By Lauren Pratt
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Lifeway Christian Resources is launching its first-ever series of games by Lifeway Students, designed to deepen student ministry connections and conversations.
“In this highly digital age that we live in, building authentic, meaningful friendships can be challenging, especially for middle and high school students,” said Chuck Peters, director of Lifeway next-gen. “We hope these games will serve as a launching point for more meaningful connections as each game we’ve created is specifically designed to take those conversations deeper.”
After meeting with several experts in the board game industry, Lifeway’s Director of Adult Ministry John Paul Basham initiated the development of Lifeway games for students. As a former youth pastor, Basham wanted to create games to fuel ministry and cultivate deeper discipleship among students.
That’s why Lifeway began working with an experienced game developer in close collaboration with the Lifeway Students team from the ideation to creation phase of each game. This also included a game development conference, where Lifeway staff participated in various mock versions of the games to determine which ones had the most potential for success.
“When students play together, the channels of communication open up and this makes a way not only for the students to know one another, but also for the leaders to know their students,” said Basham. “When leaders know their students, they can speak the truth of Scripture directly to them in a way that applies personally. These relational applications of the truth of God’s Word from a trusted leader to a student are formative moments that will affect them for the rest of their lives.”
Another goal of the Lifeway games is to create a lower barrier of entry for non-believing students who may be experiencing church for the first time. Providing thoughtful, funny and engaging games allows for both unchurched and regular attendees to more easily connect despite their different spiritual backgrounds.
While their original design is for student ministry, the games are also a perfect activity to bring on road trips, family gatherings or game nights with friends. “We believe these games aren’t just helpful for student ministry leaders but are a great resource for families and friends to enjoy a fun, engaging activity together leading into the holiday season,” said Peters.
Along with the four games Lifeway released in April, more games are being planned for the coming year. These include Two-and-a-Half Truths (April 2025) and a Predictable expansion pack that features three new “Would you rather?” card categories: Family, Rotten, and Superfan (Summer 2025). The games are available at lifeway.com/games. For more information about other student ministry resources from Lifeway, visit Lifeway.com/students.
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Lauren Pratt is a contracted publicist for Lifeway Christian Resources.
In operation since 1891, Lifeway Christian Resources is one of the leading providers of Christian resources, including Bibles, books, Bible studies, group curriculum, Christian music and movies, Vacation Bible School, and church supplies, as well as camps and events for all ages. Lifeway is the world’s largest provider of Spanish Bibles. Based in Brentwood, Tennessee, Lifeway operates as a self-supporting nonprofit. For more information, visit Lifeway.com.
