3 Things The Church (And Any Business) Can Learn From 100 Thieves And How Professional Gaming Teams Operate

Two weeks ago I spent some time in Los Angeles (you can read about it here). I was visiting Logan, my brother, who lives out there and works for an apparel company called 100 Thieves. 100 Thieves is an apparel company that also owns and runs a few professional gaming teams, their biggest of which plays in League of Legends.

The League of Legends teams compete every Saturday and Sunday at their own dedicated arena, which is a pretty sweet venue. And while there is so much I could say about the experience, I was fascinated by how all of these esports teams focus on so much more than gaming itself.

The majority of the teams are currently run and operated by people in their mid to young 20s, which gives a fascinating insight into how young people today do things and what they value. What do they value?

Content. Content. Content.

All of the teams have hired, full-time positions of videographers, photographers, editors, and content creators. In fact, that’s exactly what Logan does at 100 Thieves; he’s the director of post-production. Largely this consists of him editing videos and various content for them to share online. Much of this has little to do with the video game itself.

Each week they put out documentaries around what the team did that week. Things like interviews with the players, other people in the company, and what the week was like in the Rocket Mortgage team house (where the 100 Thieves players live and practice).

The result? Extreme growth on their social media channels, which leads to more fans, more revenue, and more influence. People love behind the scenes footage and content that shows what life is like for these gamers and how they prepare. Who wouldn’t want to see what goes on after a big game (win or lose) and how they prepare for what’s ahead?

So what can the church (and any business) learn from this? Here are three things.

1) Produce more content

Most churches already have content; weekend services, small group materials, kids ministry curriculum, various events they put on, etc. So for many, the problem isn’t creating content, it’s getting it out there.

So be active on social media. Do you video record your messages? Find a good 1-2 minute long clip you can post from the message. Share articles (or write your own) on parenting, relationships, and any felt needs people have. Create content that is engaging and helpful and even fun. I would be confident in saying 99.9% of churches should, and most can, produce more content then what they are currently putting out (that includes New City!). Which leads to the next point.

2) Not all of your content needs to be (nor should it be) spiritual

Yes, we want to connect people to the Gospel. But here’s the reality, you have to connect with people first. If you want people to listen to you, two things have to happen first. They need to trust you and the need to want to listen to you.

Our two most engaging post on social media every single week for New City Church are the pictures we post on Sunday evening from our Sunday morning service, and on Wednesday evening when we do a People of New City post where we take a picture of and share a little blurb about someone in our church (you can read all of them here). Neither of those are "spiritual" at all.But they are interesting and engaging, which helps us connect with people and build trust. It also makes it much more likely for these same people who are engaging with us online, to then go on and connect with us at a deeper level now or in the future.

3) Invest money, time, and resources into engaging people online

If most everything you do is in and around your weekend service, you will continue to see fewer people connect with your church. We need to be going to the people, not expecting people (especially young people) who don't really believe in God or think they need Him, to just show up at our churches.In order to effectively reach people with engaging content, it will take time, money, and resources. It will cost us something. We can complain about it, or we can do what Jesus commanded us to do and actually go out and reach people so that we can engage them with the Gospel.If we don't take seriously the need to engage with people online first, we will continue to see fewer and fewer young people connect with the Church.