The Rift burns with aggression. A map that consists of four pivotal roles, all needed to win the game. 

Top lane is an island of chaos, a boxing match between two heavy weights. Middle lane is a battlefield of intellect and strategy, where players test their skill against one another. The jungle is dark and unforgiving, a place of survival with no room for mistakes. Bottom lane is a synchronized duo of players, carefully positioning until the opposing pair makes a mistake.

The jungler sees an opening in the bottom lane and commits. The play fails. The opposing team counter attacks, and the jungler is killed. In an instant, the chat erupts. Teammates lash out criticizing the mistake, assigning blame, and piling on insults that extend far beyond the game itself. In hyper competitive gaming environments, this response unfortunately is expected. Anger is normalized. Abuse is exchanged like currency. Grace is rare.

Yet, this is often where the Lord chooses to work.

This is where a voice enters chat, “Hey, we’re okay. We’ve got this. You’ll get it next time. Let’s run it again”.

My experience of living out the kindness and grace that Jesus calls us to show others often shows itself in moments exactly like this. Choosing encouragement when frustration would be easier, choosing patience and understanding when anger and aggression would be easier.

Ping… You received a friend request… You received a message.

In this highly competitive gaming environment, the main reason someone sends you a friend request and message after a match is to yell, challenge you to a One on One, and tear you down through a post game message. This message was different. . . 

“Why were you nice to me?”

If you are looking to learn how to connect with people in the gaming space, this moment matters. This is the digital equivalent of someone approaching you in person and asking why you are a Christian. It does not happen often, and it should never be taken lightly.

Digital spaces offer unique opportunities for connection. They are low-pressure environments where simple acts of kindness stand out sharply against the norm. Treating others with dignity and respect, especially when it is unexpected, creates room for trust. When grace replaces hostility, people begin to lower their guard, and genuine conversations can begin.

If your desire is to bring Christ into your gaming and foster relationships that allow space for conversations about faith, consider these simple, practical steps:

• Go beyond pings and quick commands. Take the time to type encouraging messages, especially when others are tearing someone down.

   

• Instead of ending the match with a simple “GG” (good game) invite people to continue playing together, regardless of skill level.

• Be intentional in small moments. A “good job” or “we’ve got it next time” can have a lasting impact.

• Celebrate victories, no matter how small. Objectives secured, close escapes, or well played moments. Be vocal and affirming.

• Remember, YOU set the tone for fostering conversation.

Living this way in hyper competitive spaces creates opportunities for others to ask why. One important reminder: if your only goal is to win, these practices will be difficult to sustain. Winning must be secondary. Creating a safe and welcoming environment must come first.

So what happened after the friend request?

We continued playing together. Over the next few months, we talked and shared parts of our stories. Trust grew naturally through time spent together. Eventually, that relationship opened the door for an invitation to church.

Their personal journey is not mine to share, but this was someone who never imagined stepping into a physical church. Yet they joined the church Discord community and eventually participated in their very first church service.

This serves as a reminder that just as Christ meets us where we are and walks alongside us, we are called to do the same for others. Ministry does not always begin with preaching or handing out pamphlets. Ministry can sometimes begin with patience, kindness, and a willingness to remain present.

These steps may seem simple. The ideas may feel obvious. Without intentionality and without a commitment to walking with people over time, they rarely bear fruit. Faithful presence, even in something as ordinary as a game, can open doors we never expect.

In spaces where anger and aggression is assumed, grace becomes a testimony. And sometimes, all it takes is one question, “Why were you nice to me?” to remind us that God is already at work.

Missionary work doesn’t need to be as complicated as some people make it out to be. Sure, there are those who trek into jungles and learn new languages; there are those who move to different countries and change cultures; there are even those that risk their lives in countries unwelcoming to missionaries.

But when Jesus said to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19), surely he meant this nation too, right? Certainly, we aren’t required to create some sort of missionary exchange program so that every missionary travels to a foreign country.

So, what does local mission work look like? 

For most people, it means to live the gospel where they’re at. That could mean being in their place of work, or with their non-believing friends, or even with a local missionary organization. But I think we all recognize that those in nerd culture don’t often match the “most people” moniker. We are unique, and proudly so.

So, what does local mission work look like for a nerd?

It’s an important question, particularly for those of us who want to share the Gospel but also work from home and our circle of friends are all Christians. Is there a place where we can serve others, introduce non-believers to Jesus, all while proudly upholding our passion for nerd culture?

Allow me to reintroduce you to your local game store (LGS).

I know, a lot of you just hit a speed bump, but let me be clear. I am not suggesting that you stand in front of your LGS with Dark Dungeons Chick Tracts and try to save these heathens from their evil ways. I am not saying that you should sit at a table in your LGS and tell trading card gamers “the only thing I trade is my life for Christ.”

I am, in fact, begging you to not do these things. Like, for real. Please don’t do these things.

But if not these things, what does a ministry to a local game store look like? While it may seem hard to fathom at first, there are various ways you can serve your LGS and its community.

It begins in the simplest way: be present. Simply be there to get to know people, learn their names, and show a genuine interest in their lives. Attend events, not to win (though there’s nothing wrong with that) but to build relationships with the people in that community. Show genuine compassion for them, show that you care about their life, love them as Jesus would.

For so many people who frequent a local game store, it’s the only place where they feel seen and validated. Their love for games is how they connect with others, but then the games can become the only way they connect with others. When we regularly show up and enjoy the game, but to love the person, it reminds them that they are valuable beyond the trading card game deck they’ve constructed or the roleplaying game character they’ve built.

Remember that, for so many of these folks, they think that church is a place where they will not be welcomed. Unfortunately, this is a mindset we have created in the church. Decades of the Satanic Panic and saying that games are something children do have sent a message to nerds that is ostracizing, at the very least, if not outright condemning. 

Being someone from the church and being someone that plays games with people is how we combat that message. It’s how we begin to heal the hurt that the church has caused to so many people who frequent local game stores. When we play games with them, we aren’t just saying that games are welcome, but that they are welcome as well.

Be present for the games, but also be present beyond the games. Love these people, invite them to your church, invite them into your home, invite them to enjoy games with you and your Christian friends. See them, serve them, and be the gospel to them.

In truth, this is just the beginning of how we can make our local game store also our mission field. There is so much more we can do to serve the gaming community. But start here. Start by seeing people the church has overlooked for so long. Start by seeing people who are used to only being seen over a hand of cards or behind a set of dice. 

Begin by being the light of Christ in your local game store.

After 11 years in ministry, it’s easy to take the memories you’ve made for granted. You can start to question the impact you are having on the people you’re trying to minister to. A few months ago, our volunteer team had a conversation in a Discord channel we use for our writers. One person mentioned they were inspired to write for us because of someone who had written a piece on our site. The author of that article went on to say they were inspired because of a person’s work that had come before them. This pattern continued. A crew of volunteers who often wonder if their work is more than clicks and numbers, found themselves inspiring each other, going all the way back over a decade to a few writers who also had wondered just how much impact they’d had. It’s their stories that keep mine going.

Ministry doesn’t happen without stories. Even Jesus used the power of story in the form of parables. Paul would often tell his own story to bring people closer to God. The Bible, seen as a whole, is God’s story. In the same way, our stories as people bring us closer together. Practically, your ministry needs to harness the power of story to bring people closer to your mission.

You may not always see it, but your ministry has an impact. The easiest way to discover that impact is to simply ask the people on your staff, volunteer team, and in your community. Don’t just put up a public call. Get personal. Ask specifically, “Has this ministry impacted your life in some way? If so, I would love to hear more about it.” Not only will it inspire you, but it will also inspire others.

A good story has three major ingredients: a relatable character, a clear conflict, and a satisfying resolution. In our case, the character is most likely going to be someone within our community and will often have relatable struggles for people in the demographic you are trying to reach. Think about your target audience and what they are going through that your ministry can positively impact. The conflict is that struggle. Was the person feeling loneliness, bitterness, or doubt? Did they need direction, advice, or prayer? Nobody likes to focus on conflict, but as Christians, we are often very good at turning problems into platforms. The solution is the easy part. How did your ministry make an impact on this person’s life? Where are they now as a result?

When you use story as a way to grow your mission, it’s important to leave ego at the door. Not only is pride unhealthy, but it’s a disservice when trying to reach people. Ministries will often, rightfully, point to God and say, “Look at all He is doing through our ministry,” or “We couldn’t have done this without the powerful work of Jesus.” Though this is certainly the right move, it’s also important to remember that it was your community, not your ministry, that made the difference. Say you have 60 volunteers at the ministry you lead. If it weren’t for those 60 volunteers, your ministry still exists, but it does not make an impact. You could stream for ten hours a day, but if all of your viewers disappeared, nobody’s life would change. When telling stories, remember they aren’t yours; they are your community’s. Those stories will help build that community.

You can share stories anywhere. It could be a social media post, a conference, or a one-on-one fundraising meeting. Stories are why we do what we do, and they should be shared in every way you can. Share your stories. The world needs more of them.

Nearly 40% of the world self-identifies as a gamer. Yet very few seem to be present when the church opens its doors.  

Depending on their experiences, we may have made it clear that they were not welcome. Many more don’t see that we have anything to offer them.   

How has the church tried to change this? We just keep waiting for them to outgrow games and then come to us.

But that’s never been how Jesus did ministry. He didn’t build a building and wait for people to show up. He went to where people already were—the wells, the hillsides, the homes, the marketplaces. He met people in their spaces, on their terms, speaking their language.

If we want to reach gamers, we need to do the same. Here are three biblical examples that show us what it looks like when ministry goes to the people:

1. Jesus at the Well (John 4:1-26)

Jesus didn’t wait for the Samaritan woman to come to the temple. He went to her—at the well, in the middle of the day, in a place she already frequented. He met her where she was, engaged her in conversation about what mattered to her (water, relationships, worship), and revealed Himself in a way that made sense in her context.

The lesson for reaching gamers: Don’t expect gamers to show up at your church building. 

Go to where they already gather—Twitch, Discord, VRChat, gaming lobbies, the local card and comic shop, board game cafes, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) nights in someone’s basement. Engage them in conversations about what matters to them. Be present in their spaces, not as an outsider trying to extract them, but as someone genuinely interested in their world.

2. Paul in the Areopagus (Acts 17:16-34)

Paul didn’t stay in a synagogue in Athens and hope the philosophers would come. He went to the Areopagus, where ideas were publicly debated and discussed. He observed their culture, quoted their poets, and connected the gospel to what they already valued (“the unknown god”).

The lesson for reaching gamers: Learn the culture. 

Understand what gamers value—community, achievement, creativity, storytelling, and belonging. Games aren’t distractions from real life. They’re spaces where real community happens. Don’t come in with condemnation or judgment. Come in with curiosity and respect. Show them how the gospel speaks to what they’re already longing for.

3. Philip and the Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-40)

Philip didn’t wait for the Ethiopian eunuch to find a church. The Spirit led him to run alongside the man’s chariot, meet him where he was (literally on the road), and engage him in the Scripture he was already reading. Philip entered into the Ethiopian’s journey and helped him take the next step.

The lesson for reaching gamers: Ministry isn’t about extracting people from their lives and bringing them into ours.

It’s about running alongside them in their journey, meeting them where they are, and helping them take the next step with Jesus—right where they already are. That might mean joining them and letting faith conversations emerge naturally. It will mean becoming a regular in their routines and building authentic relationships. 

Why This Matters

The church has spent decades asking, “How do we get people to come to us?” Jesus lived a different question: “Where are the people, and how do I go to them?”

Not all gamers, whether digital or tabletop, are avoiding church because they hate Jesus. Many are avoiding church because of hurt, feeling unwelcome, fear, or simply because the church hasn’t shown up in their world. But they’re hungry for community, meaning, and belonging—all things the gospel offers.

The local card and comic shop is a modern-day marketplace. The D&D table is a place of shared story and vulnerability. The board game cafe is where strangers become friends. The Twitch stream is a digital campfire where people gather. These aren’t lesser spaces. They’re legitimate communities where real discipleship can happen.

So what if we stopped waiting for them to come to the building and started showing up where they already are? What if we learned their language, respected their culture, and offered the good news of Jesus in the spaces they call home, both online and around the table?

That’s not compromising the gospel. That’s incarnational ministry. That’s what Jesus did. That’s what Paul did. That’s what Philip did. And that’s what we’re called to do.

As I write this, today is the last day of 2025 and I find myself sitting at the corner table of a gaming cafe, drinking my morning coffee out of a pint-sized wooden stein. The large decorative mug matches the tavern vibe of the room with its fireplace, couches covered with animal pelts, and various axes/swords/shields adorning the walls. The hand-crafted tables are all illuminated with equally hand crafted fixtures hanging from the ceiling with large flickering bulbs that simulate candlelight. Every shelf lining the walls is crammed with board games that the general population have never heard of.

If you are also a nerd/geek/gamer you can understand why this is my favorite space.

One year ago I sat here on a Tuesday night with an open journal in front of me. I also kept an open heart while watching, seeking, praying for direction as to how I could make this my “mission field”.  How I could “live intentionally in the place where God placed me.” 

I was there following the advice given to me by Giles Hash of Discipleship Gaming. Following his breakout session with Mark Lutz about D&D as Ministry at NCMS 2024, I wanted to pick his brain for guidance about how to take the growing desire within me to connect with other D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) players for nerd ministry – specifically in local game stores – and start making it a reality.

I remember asking about how to interact, if there were any special printed tools that existed, how to shift gameplay into spiritual conversations, and so many other questions to help provide a checklist of daily and weekly things to do. 

However the words he shared didn’t involve elaborate prep, a checklist, or some gimmick. His greatest advice was four words.

“Just show up regularly.”

In my immediate city there are three FLGS (friendly local game stores). One is part of a small chain that hosts primarily Warhammer events along with some general board game play with the prerequisite bread-and-butter of most game shops – Magic the Gathering (MTG). They had a small back room where D&D happened on occasion, but it felt like a rare event. 

The second location was a small mom and pop that focuses only on Trading Card Games (MTG, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, etc). I had tried to run some D&D there when my original game meetup location closed in 2019. Our tiny remnant tried to hold on for a bit – but the upcoming pandemic struck the final nail.

Neither of these two locations felt like the right environment. While both are successful businesses with merits in their own right, neither felt right for building community within D&D regulars.

But that Tuesday night I sat down at the third and newest game store in our city. This game cafe was born from a group that organized board game pops ups on a weekly or monthly basis at local breweries.  The cafe’s current brick and mortar location, opened in June of 2024, was largely funded through a Kickstarter campaign. I had been fortunate enough to catch wind of the grand opening and my youngest child and I had to sit in an outdoor overflow due to the 300+ guests that had crammed in to take part in food, fun, and friends.

The vibe was so tavern-esque, warm, friendly, the staff were very personable (and the sandwiches are amazing)! 

I had found what social researchers would call “my third space”.

That Tuesday night I began jotting notes and thinking about how to start a new weekly group. What are the best days and hours? How I could utilize Easter and Christmas RPG one-shots as additional methods to point to Jesus. Could I start a Bible study? What can I put in peoples hand as a cool take home that would point them to the truth somehow. But where do I begin? How do I start this? 

My racing mind got interrupted by a woman who had started unloading books, dice, and maps onto a nearby table.

“Hey!” she called to me. “Have you ever played D&D?”

It turns out I was vastly overcomplicating the process. 

I didn’t need to have some cool gimmick, a set ministry plan, or a checklist. 

I just had to show up – regularly.

Due to her simple invitation, I joined the Tuesday night D&D campaign. I got to know the DM (Dungeon Master) as well as the dozen other weekly players who drop in and out. I got to know the cafe staff. I expanded my time there to include the Thursday night D&D group and have been able to introduce myself to a multitude of curious guests who stop in to see what the cafe is all about. I further expanded my time there as it became a once a week “office” where I worked remotely or on personal passion projects.

And most importantly, I got to know the owner.

Understand that, if anyone were to look over my shoulder while I’m taking notes for D&D, they would notice among the chicken-scratch of NPCs, and town maps, there is a list of every player who sits at the table. Alongside their name are little notes about their lives as I get to know them. Concerns, surgeries, heartbreak, celebrations. This is my ever-growing list. These are the people who I do my best to cover in prayer everyday.  Mostly by their real name, but often by their character alias.

But, if you flip to the beginning of the journal, the first name to ever appear on that list – is that of the owner.

Over the last year we have gotten to know one another pretty well and it’s become a growing friendship. After almost a year of hanging out at this cafe, he and I had a fantastic two-hour conversation about life, faith, and shared trauma. He is not a believer. Nothing we talked about tipped the scales of his faith. However, he now knows that he has a friend who is praying for him daily, and he has told me how that simple act impacted him greatly. 

It’s been amazing to see just how far the knowledge that someone is praying for them affects an individual. I’ve seen the look of real appreciation in the eyes of a party member headed into an IRL serious surgery. Using Discord we were able to keep up with her recovery and celebrate when she returned to the table after a two month absence. 

I’ve come to learn that it’s okay not to have a ministry checklist. Most DMs know that your plans often have to become improvised anyway as the party makes choices you never imagined. Most checklists have to be discarded.

I’m learning that real ministry is not a 5 minute Gospel sales pitch. It’s a waiting and listening game where we not only get to know people, but also that they get to know us. They get to see how we respond – not only to the highs – but also to the lows that we all encounter and battle in our own lives.  

Today, I’m entering the new year excited and ready to see what’s going to happen in this little cafe. I’m currently part of four separate D&D campaigns. I have 36 people on my regular prayer list, building some lasting friendships, and waiting for the moment when the Holy Spirit gives the signal to take a conversation a step deeper into the realm of faith and introduce people to Jesus. 

I don’t know when or if that will happen. 

But for now – I’m just going to keep showing up.