Digital ministry is growing. It’s happening everywhere, yet it can be hard to understand for those who don’t understand what it is. As I’ve been navigating this new space for Gaming & God, I wanted to see who else was on here who is a gamer and loves God.
One individual and group that kept popping up was Nathan Webb. He started CheckPoint Church, and I’ve seen some of his content on YouTube before, but I had no idea how many digital roots he had here in Substack.
They even hit 100k on YouTube, not including all the other platforms they are on. He graciously gave some of his time to answer the following questions for me, as I was genuinely curious about what they were about, who they are, and how they can be a blessing to you, the reader.
I hope the conversation encourages you to check them out. It’s a bridge to another place that is making quality content, loves gaming and other geeky genres, while pointing people to Christ. Enjoy!
Hi Nathan, thank you for taking the time to answer some of my questions. I’ve followed CheckPoint Church for a while now, and took a deeper look into what CPC is about for this interview. Can you share the origin story of the church, what inspired you to start it, and what its purpose is?
Checkpoint began when my two great loves—the Church and nerds—bumped into the same problem from opposite directions. Nerds kept telling me the church felt alien, while pastors seemed to have no clue how to reach them. I’m a lifelong nerd who happens to be a United Methodist Elder, so in early 2020 I set out to plant a church for nerds, geeks, and gamers.. A pandemic later, that little experiment had grown into a thriving digital church, Discord, and nerdy sermon video essays on YouTube. Our purpose has never changed: to help nerds, geeks, and gamers discover that God loves them, Checkpoint loves them, and their stories matter.
How does CPC serve its community? Is this a replacement for a physical church, or is this more of a parachurch ministry?
I reject the concept of ‘replacing’ the church more than any other church plant. We serve like any local church—pastoral care, communion, small-group discipleship—but we do it all online, so Discord becomes the church building. At the same time, we resource brick-and-mortar congregations with sermons, curricula, and workshops. One could call us “phygital”: a real church for digital natives and a catalyst that helps traditional churches engage internet culture.
What geeky genres does CPC cover? Which ones are your personal favorites? I enjoy some of the indie games you cover as I’m a big fan of indie games myself, and anime as well!
If it tells a good story, we’ll explore it. Video games are the bread-and-butter—everything from blockbusters to itch.io deep cuts—but anime, manga, comics, TTRPGs, and the occasional cult-classic film all make the rotation. I gravitate toward narrative-heavy indies like Celeste, Until Then, and currently, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. On the anime front, I’m currently hooked on To Be Hero X and the new season of Wind Breaker.
Congrats on growing your YouTube to 100k followers! I’m grateful to God to see a ministry to geeks has such influence. What do you attribute that success to? Have you seen similar growth on your other social media platforms or community spaces like Discord?
Hitting the silver-play button still feels surreal. We got there through unflinching consistency (a nerdy sermon every Sunday at 9 a.m. Eastern, almost no weeks off), strong storytelling, and search-friendly packaging. We had a serious bump with a viral video on the animated series Hazbin Hotel that we now refer to lovingly as the Hazboom. We have over 150 nerdy sermons–that kind of library never stops reaching people. Each video points viewers to Discord; TikTok clips push folks back to YouTube; the loop keeps spinning. Growth varies by platform, but together they form one healthy ecosystem.
Walk me through when someone goes to CPC by joining the Discord, which seems to be your main community space. What would they expect in terms of ministry or activity, how can they get involved, or if there’s any other question I missed in terms of joining CPC?
The first stop is #front-door, where new members are welcomed by a flurry of messages from existing members. Weekly rhythms include live watch-alongs of our news show TWIG on Thursday nights, lunch together on Wednesdays, daily opportunities to geek out, and weekly online communion. Our server is designed around the blueprint of the physical church, so each space should feel like a sanctuary, fellowship hall, lobby, or something in between. Next steps include plugging in and stepping into our LVL2 team, which comprises folks who want to move from consumers to community at Checkpoint–being served by to serving with.
From what I saw, this is a Methodist denominational ministry. Can you explain a bit about who the Methodists are for those not familiar?
Methodism began as an eighteenth-century revival led by John and Charles Wesley. It’s built on the rhythm of personal holiness and social holiness—experiencing grace and letting that grace spill into acts of justice and mercy. The structure is connectional, meaning congregations share resources and accountability. Checkpoint carries that DNA but trades potluck dinners for Twitch raids. I am an ordained Elder in the denomination, which means I have been commissioned fully within the denomination to order the life of the church–a lengthy tenure of education, service, residency, and interviews that can take many a decade to complete.
What is the goal of CPC, and do you have any plans or growth you would like to see happen, God willing?
Checkpoint is designed to be the church with nerds, geeks, and gamers in mind. Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for transforming the world, working specifically in digital spaces with digital natives. Our plans involve reaching financial sustainability as a church plant so that we can better reach digital natives and love them when they find us. We’re currently a single-pastor staff, so it’s just me. Being the pastor for a community of 100,000+ on YouTube and 700+ on Discord is overwhelming for one person. We’d love to have more pastors devoted to the work. Another major goal is having our own yearly IRL retreat, like a Comic-Con.
If someone wants to support or get more involved with your ministry and CPC, how can they do that? Where can they find you?
Jump into the Discord at discord.gg/checkpointchurch, subscribe on YouTube, or pick up our monthly faith-and-fandom subscription box, CheckBox—ten percent goes to charity every quarter. Financial gifts can be given here, but prayer and a well-placed share are support, too. You can find me personally with the handle NerdPastorNate, most anywhere.
Thank you so much for your time! I pray the Lord continues to bless your work and guide you in His will. It’s inspiring to see your community being a bridge for others to know Christ through such creative outreach. I’ll be adding CheckPoint Church to my list of digital ministries—be sure to give them a follow!
Thank you for the encouragement. If one gamer walks away believing, “I’m not alone, and Jesus hasn’t logged off on me,” every pixel we’ve pushed was worth it. May your guests—on screen or off—overflow with grace.
Check out more geek ministries here.