Technology, communication, and youth ministry

Undoubtedly the biggest advances in technology have been in the communications sector. 100 years ago, it would take weeks for the average person to learn about “current events.” Today we learn about events as they are happening. We can shoot off a text message to a friend seeing what they’re doing tonight, tweet about the big earthquake you just felt, or post pictures of your newborn baby on Facebook before the kid has been alive for an hour. Because there has been such a seismic shift in communication in the last 5 years, it can be tough sometimes to find the “sweet spot” that will maximize your effectiveness. I am going to look at some of the major methods of communication and how effective they are in spreading your message to your students.

Texting – If you work with teenagers, this is a “no-duh” for you. Texting is far and away the dominate method of communication for teenagers. Get yourself an unlimited texting plan, get your students cell numbers, and start texting. Also, if you send a bunch of group messages, you should look into a group text messaging service. SimplyTXT from Simply Youth Ministry is a good option, although there are dozens of options out there.

Facebook – Facebook is a great way to connect with students. I am going to guess you use Facebook in some form. Add your students and write stuff on their wall from time to time. Its also a good way to see whats going on in their lives and being able to speak into those issues. Also, if you haven’t already, set up a Fan Page for your ministry. Make sure you do not commit the cardinal sin of Fan pages and ignore them! Keep up to date with events, pictures, polls, interactivity, anything to keep your students coming back for more.

Blog – Your students will not read your blog. Oh, some might, but the vast majority will not. Who probably will read your blog is the parents in your ministry. If you have a blog, center it around reaching your parents. Give a yearly and monthly calendar. List your upcoming lessons. Tell victory stories from your ministry in the past week. Give your parents links to useful parenting info. Give a review of what went on at your youth group this past week. Load up forms to download.  Parents will love this stuff, and they can never say, “I didn’t know!”

Email – Email is dead. Ok, not completely, but I haven’t emailed a student in 5 years. Email is just not something that teens use anymore. You might use this to communicate with parents, but even then I don’t know how effective it is.

Instant Messenger – Instant Messenger is still used by students, but I don’t know how much of a tool it can be for communicating with students. When I first got into ministry, I would IM students for several hours a week, and was able to really minister because they were more apt to open up when all they were looking at was a screen name. In the past few years, though, its been passed up by other forms of communication (I realize Facebook has its own chat feature which teens use, but I consider that a part of facebook). My suggestion for IM is to have an account that all your students know about, always have it up in case a student needs to talk, but don’t initiate conversations unless you have a burning reason to do so.

Twitter – I know one teen who has a twitter account, and the only reason he has that is because he is aiming for the 2036 presidential race (no joke). Twitter’s value to the youth minister is in a)networking and b)keeping parents in the loop. I have heard of YMs using Twitter to keep parents up to date on camp, mission trips, or youth group activities. You might find a teen who uses Twitter, but I would guess its rare.

Phone call – Yes, I can use that thing in my pocket for phone calls as well! Phone calls have seemed to fall out of favor but I believe an occasional phone call to a student communicates that you care. You might not have much more than a 30 second conversation where the longest word they say is, “Uh-huh” but it does mean a lot to them.

Podcast – I have not used this personally nor have I seen it in action, but I think that the podcast could be an untapped resource. Most students have ipods that they can download stuff from iTunes. Make the message from the past week available, or provide 5-10 minute devotionals to download. Be creative, maybe even ask your students what they would like.

Youtube Video – Your teens use YouTube, guaranteed. You can use that by loading up announcement videos, picture slide shows or videos from recent activities, or creative videos from your students. Set up a channel for your ministry. Be sure to link the videos on your facebook page.

Smartphone App – This one is probably outside of your technical expertise but as the use of smart phones continues to grow, there will likely come a time when you can create an app as easily as you create a wordpress blog now. I mention this only because its an area of the “future” that will become more and more vital for us to stake a claim to, even if now its not a viable option.

How do you use technology to communicate with students?