Lockdown is still in place for most of the world, but virtual meetings and even in-game gatherings are becoming more and more commonplace. One of the most popular places to virtually hang out with your friends is Minecraft, and one church in Leicester, England, is encouraging just that.
As reported by the BBC, Leicester’s St John the Baptist Church has been remade in Minecraft, allowing the church’s youth group to attend their Bible lessons together while still employing social distancing.
It doesn’t end with the recreation of the church though. The server was created by 27-year-old youth worker Josh Young, who has used the Mojang game to create things like an underwater whale to teach about Jonah, which is pretty darn cool if you ask me. He’s even gone so far as to create challenges for the teenagers, including building their own boats when learning about Jesus calming a storm.
Young told the publication: “Having a community for these young people is really important and I wanted to carry that on in the lockdown.
“They can’t hang out with friends and some of them are really struggling at the moment. On Minecraft they can meet, talk and play games without physically being there. It is a tool for engagement and building community.
“Young people live in this online world and the Bible teaches us to meet people where they are, in their community.
“Jesus pushed the boundaries of what people thought was typical worship, he would be happy with the idea that the church is moving forwards.”
15-year-old Rosie, who attends the group, said the following: “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,
“I thought it was good when Josh teleported everyone to the same place and we had a competition to build the best boat from Matthew, Chapter 8, when Jesus stopped the storm. My team won it because we built little lightning storm clouds.”
Featured Image Credit: Josh Young/Microsoft/Mojang