After three consecutive years in attendance, I decided that I was not going to be at Gen Con this year. In fact, there was only one member of the InnRoads team there at all, and even that wasn’t for us. While we had no official presence at the con, something was born out of the idea from one of our Regulars, grew in the Tavern, and embodied so much of what we advocate. It only took one question to get the ball rolling. How can we serve people at the con?
After the dust of Gen Con had settled, another post went up talking about how powerful it was just to do something simple as giving out bottles of water and cough drops at the convention – and to those around the convention, including and especially the homeless men and women on the streets outside – and how it was good to make a connection on a hot day to share a moment of simple human kindness. This sort of thing might not be a life changing moment that forever alters the course of a person’s life, but it is a drop that might cause a ripple.
We’ve gone over a number of questions that are important to ask before starting a game group as a ministry initiative. There’s a question that is equally important for discerning the direction of your efforts after the foundation’s built playing together. How can you best serve the people that come to your events and the larger community as a whole?
Every community – whether defined by geography, interest, or other common characteristic – has its own personality. As such, there’s no list I can give you that will best answer that question. I can’t say do three of these, two of those and a handful of this to be most effective in your area. You need to be present within that community to learn that. You need to put yourself into a place where you are able to listen before you talk. You need to put them first and foremost with no expectation of return on the time and resources you invested. You have to view people not as projects or as people who need to be fixed. You need to ask them what you can do for them, and I can’t tell you the answers you’ll find. However, I can give you a few categories to help you go looking for them.
Individual Needs
This goes back to handing out bottles of water and cough drops at Gen Con. People have basic, immediate needs that can sometimes be addressed by simple acts of kindness. Somebody can’t get a ride to the game day? Offer to pick them up. Feeling overworked and over-stressed? Offer to cook them a meal or babysit their kids for a night. Finding ways that you can do things that address these immediate needs show people that you care about them. The more you get to know someone, the better you can provide comfort and joy in their life.
Communal Needs
No matter where you live, there’s something that you can do for the neighborhood. Many of these mirror the individual needs. Instead of just babysitting for one family, gather up your kids and family games and organize a “parents’ night out” available for all the families in the neighborhood. Instead of preparing a meal, prepare lots of them and hand them out to people who need them. Go out and learn things about your neighborhood’s personality. Would a block party be consider a blessing to release tension and foster togetherness, or would it be a nuissance that makes life complicated and getting home a nightmare? You’ll only know that when you know them.
Deep needs
This isn’t as clear cut and easy as the others. We all have secrets – pain we don’t talk about with anyone. They’re the things we hide behind forced smiles and “I’m fine, thanks.” You don’t get to go to that place right away, and trying does more harm than good. The reality of it is that serving like this starts by letting others into your hidden hurts before you try to step into theirs. It’s uncomfortable, even painful. There’s a reason you’re hiding them after all. But that’s what real service looks like – the kind that changes lives often requires us to go to a place where we rip ourselves open to someone else. Don’t go there lightly, but go there and see what God does in your life as well as with others.
Does this sound like other ministries you’ve been in or even lead? Good, because this is ministry. Gaming culture is a unique creature – filled with its own languages and subcultures. It’s important to be in that world and listen to those in their with you. But in the end, serving God should always be about serving other people sacrificially and passionately, regardless of the context.