| TheSource4YM.com | |
 | Jonathan’s Resource Ezine |
Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
| In This Issue |
- Featured: The Source Provides Even More Free Resources at Your Fingertips
- Youth Culture Window: You Had Me at Hello-Capitalizing on Teenagers’ Preferences for Communication
- Planning Ahead: A Ready-made Super Bowl Party
| If you aren’t a subscriber of this EZINE and would like to subscribe – it’s free – just pop on www.TheSource4YM.com and sign up in the upper right hand corner. |
| Featured: The Source Provides Even More Free Resources at Your Fingertips |
When you jump on our new front page, take a peek at some of these brand new features that will be updated weekly such as:
- YOUTH CULTURE WINDOW: Our web site’s new front page design has introduced several fantastic new weekly resources. One of the most popular is that fancy little magnifying glass you see on the right side of the page, a weekly update known as Youth Culture Window. Each week that section (and new RSS feed) will give us a glimpse of youth culture today from our brand new YOUTH CULTURE WINDOW page. Check out this week’s article below about Teenagers’ Preferences for Communication or some of these other recent articles:
Cheaters Never Win and Winners Never Cheat. Yeah Right!
Academic cheating is the new norm for masses of studentsAll I Want for Christmas Is…
The most popular gift requests of teenagers this holiday seasonSome Folk Who Shouldn’t Poke
Exploring the PG-13 Rating for Facebook’s New SuperPoke! - OUTREACH RESOURCE OF THE WEEK: This section (and new RSS feed) will feature our weekly highlighted “outreach” resource that can be used to reach out to kids and point them to Jesus. Most of these resources use current topics and/or discussion starters to springboard conversation about relevant issues today. These conversations always point toward a relationship with Jesus and often provide an opportunity to share the Gospel. Many of these resources are new or favorite resources from our Movie Clip Discussions page, our Music Discussions page, or our Curriculum & Jumpstarters page. This week enjoy a brand new resource using a drama/skit to kick off discussion about the topic of “sin.”
- SPIRITUAL GROWTH RESOURCES OF THE WEEK: This section (and new RSS feed) will feature our weekly highlighted “spiritual growth” resource that can be used to help believers grow in their faith. Most of these resources use current topics and/or discussion starters to springboard conversation about relevant issues today. These conversations always provide teaching about how students can grow in their faith, living out the truth of the Gospel day to day. Many of these resources are new or favorite resources from our Movie Clip Discussions page, our Music Discussions page, or our Curriculum & Jumpstarters page. This week enjoy one of the great discussions from our Movie Clip Discussions page, using the movie The Bourne Identity to kick off a discussion about being made for “greater things.”
And those of you who are a little “techy”… take advantage of our new RSS Feeds: Our new RSS FEED page provides feeds for many of our continuously updated pages that other ministries and individuals might want to feature on their web pages.
www.TheSource4YM.com
| Youth Culture Window: You Had Me at Hello-Capitalizing on Teenagers’ Preferences for Communication |
Capitalizing on Teenagers’ Preferences for Communication
David R. Smith
Are you managing multiple IM accounts, a couple of online social networks, and several email addresses just so you can communicate with your teens? If your thumbs are one text message away from falling off, take hope, because teenagers still value old fashioned face-to-face conversations.
That’s right! According to research performed by the ever trustworthy Pew Internet and American Life Project, teenagers highly value communication that is had over the phone, or better yet, in person. Their findings reveal:
- 40% of teens talk to friends on a traditional land line phone every day. For all the youth pastors under the age of 25, that’s the phone with a cord attached to it.)
- 35% of teens talk to friends on a cell phone.
- 31% of teens talk to friends in person every day.
This is really good news for youth leaders who have to guess what’s behind their students’ generic Emoticon smiles.
But don’t think teenagers have written off the web. The same report offered this dose of digital reality:
- 73% of all teenagers (17 million strong!!!) use the Internet on a very regular basis.
- 55% of online teens say social networks (like Facebook and MySpace) are very important hangouts for keeping in touch, meeting new people, and making plans with friends.
- 14% of plugged-in teens use email for communication.
Despite the high numbers of teenagers using digital mediums for communication, a draw to older “analog” methods of conversation still exists. Teens’ attraction to voice-based communication might be partly due to the accuracy it offers. Emotions and tones are clearer in conversations that are actually spoken. Jokes are funnier if they are told, rather than read. “It’s simply richer than what you get on the Internet,” said Amanda Lenhart, senior researcher with Pew. This intangible-yet obvious-difference that Lenhart notes as “richer” is what youth pastors specialize in: the ministry of presence. When we are talking with students, especially face-to-face, they “have” our undivided attention for a moment in time. That sensation you impart is incredibly valuable.
I always tried to have face-to-face conversations with students who are leaders in the ministry at least once every two weeks. In addition to that, I tried to call one student who is new, and/or a kid who hasn’t attended in a while. So many times, parents let me know what a HUGE blessing this was to their child.
It doesn’t take much to capitalize on these findings. Here are a few ways you can take advantage of teenagers’ communication preferences. Think about what you want to say, and then…
- Call a student during a drive. Most of my phone calls are literally 4 minutes long. Short is NOT bad; it just doesn’t take long to leave a significant mark on a teenager’s heart. A simple, “I was thinking of you today so I thought I’d give you a call,” can mean so much to them.
- Call a student at home during the evening. It has been said that everyone likes to get a letter in the mail. As long as it’s not a telemarketer, teens feel the same way about phone calls. They love to get phone calls, especially from someone who is seeking them out.
- Visit students during their school lunch. This is my bread and butter! I check in at the front office, get my bright yellow “visitor” name tag, and I’m off to have face-to-face conversations with my students AND their friends! What’s really great is when the short lunch breaks run back to back. This allows me to converse with twice the number of students, in person!
There you have it. I’m not saying toss your laptop and cell phone off the side of the bridge; just don’t be guilty of grossly underestimating the power a simple conversation can have on the hearts of our teenagers. So, get out of the chat room, pop in a Tic Tac, and strike up a conversation with a teenager. That’s what they want!
YOUTH CULTURE WINDOW ARTICLES
| Planning Ahead: A Ready-made Super Bowl Party |
In the U.S., we are pretty fanatical about our Super Bowl. This televised event is a great excuse for social gatherings across the country so we like to encourage those of you in youth ministry to cash in on this great event opportunity.
Each year we provide a “ready-made” Super Bowl event idea that you can use during this time. It’s this simple:
- Plan a Super Bowl Party with food, fun and giveaways
- On February 3rd, host the party at a place with a big TV
- Use our ready-made quiz (coming a couple weeks before the big game) that we provide as a fun “event activity”
Youth Groups have used this activity for years as a great event for fun and fellowship.
AND SUPER BOWL QUIZ
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Jonathan McKee
Jonathan McKee is the author of over twenty books including the brand new The Guy's Guide to FOUR BATTLES Every Young Man Must Face; The Teen’s Guide to Social Media & Mobile Devices; If I Had a Parenting Do Over; and the Amazon Best Seller - The Guy's Guide to God, Girls and the Phone in Your Pocket. He speaks to parents and leaders worldwide, all while providing free resources for youth workers on TheSource4YM.com. Jonathan, his wife Lori, and their three kids live in California.