I hereby declare the end of poor communications within your youth ministry. I’m here to confirm what you already suspect: kids don’t check their Email. To them, Email is old technology, only good for formal communications with teachers, bosses, and other adults.
For high schoolers, it’s all about texting and Facebook. Generally, kids prefer a text message to a phone call because rather than having to drop everything to answer it, they can reply when it’s convenient. Kids prefer this for their personal communications, as opposed to the formal communications I alluded to earlier. Consider which category allows for more effective ministry, and then add a texting package to you cell phone account.
The real communications goldmine is Facebook–not just because all your kids are on it, but because all the other kids in town are on it too. Some people have a real hang up about Facebook, and I think it’s because they don’t understand how it differs from chat rooms. Facebook isn’t about anonymity. You set up a profile which includes your name and your picture, and then you seek out your friends to share in an online experience. Most kids who get into trouble online are interacting with an anonymous somebody pretending to be somebody else in a chat room, but not on Facebook.
