Must-have tech for the youth worker
Youth ministers tend to be, as a group, on the higher end of the technological spectrum. We’re probably not early adopters (because that usually requires some serious dough, and we’re pretty much underpaid) but most youth ministers are fairly techno-savvy. I learned about such things as myspace, facebook, twitter, etc. From other youth ministers way before I ever heard about them in mainstream culture. So I realize that, for many of you, this post might be a “no-duh” type. Some of you might even say, “that’s so 2009.” Still, I just wanted to take a look at some “must-have” technology that will help you and your ministry.
Before diving in, though, I want to clarify “must-have.” By must-have, I don’t mean “You’re life will be meaningless without it” or “You can’t POSSIBLY do ministry without it.” Instead, these are products or software that will make your job easier or add dimensions to what you do.
So, I have divided up the post into 3 different areas – Products, Software, and Services. Products are the physical pieces of technology that you use. Software is the stuff you either download (much of it for free) or buy at the store. Finally, services are generally online applications where you can do a number of different valuable things.
PRODUCTS
iPhone – Unless you’ve lived under a rock, you’ve heard of a little product called an iPhone. There are tons of different types of smart phones. If you’re one of the many still using “regular” cell phones, I highly recommend upgrading to a smart phone. They just provide tons of benefits in relation to the nonsmartphone phones. GPS, music, connectivity, and the ability to work on the go are among those benefits. So why the iPhone as opposed to another, like the Droid or Blackberry? That could probably be a post in and of itself, fraught with the ability to stir debate and argument. So, in a nutshell, much of it is personal preference. You won’t find much difference in capabilities, but I personally feel like the iPhone gives you a better user experience. What about network issues? Mostly overblown. The biggest plus – the “cool” factor. I’ve never seen a student say, “You have a HTC Evo?! Awesome!” But I have seen students get excited about my now 2 year old iPhone, even today. The most recent iPhone, the iPhone 4, is arguably (and I don’t really want to get into an argument!) one of the best phones on the market, and it will be an asset to you.
Kindle – If you read, you need a Kindle. I LOVE LOVE LOVE books. I have hundreds in my library. Ever since I got a Kindle for Christmas, I am not going back to the printed word. The Kindle is the first and best ereader on the market. Its also the cheapest. You can download books from Amazon’s market, and they probably have the largest selection for prices that are generally cheaper than printed books. Reading on a Kindle is essentially the same as a book. I actually prefer it because I can carry around hundreds of books at a time without killing my back. The battery lasts for days. You can take notes, highlight, even tweet relevant passages. It does reading, and does it well. They just released the newest Kindle, and it only costs $139, and you can recoup that cost on the money saved with just a few book purchases. To me, this is a must have for youth ministry just because it helps compact your library and makes it easier.
Flipcamcorder – Video is quickly becoming an important aspect of ministry. You don’t need to run out and buy a big fancy video camera. You can get a good flip camera for less than $200 that will give you video that is plenty good enough for most uses you have (unless you’re planning on becoming a professional videographer). They’re easy to shoot, easy to upload, and you have tons of options. I bought a really low price one a few years back for less than $100 that produces pretty good video, and they’ve only gotten better. (Note – if you take my advice and get an iPhone 4, that comes equipped with a pretty good video camera).
Laptop – Over the past 5 years, laptops have overtaken their desktop brothers in use, function, and even price. You can get a really good laptop for less than $600. With a laptop, you can take your work with you anywhere, so that frees you from the office. Need to write a message but get too distracted at the church? Take your laptop on the road. Again, this is more an issue of personal preference and cost, so find one that works for you.
XBox 360 – I really contemplated adding an XBox 360 in with this list, because I don’t own one (and have only played one a handful of times). I am more of a Playstation guy anyways. What I have noticed is that by and large this generation of teens is way more into XBox than Playstations. Call it the “Halo” effect, but my informal polling of teens sees the 360 far more than the PS3. You probably don’t need to go out and buy one, but you should be at least proficient at it.
SOFTWARE
Evernote – I talked about Evernote with the iPhone app review, but it is much more than a smartphone app. Evernote helps you get and stay organized. I will talk more this week about how to use evernote in ministry, but its a free software so I recommend downloading it and trying it out. This is, essentially, a note taking app, but with a easy to use interface and the ability to take it with you on your smart phone, this will help you in your ministry.
Windows Live Writer – This free little program is a great blog writing program. Its a powerful WYSIWYG blog writer that can do just about anything for your blog. You can even edit pages if you have a wordpress blog/webpage.
Tweetdeck – If you Tweet, this is a great desktop client to use. Its fully functional and free. This will help make your twittering more manageable.
Outlook – This is definitely a personal preference, but I like using simplifying my life as much as possible so I like to have my contacts, calendar, to do list, and email in one program. Outlook is a little bloated as a program, but the tradeoff is the all-in-one nature of the program.
MS Publisher – If you have to make flyers, post cards, booklets, or any other professional looking paper, Publisher is a good option. This is bundled with more expensive versions of Microsoft Office, so it does cost, but in my mind it is worth it in time saved and professionalism achieved.
Cute PDF – This is a small thing, but its something you don’t often think about. if you want to give someone a document for whatever reason, you need this program. You never know what kind of software someone has, nor what version. Adobe PDF files keeps the formatting across platforms. Cute PDF allows you to simply and quickly transform your document into a PDF file by just “printing” as a PDF file.
SERVICES
Microsoft Skydrive – Sometimes Microsoft does something right, and Skydrive is one of those things. In a nutshell, Skydrive is a free lightweight version of Microsoft Documents PLUS 25 GBS (!!) of storage space for said documents, all in “the cloud” on the internet. So, you can write your lesson at home, do some quick editing at Taco Bell, and then print it up at the office, all without any annoying transfers.
Skype – With Skype, you can make voice, instant messaging, file transfer, and video calls with other Skype members for free, while making calls to land or cell lines for a fee. It is free to be a member, and the real strength is its video calling. Think about how cool it would be to do a Skype video call from a mission trip to the church service, live! Thats just one of the many uses you could have with Skype.
Picasa – If you’re like me, you’ve got thousands of digital photos and they have no organization. Picasa is a service through Google that allows you to upload the pictures to the internet (7+ GB of storage for free) and can access them anywhere. The real strength of the service is the software, which allows you to tag each photo, including by location. It also has great face recognition software. You can also do minor editing (red eye, cropping, etc).
Animoto - If you do a lot of photo slide shows, this is a great service. While it comes at a cost, you can apply for a special non-profit membership where they will do it all for free. What you do is upload your photos, and they turn it into a slick video. Great service.
WordPress – Do you blog? Or do you need a website on the cheap (free)? WordPress is a content management service that allows you to blog or create a website. You can change the theme and add plugins to increase the functionality. You can build a website even if you have no clue how to build one, and make it look pretty nice.
Google Reader – If you read blog, Google reader is a good service to have. Its easy to add new blogs, you can share them, star them for later, or organize them in a number of ways.
These technological additions to your life will be able to help you minister better. Obviously much of this is personal preference, nor could it be an exhaustive list of whats out there. What technology do you use to help make your ministry easier?
