Came across a fun little piece about Christian guilds (teams of players) in the popular online computer game World of Warcraft.

The story mentions one large Christian guild called Redeemed, which claims 70+ members. Redeemed is a branch of the larger Tribe of Judah group, which organizes Christian guilds in many different online games. The rules of conduct require adherence to a statement of faith and prohibit cheating, profanity, and other unsavory behavior.

I’m intrigued. This might seem like a trivial topic at first glance, but consider the enormous number of people from all over the world playing online games today—that’s one gigantic potential mission field. While trying to overtly convert other players during the game isn’t in very good form (and will probably get you kicked out of the game), I like these guilds’ vision of friendly, identifiably Christian teams that let their actions and attitude speak for them. And looking at it from a slightly different angle, Christian groups like this might be one answer for parents who are nervous about the type of interaction their kids are participating in while online.

In an age when online communities are becoming nearly as important as offline ones, who’s to say that a game community can’t be as significant as a forum or mailing list community? I’ve heard of churches organizing LAN parties and game nights as part of their youth ministry. Is the First Baptist Church Warcraft Guild the next logical step?