We’ve had a number of churches inquire about having us out to run a game day. Among the first questions I ask them are “What are your plans for follow up?” and “How are you going to get your congregations involved?” There’s no lack of one-time experiences designed to get people in the church doors. Picnics, concerts, family events, and even VBS programs could all qualify as one-time big ticket events designed to attract people to a local church. But why would somebody who had no inclination of coming through the doors change their mind about that after the event was over? There needs to be a reason for them to come back, and that reason has everything to do with changing preconceived notions about the people that are there.
Check any church bulletin and you’ll see notifications for men’s ministry retreats, youth group meetings, married couple Bible studies, and the like. There is value in gathering together with people who have the same needs, questions, and experiences. However, what if a person feels like they don’t fit in any of those boxes? What if their interests are different? And what if these efforts we use to help people connect actually may limit the types of connections people make with each other? It can encourage misconceptions held that say there is no place within your walls for “that” kind of person – whatever “that” is. It does little to provide an opportunity for them to experience anything different.
The beautiful thing about gaming as ministry is that it makes those connections. Older people can connect with youth. Families can make connections with people without kids. Regardless of what category someone might find themselves, people can learn from each other and encourage each other – sharing from their experiences. In the context we so often find ourselves, gamers need to be able to make connections with church-folk. Gamers who have only known indifference at best and contempt or scorn at worse from the Church need to know that there are church-folk who want to know them. They need to know that there are people who claim Jesus Christ who see them as more than just ‘those people’ to be kept at arms length or seen as a project. We feel called by God to do this, but it can’t just be our responsibility.
We invite people from our host churches to come out to game days all the time, encouraging the church leadership to speak into the opportunity and get people excited. The response is often some variation of appreciation for our ministry with a chorus of “I’m not a gamer, so it’s not my thing.” As people who don’t play enough games to earn the ‘gamer’ title – a line I have yet to have defined – they mistakenly think they are precluded from our events. What if this concept was applied more broadly? I’d love to help you with youth group, but I’m not really much of a youth. I know you just want somebody listen as you talk about your struggles, but I’ve never been in your position, so I can’t help. I’d love to tell you about Jesus, but I don’t know everything there is to ever know about Him, so I can’t say anything.
It’s true that no one person is equipped to minister to every person in every way. Likewise, we know that deep strategy games can be overwhelming or painful experiences for people. But there are many different types of games, and many different people who want to play them. A simple game of Uno or Hearts played with a person who feels invisible can make a world of difference. Get gamers together and you will often hear about how there is never enough people around that they can play with. Simply asking if they can teach you to play makes for an instant opportunity. Our large events, on average, have about fifty percent attendance with people who don’t go to church and feel no reason to change that. We want to invite you to become that reason.
I’d like to give you a challenge. Come to the table just one time with excitement and your full attention. Come to learn and experience what you might find there just once. If, after that, you loathe the experience and counted every second until it was over, then I thank you for your prayers and any other support you want to give us. You might never be a ‘gamer’ by any stretch of the word, but you might find titles you like, and you’ll more than likely meet people you can minister to and be ministered to in the process.
We need you to be there and be open to God meeting with you and those around you in the moments between turns. We’d be happy to help.