Connectional Gaming

What is Connectional Gaming?

Connectional Gaming is an attempt to leverage the "Connectional" nature of the United Methodist Church to bring youth from multiple congregations together through online video games. This program allows students to connect in an engaging, digital environment, whether they are playing cooperatively or competing against one another. The idea behind Connectional Gaming is rooted in the UMC's emphasis on connection—that our churches are not isolated entities but part of a greater, interconnected network of churches.

Through Connectional Gaming, it is our hope that youth are able to form friendships, build teamwork, and experience fellowship with peers from other United Methodist congregations. By offering both cooperative and competitive gaming experiences, Connectional Gaming can create a space where students can have fun and develop deeper bonds with others within the wider United Methodist church family. It also opens up opportunities for leaders to integrate faith-based discussions into gaming sessions, making it not only a fun experience but also one that fosters spiritual development.

How frequently do we host Connectional Gaming?

We had our first Connectional Gaming event in the Fall of 2024 where students from FUMC Clifton and FUMC Belton joined together to play on the same Minecraft Server for 2 hours. They also participated in a livestreamed worship service together and both youth directors led messages; all the while geographically they were 60 miles apart from one another. Our youth had a lot of fun participating in this unique form of student ministry. We plan on making this a quarterly event at least for now.

How can other UMC student ministries get involved?

We would love to have additional churches get involved! If you are a United Methodist youth director interested in having your youth group participate, please contact Alex via email at family@fumcclifton.org or call our church office phone number and ask to speak with him. In order to uphold our own child safety standards and policies, Connectional Gaming events are only open to United Methodist churches that have MinistrySafe policies or other similarly implemented child abuse prevention policies that specifically address electronic communications.

We are more than happy to help walk other student ministries through the process of understanding the necessary gaming hardware/setup in order for their students to be able to participate and explain more in-depth how all of this works.