Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Terri B Jones. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Terri B, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, the pandemic has changed the way we do church. It was the second week in December 2021. The kids were set with their parts in the annual Christmas play until…there was a game. After teaching in the youth ministry for over 40 years, I had never imagined that I would be in competition with youth sports organizations. As a creative, enthusiastic and exploratory teacher, the kids have no idea of what they will be doing from week to week when they come to my Sunday School class. There’s always a sense of anticipation and excitement from the students because of this. But guess what, they are sparingly coming; instead, they are at cheerleading competition, football games and tournaments. So, when I went to bed with this on my mind, the Church Grower Board Game was birth. Yes! This game is what I will use as an extension to continue to lay a Biblical foundation in a fun and educational setting with families in their house even if they aren’t able to make it to God’s house,
Once I got the board game idea, it was a matter of how to get this idea out of my head into my hands. I then began to design the layout and all of the game properties to hand off to a graphic designer and game manufacturer. After a lot of research, beta testing and placing an order, it was time to move to the next phase, my board game release party! Keep in mind that I am giving you the short version of this whole process so trust me it was a lot that went into bringing this to fruition.
Let’s get to the release party. Since my birthday was on Valentine’s Day and I was turning 60 years old which is a big deal right, I decided to use my birthday party to release the Church Grower Game. It was a total success! I ordered 5 board games and had 20 players to experience the game and give me feedback. They were laughing, connecting and having so much fun to the point that several ordered the game. Also, several wanted to know how their women group, church group and Bible study group could have a game day too which is how the Bible Trivia With A Twist Game Day Event was birth. I have been facilitating games days locally and abroad ever since. Since the word has gotten out about this framework, I have sold the Church Grower Game in over 10 states and currently creating the Bible Trivia With A Twist Event Certification. I look forward to launching this certification course in the first quarter of 2023. This will segway the Bible Trivia With A Twist Game Events featuring the Church Grower Board Game locally and abroad.

Terri B, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Math was my favorite subject. I made straight A’s in Algebra, Trigonometry and Geometry. I also started teaching 4 to 6yr old in youth ministry at the age of 13. So when it came time for me to go to college, I wanted to get a Degree so I could teach Math. To my surprise, I discovered that teachers didn’t get paid their worth, so I switched my degree to Computer Science. Let’s fast forward to my adult life. I am still teaching youth Sunday School and affectionately called “Lady T”at The Life Church which my Navy Veteran husband Pastor Thomas H. Jones and I founded in 2019. Also I have been employed at a Fortune 500 Insurance Company for over 35 years in Information Technology. Technology, education, and entrepreneurship have been my passion since I was a teenage entrepreneur with six streams of income. Since 2006, I have published 15 books, loves to cook, workout, play fun games and help others tap into their God given creativity. My husband and I are the owners of TJ & TJ Insurance Agency and Jones Home Loan Mortgage. I am internationally known as “The Pillow Lady” for my kneeling prayer pillows, “Grandma Chickee” for my Author’s Academy Nominated “Kids Cooking Kid Friendly Kitchen Safety” Tips Book, “Alexa Skills Expert” for developing 15 Amazon Alexa Skills, the Financial Literacy Workshop creator of “Mama Can I Have Some Money”, and creator of the “IC2B Me Tea”. I am the Marketing Strategist Admin in the Black Owned Business Jacksonville (BOBSJax) Facebook Group with over 10k members teaching weekly marketing strategies to keep local businesses abreast of online marketing strategies to grow brand, reach and revenue and retirement readiness strategies. As of 2022, I am the founder of Terri B. Jones Live where I host Bible Trivia With A Twist Game Events featuring my new Church Grower Board Game. With the help of Creative Expert, Terri B. Jones, you too can host an energetic, educational and interactive Game Day for your faith-based ministry or organization to attract new members, create community and promote positive mental health through food, fun and fellowship by enrolling in my newest online course “Bible Trivia With A Twist Event Certification! Out of all of the various products and services I offer, the thing that’s most rewarding is that as a creative, I am able to use my love for teaching to leave a natural and spiritual legacy of the Word of God in the lives of people to help them be an asset to themselves, God and others.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Creating a board game gave me a sense of accomplishment since I never saw myself doing this at this juncture in my life and didn’t even know how to create a board game but was able to get the idea out of my head and into my hands in 60 days at 60 years old. Couple this with the fact that we are in a technology crazed industry and several adults asked me if I’m going to create an online version of the game. I then began to wonder if creating this board game if putting all the time effort and finances was really the right thing to do. Sure, I can make an online version but based on the statistics I discovered, I believe that timing of this board is perfect and is literally a game changer. Obviously, I am all about technology considering that I have been in this space for 36 years but when I looked at the affect this pandemic was having on family mental health, my creativity superpower came into play. I felt it was my creative duty to play a role in bringing a positive solution to the alarming statistics I discovered. Based on a survey taken by Barna in 2020 on the state of church attendance because of the covid pandemic, here is what was found: 26% of Boomers,
35% of Gen X and
50% of Millennials stopped attending church
Also, the survey revealed that there are 3 things people were looking for and find valuable in church attendance – 1. Prayer and Emotional Support. 2. A Bible Centered Message of Hope and Encouragement. 3. Connection and Community
Unbeknownst to me at the inception of creating this board game, the premise of my board game was going to be the solution to a problem that I didn’t know existed. Getting families together to introduce them to this new framework of a board game wasn’t going to be a difficult mission after all. During the pandemic, most people were pulling out board games to have fun and help pass time while social distancing. This was a great way to get families back to spending time with each other but none of those games had a spiritual connotation to help them deal with the mental stress, anxiety and depression they were experiencing. Also statistics shows that only 11% of Christians were reading their Bible daily. Knowing this, hosting Bible Trivia With A Twist Game Events to have a way for players to create community, freshen up on their Bible knowledge and have a positive mental experience to help them deal with everyday life circumstances and situations is my mission. An 11 year old proved that this board game truly is a viable framework to get families together dialoging about life’s situation using the Word of God, after he played the game and gave a video testimony that said he would rather play the Church Grower Game than his video game. How cool is that? That testimony gave me the assurance and push I needed to continue my mission of bringing positive mental health to one million families to reduce stress, anxiety and build community through food, fun and fellowship.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

There’s nothing like having friends that encourages you, believes in you and support your dreams. When it comes to selling most people cringe when it comes to presenting their product or service to family and friends. Well, I can truly say that I have the best friends. I have been friends with Denise Ware for over 30 years. She has supported every creative product I have brought to market since I created my first kneeling prayer pillow in 2006. I don’t have to ask her to support me, she just does. A few years ago, her family relocated to Texas so we don’t see each other as much as we did when we lived around the corner from each other. The move put distance between us but it did not stop us from talking on the phone. When we talk, we catch up on what’s going on there in Texas and I share what’s going on here in Florida. So a couple months ago, we were talking as usual and I shared with her that I created a board game and she was floored with amazement and joy. Before I could tell her the price, she said I’m buying one. Not only did she say I’m buying one, but she let me know that she teaches in the youth ministry at her church and will have them play the game and would talk to the Pastor about purchasing the game also. With this in mind, I shipped a box of 4 games to her in anticipation that they would love the game. Not only did they love the game, but her Pastor bought 4 games for the youth ministry. She said that everyone had fun and one of the cards in the game brought back memories of the time when her grandmother used to gather the family together to read the Bible and have prayer time. This warmed my heart. This just goes to show that word of mouth still works!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://terribjones.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/churchgrower
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/terribjoneslive
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terribjones/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/tjtjenterprise
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/bibletriviaboardgame