Behind the Avatars
Elders, pastors, teachers, and builders, the people who shepherd VR Church & MMO Church across VRChat, Final Fantasy XIV, and Discord. Each title sits on the portrait; the stories tell the rest.
D.J. Soto
D.J. Soto began preaching in the metaverse in 2016, convinced that God's love belongs in every new space where people gather. What started as a plan to plant a physical church became something bolder, a church with no walls and no borders.
As Bishop of VR Church and MMO Church, he leads a radically inclusive, future-facing expression of faith, continuing Christianity's long tradition of meeting people through every new medium.
Pastor Alina
A former flight attendant and avid skydiver, Alina became disabled a decade ago after autoimmune illness and a rare condition called erythromelalgia left her largely homebound. Today she pastors at VR Church, and she says she has never known as much love as she does now.
Pastor Koko
Pastor of MMO Church in Final Fantasy XIV, Koko hails from Southeast Texas. An author and XR consultant, she helps design teams craft immersive, human-centered experiences. Off the clock you'll find her gaming, designing furniture, and studying Japanese.
Pastor Bismik
Bismik is a teaching pastor from Germany, a trained historian and philosopher with a master's degree in each, and a metal band singer who completed his doctorate in philosophy in 2025. At seventeen he experienced the saving power of Jesus, which has since become the anchor and goal of his life.
His choice for the best VR game of all time is, of course, Half-Life: Alyx, and his favorite German beer is the good old Franconian "Huppendorfer."
Alice
Alice is from the UK, drawn since childhood to the creative use of technology. It was in the metaverse that she met Christians whose open, ecumenical welcome helped guide her out of the dark and into the light.
She began building worlds in AltspaceVR, then moved to Rec Room, creating spaces, taking creative classes, and eventually teaching her own, with several VR Church builders among her students. Building for VR Church has given her creativity a new and defined purpose: bringing the stories of Scripture to life in 3D, with an eye on whatever tools come next.
Kari
Kari keeps the story of VR Church moving: documenting the community, steering its communications, and advising the team behind the scenes. She has spent the past decade immersed in natural health and holistic healing, and loves discovering new places with her husband, D.J., and their five kids.