The rapid growth of online gaming presents a unique opportunity for the Church to reach millions of people, according to experts in the space. Source: National Centre for Evangelisation.
Jake Wilson, founder of the Christian organisation Universal eSports Network (UEN), said the number of online gamers and content creators exploring questions of faith within their gaming communities has increased dramatically in recent years.
“Spiritual, supernatural or mythic characters are a huge part of the video game sector,” he explained. “You’ve got video games that have elements of God, deity, angels, good versus evil; so it’s very much embedded in gaming.
“Typically, there’s been very little faith. But what’s really exciting is that’s actually exploding. In online spaces and the gaming space there’s just a crazy number of people coming to faith.”
UEN, Mr Wilson said, is a non-toxic, safe gaming environment that runs in-person and online events that always incorporate a faith element. It’s also developed its own school program, with three main 90-minute sessions offered covering years 3-10 and another session designed for parents.
After hosting a stall at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival in December, UEN plans to run regular events at parishes and schools this year as its ministry grows.
“Our whole purpose is basically trying to be evangelistic in the video game and e-sports sector,” Mr Wilson said.
“We’re about identifying the positives in gaming, helping people see those … and then providing some potential pathways forward. But we also want to be immersed in it and do what we can to really combat the negatives and add to the positives.”
A few years ago, while working in philanthropy, Mr Wilson discovered some of the jaw-dropping statistics around gaming – 82 per cent of Australia’s population play some form of digital game – and recognised there was no one from the faith sector active in the gaming space.
“You can argue that, outside of your family, video game and e-sports culture is now the most influential subculture in the world,” he says.
“It’s almost like society hasn’t caught on and is still trying to figure out what this means. But Gen Z and Gen Alpha are so engaged and so involved and it’s where they make friendships, it’s where they socialise, it’s where they build community.
“It’s growing. Nearly half of the world’s population play some form of a digital game now. There’s no stopping it.”
FULL STORY
Bringing Christ to the ‘most influential subculture in the world’ (By Matthew Biddle, National Centre for Evangelisation)
