"Many did not seem as serious as this Fleet"
I recently had the chance to connect one-on-one with our newest recruit, share our backgrounds, and discuss how he may be plugged in more to the Fleet. During the conversation, he shared that he found at least eight other Christian-based fleets, but none seemed as serious as this Fleet. That was a humbling statement given how this Fleet began: an experiment of how to share the Gospel through a MMORPG platform and an opportunity to fellowship with other believers (who are also Star Trek fans!) during the COVID-19 pandemic. If deemed a "serious" fleet, I hope the ATD Fleet can continue to be so in fulfilling our purposes of fostering fellowship among believers, building our in-game resources, and sharing the Gospel.
TFO and Fleet Events
To further the fellowship and aid new recruits in meeting qualifications for promotion, the ATD Fleet is now rolling out several opportunities for in-game team participation. With gratitude to the suggestions offered by Ambassador Randall W. Scott (Fleet Officer Rusty), two regular events will begin in the coming weeks:
1. TFO Tuesday Events. The ATD Fleet will host a designated time for team-based TFO events at 8:00p ET/7:00p CT every other Tuesday starting May 25, 2021. The first series of TFOs will include those from the Discovery Reputation timeline - Battle at the Binary Stars, Defense of Starbase One, and Operation Riposte. In late June/early July, the series will shift to TFOs from either the Task Force Omega or Gamma Task Force Reputations. After each TFO Tuesday event, members will gather for "drinks" (synthale, of course!) at various locations around the galaxy. Feel free to enjoy a drink on your own while
2. Fleet Meet-and-Greets. The ATD Fleet will also host regular meet-and-greets for members to socialize and/or roleplay in-game - and often for potential recruits to meet the Fleet. Our first will be hosted at Club 47 at Earth Spacedock with future events at different venues, including at Fleet Holdings. I personally look forward to the Lohlunat Festival on Risa when we will host a meet-and-greet on the first night of the Summer Event.
Each of these events are designed to foster fellowship, to attract recruits, and because the ATD Fleet is a social fleet, to permit Fleet members to meet any participation requirements for promotion.
Biblical Education and Discussion
Finally, a new discussion board has been created in the Forums for "Biblical & Theological Discussions" to encourage discussion on relevant biblical topics. In the near future, I expect new threads will be created on this board on the first of each month with 5-10 minute devotionals that may be used individually or as part of the Fleet Squadron model. As those are posted, please feel free to use each thread for Q&A and to share thoughts on the topics presented.
I look forward to the continued growth of the ATD Fleet; so far, its natural, organic growth has encouraged me to the fellowship and service we individually and collectively can provide.