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 Minecraft-based church used Minecraft to teach its kids about Christianity.

A server has been set up to recreate Leicester''s St John the Baptist Church, so the youth club has a place to learn Bible lessons.

Josh Young, the organizer, said it was a means of meeting younger people "whereever and whenever they are" to engage in a world they know.

They can also use virtual reality to create their own lessons.

Mr Young created an underwater whale for them to learn about Jonah''s story and challenged the teenagers with boats to learn 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 like to hang out with their friends, and some of them are really struggling right now. On Minecraft they can meet, talk and play games without physically being there. It is a tool for building community and engagement.

"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, approximately 20 children between 11-18 years old spend two-anda-half hours on a server.

They can explore the world, or pursue their own projects. However, for 30 minutes, they are teleported to a community area to complete a Bible-themed challenge.

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.
extremecraft

Rosie, 15, is a teenager who regularly joins. "I love it because my friends can talk to me while I play, it''s just like meeting up for our usual youth club," she said.

"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 because they created little lightning storm clouds.

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