As a youth pastor, the coronavirus pandemic is proving to make my job a bit more challenging. In the midst of students having everything they want to do cancelled, everything I want to do to gather them and encourage, empower and engage them is cancelled too!

If I can be a bit proud for a second, it’s moments like these (because there has never been anything like this in my lifetime) that my youth ministry tribe shines in the church. Youth ministry is all about figuring out the right mix of creativity and content that helps students take next steps and stay connected to each other and the God that unites and brings them all together. And this event is no different.

So many really incredible ideas have emerged and some inexpensive and creative ideas are emerging to connect with a generation when we can’t gather together. So, as we look to the next few weeks (in the States) and the idea of getting together continues to grow slim, I wanted to offer some of the best ideas that have emerged from the youth ministry tribe that could very easily prove useful for the church at-large. Obviously, if you have something in place, go with that.

Large & Medium Group Gatherings

Youtube & Youtube Live

This might be an easy answer for some churches because they already have streaming or video production in place. However, YouTube Live is a great solution for churches who want to be as accessible as possible to their congregation. It requires absolutely no sign-in to view and is on one of the most used social media platforms on the web. This video from Dave Adamson is incredible helpful for getting your church onto this platform and is worth your time. The beauty of YTLive is that it also has an interactive feature if people want to take that next step and engage that way.

Facebook Live

FB Live is another great resource for gathering the church together and interacting. Whether you do a full worship service together or even use it as an opportunity to engage your congregation throughout the week, when used to actually interact with your congregation, it can be incredibly powerful. This video is a great tool for getting yourself setup and using FB Live well.

A Comment about Streaming vs. Pre-Recorded

It is really easy for churches to want to jump to live-streaming right away because you want to be able to do it right away. It also seems like the thing that everyone is doing. However, streaming suggests a participation element to the service. So, if you aren’t prepared to think through that element, it can be less useful to go through the hassle of trying to stream services. Instead, pre-recorded allows you to stay inside your element and what you are capable of doing. Don’t buy that idea that streaming is superior just because many churches do it. Do what you are capable of and what you are more prepared to do.

Small Group Gatherings

This is a bit tricky. But I have a couple options that will hopefully help:

Google Hangouts - All this takes is a google account and a device (phone, tablet, or laptop) with video capabilities. You can access hangouts either via the downloadable app or by visiting hangouts.google.com. There are some limitations to the free versions of this, but if you have a small group that is less than 25 particpants than this is great. If you are a small group leader, this might be a great way to connect with your students/participants.

Zoom - I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty new to this one, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to love it. Zoom has a pretty robust FREE version that allows for up to 100 participants. This would allow your group to meet and participate without having to have an account (win!) they just need a link. If you opt for the paid versions (they have a couple different plans), you can coordinate different breakout rooms for each group up to 50 different rooms! This gives everyone in your group the opportunity to connect within their small groups in private rooms. Like I said, I am not nearly as experienced with this one, but love the idea of it and plan to utilize it this week!

Leverage Social Media!

I cannot begin to emphasize the kind of impact that social media is having on the dissemination of information in this event and the potential influence churches could have in the midst of that space. If there is anything that has been revealed in the last 12 years of conflicts, conspiracies, and cultural conversations its that people turn to social media in these times to get more information, faster. So press into that!

Push everything you create to Facebook throughout the week. Engage people with questions, requests for prayer, benevolence concerns, needs, and check-ins. Regular connection points, both planned and spontaneous, throughout the week that engages people and illicits response (not lecture) are huge in this space. Instagram is the same way but at times that are engaging to millennials and Gen-Z. Well, let’s be honest, everybody is pretty stuck in place, so hit em up at any time!

There are plenty of ways to use this obstacle as an opportunity to more deeply help the church, be the church. It takes a bit of an effort, but it’s really only different effort, not extra.

Let’s use this opportunity to be “be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”