Mutant Bug Extermination and Ministry
by Jennifer Kvamme
Excalibur John is The Exterminator. He rides his motorcycle through the desert trying to kill huge mutant bugs before they get to him. And he’s raising money for a community center one EFCA church hopes to purchase this year.
The iPhone/iPad game was developed by a handful of students from SUMO, the high school youth group at Table Mountain Church in Rye, CO.
At a winter retreat hosted by the EFCA Rocky Mountain District earlier in the year, every group was given $100 and challenged to find a way to multiply it. The middle school group put on some BBQ nights, sold hot dogs, and tripled their money. The high schoolers turned to something more techie. Phil Hassey, one of their youth leaders, has a business developing video games. He knew that the cost to get a game approved by Apple was $100. And he knew how to make that happen.
Half a dozen high schoolers gathered for a 48-hour development marathon. One wanted to make a motorcycle game. Another thought they should try to kill mutant bugs. Phil helped them figure out a way to combine their ideas. A couple of the students drew the artwork. One played electric guitar for the background music. The scream heard at “game over” is another of the students, his voice modified through a synthesizer.
“They didn’t complain about giving up their weekend—I think they really enjoyed it,” shared Rob Chadwick, pastor. “Phil really allowed the students to step up and lead.”
So far the game hasn’t gotten to the point where it’s bringing in huge amounts of money. But it has doubled their $100, and every day they sell a few more games. “The most valuable thing isn’t that we’ll get a million dollars, because we probably won’t,” Chadwick said. “But it’s given us exposure that we couldn’t even buy. How do you get that kind of exposure in a small town like us? It’s hard.”
The students have been able to talk about the game with their friends at school. It was written up in the local paper. And they had a grant company approach them even before they could write a proposal. It’s created a buzz in the whole community.
The church’s vision is for the town’s old high school, which had been converted into a store and some apartments. The church would convert the old gym into a multipurpose area, where they would meet for their services, giving them a more permanent space than the current school auditorium they use. They plan to make a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi in the front area, because there’s nothing like that in their small town. They also hope to offer mechanics courses in the garages, have a skate park, and eventually turn the apartments into transitional housing.
“We feel like the community center is just another piece in the puzzle to help people meet Jesus and become kingdom workers,” Chadwick said. “We need to meet them where they’re at. We have restaurants, bars, schools, but there’s not a lot of places people can go and just connect, and we want to be someone that helps provide that.” They see the community center as a kind of “third space” in the town, a place besides home and work where people can come to connect with others.
So far, the church has received 10 letters from leaders in the community—including the fire department, school district, and the board of county commissioners—supporting the proposed community center. One letter, from Patricia Proctor, owner of Greenhorn Valley True Hardware, reads, “The only thing our area is missing is a safe, friendly facility for our youth to gather, a place for our youth to grow and develop as they become the future of our community. The proposal of the new community center with all of its activities and programs by the great members of Table Mountain Church fills the long-time need for all the citizens of our valley, but especially the children.”
The whole community is excited about the new building, supportive of the church, and proud of the students who put their creativity to work to help out in the endeavor.
You can purchase the app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch here for $.99, and 70% of each purchase goes toward the Table Mountain community center.