What about today's culture? What about those who have been "disqualified" as not a legitimate group to be ministered to? What about those who are overlooked and even frowned upon for the culture they live in?
Now I realize that the above description could encompass many different cultures and people groups just as important and needing of Jesus in their lives as any, nor did I intent to call OUT any group or ministry for not being more involved in sharing the Gospel with these people, as there are many people who feel the need to reach them, several of which I have had the opportunity to involved with. I am simply writing this to call ATTENTION to a group of people that have been on my heart for some time.
The culture I am talking about is the video gaming culture. Let me tell you a few statistics about it. In America alone, it is a 20 billion dollar industry, which is projected to be a 46 billion dollar industry by 2010, making it the fastest growing entertainment industry in America. In 2007 there were nearly 300,000,000 video games sold, which translates into 9 games sold every second of every day of the year. For those who think that video gaming is a kid only activity, the next statistics might surprise you. In a poll taken in 2007, 34 percent of adult internet users claimed to play online video games on a weekly basis, and had offline video games been included in the poll, there would have been countless more gamers.
I am no stranger to this culture. I began playing video games at a very young age, and once I started, I rarely stopped. The games I first played were nothing like they are today. Games like Stellar 7 and Wing Commander were the popular titles for those in the loop. I played games all through my school years, and in high school I would host and attend LAN parties and spend countless hours in front of the screen. I was born and raised in a Christian home, and accepted Christ at an early age, but only in the last few years have I thought about the virtual sports field or battlefield being a real mission field.
So why would I want to get specific about addressing this culture, and not just try to lump the gamers into any normal ministry? Just as athletes have differing cultures, lingoes, and lifestyles, the avid gamer has his own way of speaking, acting, and thinking. Do you know what 1337 means? Do you know what it means to be pwn3d? Can you count the number of frags you've had in a game of CoD4? Many of you reading this undoubtedly will, but I can guess the vast majority of seasoned ministers would be clueless. This group of people is certainly large and established enough to be in a legitimate need of a ministry focused on it. Gaming has gone from being a pastime that a few people would engage in, to a household form of entertainment, to now being a professional sport of sorts, with the top pros taking home over $35,000 a tournament. Professional gaming has even been taken mainstream, with CBS nationally broadcasting professional gaming events on television. Gaming leagues have been formed, nationally recognized and sponsored by some of today's top earning corporations like Intel and Kentucky Fried Chicken. The U.S. military has also reached out to the gaming community by sponsoring events, TV spots, and tournaments. Certainly it can be said that these people deserve to be ministered to with the a group having the same mindset as Paul had; using their culture and way of communication to impact their lives with the life changing message of the Gospel!
Just as Jesus told His disciples to gaze at the fields ready and waiting to be harvested, I too see this gaming generation as a huge field that is ripe for the Gospel. Unfortunately, it seems that just as the workers were few when Jesus was speaking, the same is true in this area. Jesus has called all to use the gifts that He has given us to bring Him glory and to enable us to spread the message of the cross, and perhaps some of you reading this might be called to labor in the field of which I speak.
Gamers may have a different lifestyle than most others, but their hearts are no different than the rest of ours. Many - probably most - gamers play only for entertainment or to socialize with their friends, but for many video games become an addiction and necessity in order to fill a void in their lives. Some need video games to provide an escape from the troubles that face them, much like some need drugs or alcohol to escape. To others, games enable them to become another person in a world where they are accepted and befriended, when otherwise in the real world they would be outcasts. Some need video games to be a release for their emotions, and still others seek the temporary thrill of competition and accomplishment that video games bring, but when it is not present, they feel empty and incomplete. Much like an addiction to T.V., which is also a a major epidemic in America, video gamers have the means to occupy their minds for hours on end, only unlike T.V., the infinite interaction and the limitless personalization of games can offer the same occupation of the mind, but for almost an indefinite period of time.
Thousands of people are living their lives filling them with video games and virtual entertainment to find purpose and meaning, or perhaps an escape from knowing the lack of those in their lives, and many Christians, even Christian gamers (I am also guilty) sit by and not let God into this area of their lives. Would you pray that God would use members of His body to address this issue and to be an effective witness in even an area such as this? Pray that if God would have me be a minister in this area that He would affirm it to me and prepare, equip, and enable me to be a messenger to this group of people that needs Him!
-Matt Storer
