Leaving the Building

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.