• About
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Facts & Trends

By providing practical information and relevant resources, Facts and Trends Online helps evangelical leaders navigate the issues and trends impacting the church in today’s world.

  • App
  • Articles
  • Pastors
  • Research
  • Videos
    • About / Contact
    • Advertise
    • Archives

Jesus and Joysticks: Why the Church Should Stop Making Fun of Video Gamers

Aaron Earls - May 2, 2018 6 Comments

Jesus Joystick video games Christians

By Aaron Earls

Church leaders could be insulting more than half of the homes in their congregation and community without even realizing it.

That’s exactly what happens when you malign people simply because they play video games in their spare time.

Video games have grown from a niche industry to one that generated more than $108 billion in revenues in 2017—yet video gamers are a popular target of Christian angst and aggression.

I’ve seen prominent and not-so-prominent pastors portray video gamers as stereotypical, lazy college graduates.

These video game players refuse to get a real job. They live at home in their parents’ basement and never take responsibility. We need men to grow up.

This may elicit chuckles and high-fives from some, but it may also hurt a faithful family in the church or keep a visitor from ever coming back.

Who plays video games?

You may think all video gamers are teenagers or college guys, but you’d be wrong.

According to the Entertainment Software Association’s latest annual report, 65 percent of U.S. households have at least one frequent gamer.

The average age of a video game player is 35, with gamers 18 and older representing 72 percent of the gamer population.

A video game player is almost twice as likely to be an adult woman (31 percent of gamers) than a boy younger than 18 (18 percent of gamers).

The average male who plays video games is 33 years old. The average female is 37.

Instead of a college guy playing in his dorm, the gamer in your church might be the stay-at-home mom who plays during her kids’ naptime.

With such a wide variety of Americans playing video games, church leaders should reconsider the way they speak of gamers.

Why does this matter?

Before missionaries enter a new culture, they take special care to study what could be offensive to potential converts. They do not want to create a stumbling block to the gospel by needlessly offending listeners.

Needlessly is an important word because the gospel itself can be offensive. It critiques and challenges every culture and every individual within a culture.

The question becomes: Are video games an aspect of culture from which Christians should refrain? Are they irredeemable like pornography, or are they more like movies and other forms of entertainment that can become objectionable in certain circumstances?

If they are the former, they deserve a more serious response than snarky dismissals and jokes. If they are the latter—and that seems to be the case—they deserve a better response than clichés and stereotypes.

Church leaders have been lamenting for decades why younger generations are no longer in church. Whatever the solution to that problem may be, it probably doesn’t include insulting hobbies that are more prevalent in their generation.

Virtually everyone has something that occupies their free time, be it gardening, playing sports, reading books, or watching television. None of these is necessarily bad or sinful, but each can become so in certain circumstances.

And this is one reason the church should be more careful about the way it criticizes video gamers. We don’t need blanket condemnations and sarcasm. We need Christian leaders helping a generation of young Christians think biblically about all activities.

Playing video games could become an idol for some—as sports are for others. Christian gamers could play unacceptable games—as some watch unacceptable movies. Video games can contribute to the loss of face-to-face community.

Those who play video games may be in situations that are nearing sin, but the warnings of those who mocked them without warrant will go unheard and unheeded.

Church leaders should instead have conversations with gamers in the congregation and in the community. Maybe even sit down and play a game. You’ll be in a better position to reach them and speak into their lives with the gospel. And you’ll probably be less likely to insult them in the future.

AARON EARLS (@WardrobeDoor) is online editor of Facts & Trends.

Dig Deeper at LifeWay.com

Becoming a Welcoming Church

Thom S. Rainer

FIND OUT MORE

Related

Filed Under: Popular

Previous Post: « 7 Ways To Protect Your Child From Sexual Abuse
Next Post: Scouts to Drop ‘Boy’ from Name »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jacob Toman says

    May 8, 2018 at 10:06 am

    Thanks for sharing Aaron! I recently got out of ministry serving gamers & the church for 5 years. I appreciate your measured challenge in calling myself and others into account for how we speak of one another, and others regarding the time God has given us to spend.

    Reply
  2. Michael Herrera says

    May 8, 2018 at 11:14 am

    Another solution would be to create games that glorify God. There’s a group / ministry that does that. We’re called the Christian Game Developers Conference (CGDC). You can find out more at http://www.cgdc.org

    Reply
  3. Trent says

    May 15, 2018 at 11:28 am

    Thanks so much for pointing it out! I read and hear about how bad it is for guys to play video games and the routine mocking. Funny how many older, so called ‘manly’ guys watch sports and TV far more than many gamers I know.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Laudable Linkage | Stray Thoughts says:
    May 12, 2018 at 7:46 am

    […] Jesus and Joysticks: What the Church Should Stop Making Fun of Video Gamers. HT to Challies. […]

    Reply
  2. Jesus and Joysticks: Why the Church Should Stop Making Fun of Video Gamers - The Aquila Report says:
    May 13, 2018 at 11:02 pm

    […] Read More […]

    Reply
  3. Read This! 05.22.18 - Borrowed Light says:
    May 22, 2018 at 5:32 am

    […] Jesus And Joysticks […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

FACTS & TRENDS NEWSLETTER

Never miss anything from Facts & Trends and get exclusive content delivered to your inbox.

Categories

Latest Articles

How to Lead With Love When People Resist Needed Change

Where Do the Most Generous Christians Live?

Church Leader, Take Heed Lest You Fall

@FactsAndTrends

My Tweets

Footer

Facts & Trends is designed to help leaders navigate issues impacting the church.

Follow Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2019 · by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress