is curious for the possibilities in the world of game development as a means to reach new people. Utilizing Wesley's General Rules, Checkpoint strives to create a safe space in digital communities that allow for intentional growth and an invitation into a walk with Christ. 

Those interested can play the first episode of the game now and expect each episode to be released during the following weeks of Advent. 

Checkpoint Church is a fairly new church plant in the Catawba Valley District of the Western North Carolina Conference. The church plant was formed with the intention of reaching nerds, geeks, and gamers with the love of Jesus Christ through the use of spaces such as the streaming platform Twitch, the community building platform Discord, and discipleship on the video sharing platform YouTube. You can learn more about the plant by visiting their website. 

To learn more about this innovative ministry or to support the church, reach out to Rev. Nathan Webb, the self-proclaimed Nerd Pastor of the community, at checkpointchurch@gmail.com.