Christians have been encouraged to take the gospel into online gaming communities, as a new initiative seeks to equip believers to share their faith with players around the world.
Evangelism organisation Christian Vision (CV) has launched Un-dark, a project designed to help Christians introduce people to Jesus through the gaming communities they already belong to.
The initiative was announced at CV's annual DigitalDay_26 event in London, following eleven months of research and development exploring how believers can build relationships, share their faith and support discipleship in gaming environments.
CV's head of mission Operations, Frankie Du Toit, said gaming has become an increasingly interconnected world, where players communicate and form relationships with people across different countries and cultures.
He said it should no longer be viewed simply as someone sitting alone in their bedroom playing a computer game. "It's a very interconnected world," he told Premier Christian News.
"People stream their gaming experiences and they converse with each other as they play the game. It's not just me playing by myself, Mario Brothers anymore."
Du Toit believes the conversations taking place between players present opportunities for Christians to share their faith in much the same way they would with neighbours or work colleagues.
"It's no different between what's happening in that game versus someone in real life going and talking to their neighbour, to a work colleague about Jesus. It's just that it happens in this gaming environment," he said.
He also suggested that the anonymity of online gaming could help remove some of the barriers people experience when discussing faith face to face.
"In the gaming world, that doesn't exist. You can just go in, talk to someone about Jesus, and see what happens from there," he said.
Un-dark has already seen people become Christians through its early trials, with some going on to become part of church communities and sharing their faith with others.
Du Toit described one example of someone who came to faith through the initiative, became connected to a church and was baptised, before going on to tell family members about Jesus. Those family members then joined the gaming community, with the new Christian becoming an evangelist to other players.
"We've seen a full-circle story already happening, and these are just tests in our testing space," he said.
The initiative has grown organically to almost 500 members, who connect through Discord. Its Un-dark Squads also allow experienced participants to demonstrate how to share the gospel during live gaming sessions, while others observe and learn how to get involved.
However, Du Toit acknowledged concerns about the potential dangers of online gaming, including inappropriate behaviour and predatory activity. He said Un-dark does not send children into gaming environments to evangelise and participants are required to meet consent and safeguarding requirements.
He also stressed that different gaming platforms require different levels of experience and maturity. "Parents need to look after their kids' screen time, and they need to be aware of where their kids are, in which games they are playing," he said.
But he believes the potential risks should not prevent mature Christians from reaching people in online spaces. "If we have people who understand the dangers and have got spiritual maturity, then you can go into these dark places as you would in any mission world out there where it's dangerous," he said.
"The dangers are real. I'm not going to sugarcoat that. But if we don't go into those places and bring the light, they will always stay dark."
