Youth Ministry is all about relationships. The more effective you are about building and developing relationships with students, families, fellow staffers and leaders, the more effective you will be in your ministry.
While building relationships is the most important thing, the reality is that a Youth Minister needs to perform other essential tasks to help the actual ministry go. That is where apps come into the picture. When apps first came out there were a lot of games you can play to kill time. However, apps have evolved today and there are a number of them that can be very helpful for Youth Ministry leaders to perform essential tasks in there ministry.
Below is a list of essential apps Youth Ministers can use.
Essential Apps
Attendance App. This could be from your Church Database System or a program like MinHub Youth are great ways you can keep and track attendance. This is important as it provides a central place for you to track your attendance and know which students have not been in attendance in a while and those that are the faithful regulars.
Bible App. There are lots of Bible apps out there, but the most downloaded one is the YouVersion Bible App. In addition to the numerous translations they offer, there are thousands of Bible Studies and Devotionals you can do with your Youth Group. Whether you use them as a resource for a message or you start and Online Bible Study Group, there are a wide variety of topics and scripture you can use. It can also help you to personally grow spiritually.
Image Making App. These apps such as Canva, Photoshop Express and Wordswag are prefect for on the go social media image creation. The great thing about this is that you con't need to be a creative person to create creative images. They are great for promotions and get the word out to youth and their families.
Food Apps. You never know when you are going to meet up with a student or leader at Starbucks, Dunkin', Chick-Fil-A or any other restaurant. Having money on these apps are helpful but also storing up reward points on them is great too! This way you can always have money available to go out and meet up with others. And you can surprise people with gift cards through the apps as well.
Music App. Whether you prefer Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Google Music, Pandora or something else entirely, having an app on your phone or smart device is essential for youth ministry. It helps sets the mood for an event or activity you are doing. If you wanted to, you could download these songs or playlist to have available so you can use them at any location.
Text Messaging Service. Remind and Text-in-Church are two of the most widely used texting apps ministry leaders use. Remind is free while apps like Text-in-Church cost money. Even some Church Database systems offer texting from their platforms that you can use.
Note App. Youth Ministry Leaders are always learning and growing. For that, it's great to have an utilize a note app on their smartphone or smart device. Apps such as Evernote and Onenote are great. However, if you have an iPhone or iPad, the Notes app is really good as well. They are all very similar, it is just a matter of preference in determining which one is best.
Conclusion
Youth ministry leaders are very busy. Not only are they investing in a variety of different relationships, but they are running a program to help reach and disciples students and families for Christ. Utilizing these apps will help youth ministers stay organized and prepared for any and all situations they face.
What do you think? What are other apps youth ministry leaders can have in their toolbelt? Share your ideas below or on social media.
Through the Digital Church Network we are helping physical and digital churches better understand the discipleship process, and helping churches and church planters understand this and other decentralized mindset shifts. Joining the DCN is free and be encouraged!
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