Build Community with Students with Online Gaming

Gaming is a great way to build community with students. Typically when people think of gaming they think of Xbox, Playstation, or Nintendo. But gaming is more than just this now. There are also a lot of online and mobile game options from Apple and Google as well. So, when it comes to gaming and online gaming, there are plenty of options for you to play games and build community with students.

While a lot of gaming happens in person, what is great about online gaming is that you are not tied to meeting in a central location. You can all be at your own homes hanging out playing games together. This is especially important for middle school students. They love playing video games but don’t alway have transportation to make it to a Church or someone else’s home. So playing games online creates more opportunities for more students.

But why play games with students? Isn’t there something more constructive you can do with students? Of course there are other constructive things you can do with students to build community. However, playing games with students is fun and it creates a shared experience with them that you can go back to, reflect on and have great memories to talk about. It is about building a connection with students and by playing games online with them you can do that so effectively. It is also a great way to introduce new students and get to know them. That is what make online gaming is an effective ministry tool for you to use.

If online gaming is so good, what are the most effective games to play for your ministry? After all there are plenty of inappropriate games out there. What are the best, most appropriate to play? There are a variety of party games out there, but here are some that are pretty good and effective.

• Super Smash Brothers – one of Nintendo Switch’s biggest games
• Mario Kart 8 – a Nintendo Switch game that is very popular amongst boys, girls and entire families.
• Psych – an app that you can download via Google or Apple. You can use this game more for a high school or college aged group.
• Kahoot – this a great online option for students as it is a program they use in their schools.
• Game Pigeon – this is for iOS and PadOS but since a lot of students have iPhones and iPads, its great. You can play
• Jackbox Games – These can be played in a variety of platforms with a variety of games. They are great games but can also be inappropriate so make sure you click the settings to make them more appropriate for your age group.
• Convert old games into Online Games. For instance, play an online version of Scavenger Hunt, or Online Charades or Pictionary. Look through some old “classic” games and see how you can modernize them and enable them to be an online game.

Conclusion

We live in an online and mobile world. That is why online gaming is a great tool to connect with and build deeper relationships with students. It is not the only way but, as student minsters, it is a very effective way to build community with students. Be careful of what games you choose to play but also be creative. Take old games and make them current and online. Regardless of whether you refresh classic games, play them on Zoom calls, smartphones or traditional consoles, have fun thinking of ways to play games online with students. The more you vary it up and try new things the greater the chance that students are going to connect and hopefully hear about Jesus down the road. Online gaming is a great tool to build community and minister to students.

What do you think? How have you used online gaming to connect with students? Share your thoughts or experiences below or on social media using #ymsidekick when you share.

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