Supplied: Kiran Skariah
)For Baptist pastor Kiran Skariah, riding a virtual chicken through the air while heavily armed is all in a day's work.
Instead of a church or an office, the south-western Sydney pastor spends much of his working life on Twitch, the website where video gamers can live stream.
In four-hour slots, several times a week, Mr Skariah sits in front of a webcam in a purpose-built studio and plays games like Fortnite (where the rideable chicken features) as he broadcasts to the world.
Under the Twitch name "Pastor Skar", he narrates the games while playing (complete with voice echo and other sound effects) and interacts with fellow gamers.
Twitch
)In three years, the 29-year-old has built up more than 20,000 followers, who either watch the video games or join in on the action.
"These streams are very much about gaming, hanging out, having a laugh, but if anyone asks for prayer or something, then I'll happily pray for them," he says.
Between the gaming sessions, Mr Skariah holds separate live streams on Twitch called "Real Talk," where matters of faith are discussed.
"We talk about life and about different real-world topics, through a faith lens," he says.
Supplied: Kiran Skariah
)The tech-savvy Mr Skariah says the interest in his channel has been overwhelming, at a time when many religions and faith groups in Australia are struggling to attract new members.
"It's led to some very cool opportunities to help people and be able to be present with people when they need it," he says.
And there's been no better time to build a following, with Twitch nearly doubling its daily users in 2020, from 17 million to 30 million.
'Not just teenage boys'
For eight years, Mr Skariah ran the youth group at Parkside Church in Sydney's Edensor Park.
He says video games had "always been a part of my life" and one day decided to join the growing trend of live streaming, as another way to connect with youth group members.
"The start of it was multiple days, if not weeks of zero viewers, no-one following the channel," he says.
"It was me just talking to myself. Which I was fine with because either way, I'd be playing.
"From there, it was a slow and steady growth to now where, three years in, we've got just over 20,000 people … from 80 countries."
Supplied: Kiran Skariah
)The channel has become Mr Skariah's full time job. It's a registered not-for-profit organisation, with a board that oversees its activities.
There's also a merchandise shop, where fans can buy hoodies emblazoned with the slogan "Skarred, but not broken".
Mr Skariah says despite the Christian overtones, many followers come from different faiths and backgrounds.
"People assume because it's video games it's mostly kids, but that's not the case," he says.
"There are of course young people, but there are parents and even grandparents that are regular members of this community."
Supplied: Mark Watson
)Avid gamer Mark Watson from NSW's Central Coast often joins in with Pastor Skar, along with his three children.
"It's not just teenage boys coming home from school — there's diversity," the 38-year-old says.
"Gaming culture in the past, especially online, tended to be quite negative. So for us, we wouldn't really go online and game with other people."
By contrast, he says Pastor Skar's community is "all-inclusive and positive".
Christian gaming beyond Australia
While there are few Christian gaming communities on Twitch in Australia, many more pastors and other Christian figures have taken to the platform in North America.
One pastor, Matt Souza in the US state of Virginia, has created what he claims is the "world's first church for gamers".
His GodSquad Church uses Twitch so followers can "game together, grow together and build relationships".
Kevin Schut, a game studies scholar at Canada's Trinity Western University and author of book Of Games and God: A Christian Exploration of Video Games, says there were big differences in tone among these Twitch streamers.
"One pastor I've seen on Twitch is quite explicitly conservative and quite didactic, spending a lot of time emphasising the boundaries of righteous Christian behaviour and values," he says.
"Another, on the other hand, was much more inclusive and open, emphasising that everyone is welcome, and largely avoiding really divisive theological and cultural issues."
Supplied: Kiran Skariah
)Mr Schut says he was not surprised that pastors and evangelists are taking to Twitch in Canada, the US and around the world.
"Those of us who are gamers know that there is a unique form of friendship that results of playing games together," he says.
"And once that friendship has started, it's possible to talk about faith with more integrity."
He says this can lead to a bait-and-switch approach, where the evangelist promises video games but is "waiting to pounce with religious teachings".
"But this can be done with integrity," he says.
Mr Schut says with the influence of the global pandemic, the Christian gaming scene will only continue to grow.
"In most parts of the world, people are spending more time online than ever before," he says.
"In such an environment, I would expect more pastors and evangelists to realise the incredible opportunities they've been gifted.
"And our cultural usage of digital technology will not, I think, be entirely reduced to pre-pandemic levels when things get back to normal — whatever that is."
