Youth Group vs. Youth Ministry

[This post is part of the Youth Ministry 101 series]

If you are involved in youth ministry for any period of time, you are likely to hear the gathering of teenagers referred to as the youth group.  In literal terms, I suppose the term is accurate; there is a group of youth that have gathered together and grow together.  While the terminology may be accurate in definition, some of the implications that come along with it are opposed to the goal of not only youth minsitry, but the Christian faith.

Youth Groups Exist for the Sake of Themselves

When you hear the term "youth group," what is it saying about those who have gathered?  A youth group is a group of teenagers gathered for the sake of the group.  A youth group is a great place to hang out and stay out of trouble; it's a great alternative to hanging out with other groups of teenagers on a friday night.  A youth group exists for the sake of those inside of the group.  It's a group of friends and leaders that exist for each other's sake.  It may even be a valuable faith growth experience as they study the Bible, but the primary function of the group is not about looking outside of themselves.

Youth Ministry Exists for the Sake of Others

On the other hand when you hear the term "youth ministry," a different word sticks out.  A youth ministry exists for the sake of ministering to teenagers.  This can be ministering to a group of teenagers that have gathered as a part of a weekly program, but it is also in existence for the sake of those who have not yet stepped foot into the church.  A youth ministry shepherds those on the inside, while challenging and empowering them to continually live on mission to those on the outside.  A youth ministry should proudly shepherd the flock that it's been given, but it must also continually seek to look outside of themselves as they minister to all people.

What do you see as some of the dangers of being a "youth group" over a "youth ministry"?

Photo Credit: erinaudreychiu

4 Ways to Use Google Voice In Youth Ministry

Google Voice is an incredible, free tool that Google has created.  One of my favorite features that is built into Google Voice is text messaging; once you have a google voice number set up you can use it for text messaging.  We have utilized this in our youth ministry as a great tool for sending out mass text messages.  Google Voice does not have mass texting as a built in feature, but there are some work arounds that can let you capitalize on this possibility.  As we've been using Google Voice, I've had a few ideas of ways that we can make use of this technology for our student ministry.

4 Ways To Utilize Google Voice:

1. Alerts/Announcements

Do you have announcements or reminders that you want to send out to a large group of students?  Text messaging can be a great way to do that.  Of course, students should have to sign up so you aren't just spamming their phone's inbox, but texting could be a great way to get the word out about an upcoming event or program.

2. Prayer Requests

If you set up Google Voice to work with your e-mail, any text message that is sent to your Google Voice number will also be e-mailed to you.  Share this number with the youth group and let them know that if anyone has prayer requests to text them in and you will be praying for them.  It's an easy way for students to be asking for prayer and for you to potentially share those requests with other people.

3. Bible Reading Campaign

We are currently in the middle of utilizing Google Voice for this.  We had students sign up if they wanted to be reminded daily of a Bible reading that as a ministry we are going to be doing.  Each day around 3:00pm a mass text is sent out to anyone who has signed up and gives them a section of scripture to read and something to think about.

4. A place to save prank calls

Inevitably part of youth ministry is prank calls.  If your kids don't know your actual phone number, you could easily give them this one instead and have their messages saved in the Google Voice database.  Plus if Google Voice is saving it, you're not waking up in the middle of the night to hear it.