Teaching & Social
Networking
Youth Ministry & Technology Study
52 youth pastors
90% in charge of middle school & high school
Average age: 31
Average years in ministry: 8
Use of Technology
Second Life
Podcasts created by students
Podcasts of sermons
Online video of youth events
Photo Sharing
Youth Ministry Websites
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Use of Technology
Twitter Announcements
Text encouragements
E-mail encouragements
Text Messaged Announcements
Facebook Invitations
E-mail announcements
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Use of Technology
Online Gaming as a group
Video Game Parties
Group Myspace Page
Personal Myspace page
Parent Facebook page or group
Facebook posts on student sites
Group Facebook page
Personal Facebook Page
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Use of Technology
IM chats
Facebook chats
Online chats
Videos posted to Godtube
Video posted to Youtube
Student produced videos
Staff produced videos
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Web 1.0 vs.
Web 2.0
A New Approach
Web 1.0
Static Not easily updated
Text-based
One-way
Created by experts
Web 2.0
Fluid
Multi-media
Interactive
Consumer-producers
Web 1.0 vs Web 2.0 My website
Traditional newspapers & search engines
A leader-centered Bible study
Powerpoint
Staff-created
Program-centered
Center for Parent/Youth Understanding
Flickr, Youtube, Blogs
An interactive Bible study
Videos
Student collaborated
Social interaction/ relationship centered
EPIC
Experiential
Participatory
Image-based
Communal
John S Miller
Websites42% of youth pastors are dissatisfied
with their website60% are not able to update the website at least once a week
Content Analysis
Pictures
Video
Blog
Podcast
Forums
Parent section
No site
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
342 Websites
Percentage
WebsitesAccording to youth pastors:
What works well: Forms, information sharing, and calendar
Things they would like to change: No one uses it
The person who updates it
The overall look (more interactive, more pictures, less ‘80’s, separate from the main site)
WebsitesExamples:
Web 1.0:
GracePoint
Web 2.0:
First Baptist Church of Geneva
Huron Hills
1st Baptist Church of Manistee
Woodcrest
WebsitesWhat students say…
What makes a good website? Easy to navigate (tabs clearly defined)
Clear contact information (pictures help)
Pictures (not stock photos)
What are signs of a bad website? Spelling errors
No links (not even Facebook)
Over stimulating (flash taking forever to load)
No context (needs a “who are we” statement—not just pictures)
Weird ministry names (no info like “6-8th grades)
Incorrect contact information ([email protected])
Websites What do you think?
What do you use your website for?
What works?
Is it worth it?
Text Messaging
Text Messaging 81% of surveyed youth pastors felt
comfortable with the technology
63% regularly initiate texts with students
65% have students who regularly text them
75% feel it is an excellent ministry tool
Most text just a small group of students
Text MessagingGood things:
Openness of students Students ask good questions
Students volunteer more information
Coordinating & advertising
Sense of contact Prayer requests
Birthdays
Bible passages
Good luck in a athletic event
Any other ideas?
Text Messaging Challenges
Miscommunication
Boundaries
Shallow
Too much stuff!
Students text during school
Advice about texting Get a text-savvy phone
Talk to parents (make sure student has text plan)
Let youth make 1st contact
Don’t overdo it
Keep hard conversations f2f
Technology Ideas Facebook
Personal page vs. group page
Photo sharing
Easy access
Learning what is going on with kids
Good conversations
Blogs
Have students & volunteers sign up
Needs to be kept up—2-3 per week
Technology Ideas Hi-tech connections
E-mail works with parents (not students) Have the chat turned on during work Use software for mass text messages Student produced podcasts
“Bad visuals are worse than no visuals” Webstarts.com animoto.com Zamzar.com (reformat youtube videos) Nooma, Youtube videos Videos made together Video game parties
Technology“Technology can burn and waste valuable time. Keep it simple and use it sparingly. Kids don't need flashiness; they need an adult who models Christ! If they do not have this, all the cool technology is just
more noise in a noisy world.”
Discussion What does Ministry 2.0 look like in your
group?
What have you found works well?
What frustrations do you have with technology?
What are some of the tensions with using technology in ministry?