Coronavirus: Leicester Church Uses Minecraft To Teach Bible To Teens

Coronavirus: Leicester church uses Minecraft to teach Bible to teens

17 May 2020

During the lockdown, a church turned to Minecraft to teach its children about Christianity.

So that the youth club can continue Bible lessons, the St John the Baptist Church in Leicester has been recreated on a server.

Josh Young, the organiser, said it was a way of meeting younger people "where they are" and engaging with them in a world they are used to.

Virtual reality means they have also been able to get creative with lessons.

Mr Young created an underwater whale for the students to learn the story of Jonah. He challenged them to build boats to find out about Jesus' calming a storm.

The 27 year-old youth worker stated that "having a community for young people is really essential and I wanted the lockdown to continue that."

They don't have friends and some are struggling right now. On Minecraft they can meet, talk and play games without physically being there. It is a tool for engagement and building community.

"Young people are able to live in the online world, and the Bible teaches that we should meet people where they are, in their communities.

"Jesus pushed the boundaries on what people thought was normal worship, he would be happy that the church is moving aheads."

Every Wednesday, around 20 children between 11 and 17 spend two-and-a half hours on the server.

They're free to explore and pursue their projects. But for 30 minutes, they are teleported in a communal area where they can complete a Bible-themed task.

Mr Young stated that they had made every effort to ensure that adults could stop bad language and control who joined. They also had permission from their parents for their children's participation.

Rosie, 15, is one of the teenagers who joins regularly. "I love it because I can talk to my friends whilst playing, I enjoy it just the same as meeting up for our normal youth club," she said.
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"I thought it was great that Josh teleported everyone to one place. We also had a competition to build a boat using Matthew Chapter 8, when Jesus stopped a storm. My team won it because we built little lightning storm clouds."

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