1UP.com has an interesting piece about Christians and videogames, especially those who incorporate outreach and discipleship into the games they play. The article talks to several Christian gamers about how they approach issues like violence and evil imagery in games and describes the angle from which they approach gaming. Owen Parker, the member of one such Christian group, is quoted as saying

"We're more than just a gaming clan-we're a full-blown ministry," Parker says.... "We offer counseling; we have actual certified Christian counselors as well as preachers that are on the leadership team," explains Parker. "And we have Sunday-night services, and so on. We do a lot of outreach work and provide family-centered game servers that focus on the Christian topic."

For Parker and MOG, taking the ministry to the network-connected masses is just culture catching up with technology. "If you look at Christian gaming as using the online medium, I see it as just another way to go out there and share the truth of God with everybody else," he says.

I'm impressed at the seriousness with which these gamers take their ministry--this is a full-fledged ministry, with leaders and accountability and definite goals. In that regard, more power to them. That said, I wonder if turning gaming into a serious ministry might tend to take away some of the simple escapist fun of playing games in the first place--but whether that's a good or a bad thing, I'm not entirely sure.

(If the topic interests you, see this earlier post on gaming evangelism.)