What Comes Next for Pixel Pilgrimage: Building something people can take with them

Nathan Webb

After our fourth pilgrimage wrapped, I found myself asking a question I hadn’t really asked before:

How do we get the word out to people beyond our core community?

Up to that point, every Pixel Pilgrimage had been led by me for Checkpoint Church. That made sense — I was the pastor, the host, the one sharing the screen. But with each new game we played, and each new story that surfaced, I started to feel this nudge: maybe it’s time to loosen the grip.

Something this rich shouldn’t stay tethered to one person. The idea’s too good. The practice is too simple.

So we launched a thing. We call it the Pixel Pilgrimage Hub.

The idea is straightforward: if someone wants to take a group through a pilgrimage of their own, we want to make that possible. Not just theoretically, but practically.

We set up a Circle community with resources: walkthroughs, recordings, suggested games, and a full course based on our Neva pilgrimage. The goal was to create a space where folks could learn the rhythm, borrow the structure, and feel equipped to facilitate this kind of reflection in their own communities — church, friends, youth group, whatever.

The Structure We Handed Off

What we’ve given them isn’t complex. In fact, the simplicity is the point.

Pick a good game. One with story, beauty, and space to think.

Don’t rush. Slow down the playthrough.

Pause every 30 minutes. Ask:

- What are we noticing?

- What are we avoiding?

- What is delighting us?

- What is missing?

Talk honestly. Let people share what comes up. Don’t force a takeaway.

Keep walking. Let the game (and the group) unfold.

No prep guide, no theology degree, no streaming background required. Just a willingness to hold space and walk through it with other people.

I think part of why this works is because it doesn’t need a charismatic leader. It needs a guide. A host. Someone who’s willing to say, “We’re going to play this slowly, and it might stir something in us.”

That’s enough.

A Practice That’s Not Personality-Driven

Pixel Pilgrimage has felt different. The rhythm itself carries people. The questions do the work. The games do the work. The people showing up — even silently — do the work.

So when I think about the future, I don’t dream about bigger streams or bigger audiences. I dream about more hosts. More groups. More people realizing they can do this themselves — and that it’s worth doing.

If you’ve been following along and thinking, “I could never lead something like that” — I want to say this clearly:

You can.

If you’ve ever paused a game and felt something

If you’ve ever cried at an ending

If you’ve ever said “Whoa, that hit harder than I expected” —

Then you’ve already got what it takes.

This isn’t complicated. It’s just deliberate. It’s about slowing down, paying attention, and helping others do the same.

We’ll keep building the Hub, adding more courses, making the resources easier to access. We’ll keep hosting pilgrimages ourselves. But more and more, I hope we’re not the only ones doing it. I hope this becomes something people take, adapt, and carry with them into corners of the world we’ll never see.

Because that’s what a pilgrimage is — a shared journey. And journeys are meant to spread.