Marble Falls church hosting ‘nerd summit’
Church leaders hoping to connect spiritually with geeks and gamers can learn how at the Nerd Culture Ministry Summit on Nov. 8-10 at First Baptist Church of Marble Falls.
The event’s goal is to break down barriers between the church community and an often-alienated group, according to Love Thy Nerd, the nonprofit ministry behind the summit.
Pastors, ministry leaders, and parachurch professionals working within a 300-mile radius of Marble Falls are invited to hear keynote lectures by notable Christian leaders and learn to play and teach popular board games to expand their congregation’s outreach.
The summit is about bridging a gap and building a community.
“We’re taking a different approach because we think it’s what’s missing,” said Bubba Stallcup, CEO and founder of Love Thy Nerd. “We’re looking to create common ground between us.”
Stallcup said his vision for the event began while working as technology director for First Baptist Church for eight years.
“Gaming, board games, and other forms of joy for nerds have been at best ignored, at worst demonized, by the church community for a very long time,” he said.
Keynote speakers scheduled for the November 2023 event are Stallcup, Mark Lutz of Lux Digital Church, Mike Erre of the Voxology Podcast, Matt Souza of Unity Gaming, Jaclyn S. Parrish of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Steve Valdez of SavePoint Ministries.
“Nerds are already in these (spiritual) spaces but haven’t been able to share the things they love because they are often considered taboo in the church,” Stallcup said. “Ministry leaders will be able to come to our summit and learn how to better love and serve those nerds.”
Summit attendees will learn how to use board games as a tool to connect.
“We’ll teach (attendees) how to play, why it’s important to play, and how to teach someone how to play,” Stallcup said. “You need to know the rulebook, because if you don’t, you can risk losing the chance to have spiritual conversations. It has to be engaging, too. Nobody wants to hear someone read a rulebook word for word.”
Outreach is key for Stallworth and the summit.
“No matter how you slice it, there’s millions more gamers than Christians,” he said. “It’s important we find ways to meet these people in the spaces they enjoy and find most comfortable.”
Early bird tickets are $130 until July 31. Tickets purchased after July 31 are $150. Purchase them on EventBrite.