This is 9 of 10 from our series. This post will focus on media, the great things it does for our youth group, and some tips and tricks that I have used. This may be meant more for a group as it gets bigger, but when it comes to media, it is essential to look ahead and plan ahead in order to stay current. Here are some random tips.
Why It’s Important
Our youth live in a culture where things shout at them from all different angles. I have found three things to be successful in my thinking about media with youth group. They need something to catch their attention, they need to be able to make it their choice to learn more, and they will ignore anything that they think is going to require too much of them. This is not true for some, but when I use ideas that follow these understandings, my work with media in all areas seems to work. It is the ROI in youth ministry. We are responsible for being another one of those voices that is trying to pull them a certain direction and we want to win. How do we do that? Subtly and Humbly.
There are two aspects of media I’m going to talk about. The media that is used to get kids to youth group and the media used while kids are at youth group.
Getting Kids To Youth Group
I have to say, our website is key to informing kids of the opportunities available to them. Do I ever advertise the website? A little. I put the web address as part of my signature in emails and on promo videos. But I spend most of my time setting up links on networking sites that lead them to the web site. Recently, I made a discussion on our website that showed a YouTube video of a youth minister that acted like the staff on the T.V. the office. I titled it something like “What does your youth minister really do during the day?” The post had nothing to do with any of our programs but answered a common question that the kids have….well not really. I went to Facebook and put the question in our status with a link that said “Find out here” and it let to our web site with an embedded YouTube video. After the kids watch the video, they discuss it, and end up browsing around the site.
Promo Videos
This a great way to get the word out there. Have a big event, take tons of pictures and videos, and put together a 3 minute video of what happened. Have current music that gets the kids excited and include the web address for your site of Facebook page at the end of it. Here an example of one we did using Windows Movie Maker.
There are tons of ways to make a video for free or very cheap. To be blunt, it is a little time consuming and the first time will probably be a major headache, but get the hang of it and use it often.
You can easily start your own youth group channel on YouTube and upload your videos online. I would recommend using programs like muvee Revealor Pinnacle Studio for a cheaper software program that works great.
Kids spend way too much time on the internet and we have little control over it. Use it to your advantage and at least give them good positive content to view and get excited about.
A Projector, Screen, and Sound are essential
Once your group gets to decent size these are three things you should be looking for. It is essential to have screen that 20-50 kids can easily see and hear for when you want to use media during youth group. We probably show at least one short video clip every week we have a lesson at youth group. It breaks things up and give them a very strong visual. If your parish does not have one, work to get one. The kids want to be entertained and when games get old, they will be glad they have media in their lessons also. Not to mention there are tons of games that can be played on a big screen. Get a Wii and go crazy!
Showing YouTube on the big screen.
There are several subscriptions you can buy that give you great themed video clips. BlufishTV, CVLI, and MovieShare are just a few. These are great, but are usually pretty expensive, and expire after a year. I probably use YouTube and Tangle at least a couple of times a month to get video clips. It is free and fairly easy to implement.
But how do you show YouTube on the big screen? There are many options, but I use a program called Save2pc. I believe I paid $20 for it, but it has been one of the best investments I have made. It basically makes it possible to save online videos to your computer. I use it and then play my videos through iTunes. Our goal is to buy a program like MediaShout in the future, but iTunes works great for now. If you just Google ‘save youtube videos’ you will find lots of options. Save2Pc is reliable though and there are many bad ones out there.
If you are saving these videos to your computer, it also allows you to be able to use them at another time without having to search for them and most of all, not needing the internet.
Sound System
If you do not have a room that has sound included in it. Throw away the tape player and the little boom box. Get something with some Umpph. Anything that comes across as the youth minister ‘trying to be cool’ just turns kids away. It gives them something to laugh about later that will only bring a negative impact on their attendance. Provide the kids with the best you can and think big. You can buy great little sound system that can easily be used with an iPod or computer that will blow your kids away. Again, they have come to be entertained. Adding loud music to a crazy game, makes it an extremely crazy game. A good sound system will make a video clip 10x more worth showing when it envelops the kids.
Look for Talent
The generation that is coming up is going to be incredibly computer savvy. Take advantage of it. Let them play around. If it isn’t that great the first time around, do not worry about it. Show it off and encourage them, give them ideas, and challenge them. You should have seen my first web page!
Media is something that will jumpstart your lessons and bring them to a whole new level. The kids become interested in what you are saying and become involved in the process. Get them involved in implementing the media and you will soon have a program with structure that entertains and leaves kids wanting more.
So what do you do when you feel like you have so many kids that you can no longer keep track. Get some help! Check out our last post on working with an adult team!
