Fun Ways Churches Can Connect With The Youth
The COVID pandemic has impacted everyone’s world. Let’s consider for a moment how different life must be for the youth. They don’t have the length of life and breadth of experiences to balance out the new normal(s). Their world has become mostly: contactless; fearful; and screens/Screens/SCREENS. Contrast this with a recent Barna survey that indicated 53% of youth feel badly about spending too much time on screens. Clearly the challenges of reaching the youth have increased.
So, how can the church disciple the youth in ways that are engaging, educational, inspiring, and life-changing? Truth Teaching Ministries (TTM) offers some ideas that can help. TTM has reviewed eight products that can be used to engage the youth. These products were assessed per the following categories:
- Biblical compatibility
- Age appropriate
- Ease of use and implementation
- Fun and engaging
- Learning oriented
- Online or in-person proximity
TTM has selected our top picks for remote interaction, in-home family interaction, and a gift for an individual child (self-engagement). Download the charts for details.
One discovery is that TTM was not able to find a single online Christian, multiplayer product that allows a Youth Leader to engage multiple young people remotely and all at once. Some of the products reviewed in this article may be adapted for an online experience. This is likely a market opportunity for some aspiring game developer/entrepreneur.
SUMMARY:
- Our top choice for remote interactions is: “101 Great Games for Kids”
- Our top choice for in-home family interactions is: “Bibleopoly”
- Our top choice for an individual child’s gift is: “101 Awesome Bible Puzzles”
These products can help the church go pass providing a talking head on SCREENS, pass teleconferences, pass ineffective, boring, hit-and-miss engagements. Special thanks to Doval Watson II for helping to lead this assessment effort. Finally, all the products reviewed in this survey may be purchased on Amazon.com. May they provide you alternative ways of effectively reaching the youth.