Bedstemors Verden is a minecraft server that strives to engage the players and make everyone feel at home. Both beginner and experienced minecraft player.
I run a semi-vanilla server without any major custom plugins, as I feel that Minecraft's original vanilla factor makes the game not too complicated and helps promote friendships across the server.
There is a survival world where Minecraft "beginner" has the opportunity to get to know the game without being killed by the monster all the time, but you still have to learn to survive, because the hunger is sneaking and the lava is still "hot" if you fall in.