By Mike Hoffman
Graceland University Campus Minister
Campus Connections, an online ministry for college-age students affiliated with Community of Christ, has celebrated a year of reaching out to young adults.
The ministry started at the 2023 Spectacular. That’s when Mike Hoffman, campus minister, and Andrew Wolsey, graduate assistant for Campus Ministries, started a Zoom-based ministry at 9:00 p.m., Central Daylight Time, on Thursdays. Almost immediately the need was expressed to expand the ministry to 2:00 p.m. Tuesdays to be more convenient for college-age students in Europe. While the group has experimented with Zoom and Google translations, the ministry uses English as its primary language.
Jenn Killpack, the church’s director of Communications, and Parker Johnson, a member of the Communications Team, helped with the launch in September 2023. They created the communications plan, which includes a subscription-based option and automated email reminders.
During the first year, the ministry expanded to using Discord, a social-media platform largely used by the gaming community. This was encouraged by those involved in Campus Connections as the group expanded into Minecraft, a popular game since 2009. Minecraft has allowed participants to create a gaming community where Community of Christ Enduring Principles are the foundation.
“Minecraft plays a vital role in Campus Connections, embodying the principles of creativity, collaboration, and resilience. It serves as a virtual gathering space where students can build, innovate, and strengthen bonds, reflecting the core values that drive academic communities,” according to Taylor Kleinhardt, a member since the start, from Michigan.
Minecraft is a 3-D sandbox game, where players can reshape the world or build with blocks. It’s featured multiple platforms and game options.
Adric Williams from Arizona said, “Minecraft has turned out to be an excellent way to connect and build community with those across the country. It allows us to literally build our community block by block. For example, we built a community in the game inspired by Happy Valley Conference Center, our campground in Santa Cruz, California, which has served as a backdrop for community activities like Easter-egg hunts, birthday celebrations, and other community events. Making friends is always easier when you have something to do together, and Minecraft has helped make this community feel intimate and joyful.”
Minecraft has turned out to be an excellent way to connect and build community with those across the country.
As the group continued to grow (more than thirty on Discord and more than eighty subscribers), five moderators were elected in August 2024 to manage expectations and communications. Said Adrienne Reine, a moderator from Missouri: “Discord has been a great tool that allows us to do more with so much distance between us. As a lifetime member and never attending Graceland, I haven’t made lasting friends within Community of Christ. Now I am blessed to have firm roots and a wonderful group of friends.”
Wolsey said: “The reach has been more than we anticipated. “We have connected with young adults from all four USA time zones on Thursday nights.”
Hoffman added: “We usually have anywhere from eight to twelve participants on Thursday nights, with typically four to six on Tuesday afternoons. On Tuesdays we usually have more serious discussions, ranging from church history to current social trends. Thursdays, we many times will touch on the same topics, but usually add the element of gaming, through online activities such as Kahoot.”
Sterling Angeroth from Iowa said, “Campus Connections has been extremely helpful in bridging the gap between my youth and adulthood membership in the church. I was relieved to learn that after graduating high school, I’d still have a chance to participate in fellowship and discussion geared toward my specific age group. I feel I am able to still have fun like I did at youth camps while also discussing more mature topics regarding the church.”
Campus Connections has been extremely helpful in bridging the gap between my youth and adulthood membership in the church.
At both meetings, the Mission Prayer has become a primary spiritual practice. Dubbed the “chaos” version, participants read the prayer aloud at the same time in their natural cadence or speed. While the prayer does not end at the same time, it offers an opportunity to hear a cacophony of similar sounds, all directed toward God.
“Saying the Mission Prayer in such a silly way has been a great icebreaker for new members, and it reminds me of the warm community that we share,” said Adrienne Reine.
Recently an additional activity was added to the lineup of offerings—Stardew Valley. It’s an open-ended, country-life, role-playing game. “Stardew Valley is all about community and building relationships. As the game progressed we learned more about the nonplayer characters (NPCs) lives and personalities. NPCs are characters that you can interact with, but do not control. We don’t just foster relationships with NPCs. When one of us can’t make it to a session we all band together to water and harvest their crops for them. It is just one way we see the blessings of community within our group,” said Reine.
The leadership team has discussed ways of growing the ministry. One way, like the addition of Stardew Valley, is to add activities. Other options have included spinning off related groups, focusing on specific topics (scripture study as an example), or age-based groups (24 to 30 years of age), young adults who have entered jobs, and others.
The exciting part is the emergence of a new type of ministry not only made possible, but affordable, by technology. And it’s not just about age.
“While young adults really want to connect,” Hoffman said, “the truth is, they are willing to accommodate an older adult who is willing to join them, not only thinking outside the box, but as it has felt for me, jumping outside the box. Sometimes I feel like I must be the oldest person playing Minecraft! But the young adults have been genuine in their teaching and caring for me within the game.
“There are other groups of young people emerging in other areas of the world that we’ve heard about, which are engaged in Minecraft and perhaps other forms of gaming. This could be an area of further exploration for the church.”
While things continue to evolve, Hoffman believes gaming could have a big effect on the future of the church. “It’s not simply ‘playing’ as I first thought. It’s been about building community.”