{"id":32038,"date":"2020-12-10T13:30:05","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T18:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thinkorange.com\/how-to-go-back-to-digital-ministry\/"},"modified":"2024-04-03T14:43:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T18:43:51","slug":"how-to-go-back-to-digital-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkorange.com\/blog\/how-to-go-back-to-digital-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"Going Back To Online Youth Ministry?"},"content":{"rendered":"

To be honest, this probably won\u2019t be the last time you\u2019ll need to\u2014please don\u2019t say it\u2014<\/span>pivot<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

As you approach the thought or reality of doing digital ministry yet again, <\/span>we’re going to guess that like us\u2014you’re <\/span>probably<\/span> not<\/span><\/i> super-excited about it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, Brett called up Charlie, Candice, Ashley, Crystal, and Leslie from the Orange Students team to talk about some <\/span>new<\/b> ways we can all tailor our content to help students develop a personal faith through digital ministry this winter. As we talked through the daunting idea of more months of digital ministry\u2014here\u2019s what we learned.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Change Up Your Format<\/b><\/h2>\n

You\u2019ve probably noticed how difficult it is to get kids to stay engaged through a 15-minute or longer online session. There are a few things you can do differently this time around that will keep your program fresh and students engaged.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vary Your Content Length<\/b><\/p>\n

There\u2019s more reason now than ever before to vary your content length. We came out of a world where we sat for an hour, or we did something for an hour, or for 30 minutes. But in the digital world where our students are, you can consume content as short as 10 seconds, 15 seconds, and on up.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What used to be a 15-minute talk can now be broken into smaller sections. Watch two minutes, discuss a question. Watch another two minutes, discuss a question. Or\u2014<\/span>just<\/b> provide a two-minute teaching to discuss in groups!<\/span><\/p>\n

Vary Your Content Frequency<\/b><\/p>\n

Your students are digital natives. They\u2019re in this space <\/span>all the time<\/b> with <\/span>all the options<\/b>\u2014what they watch, when they watch, how long they watch.<\/span><\/p>\n

As youth leaders, we can accidentally be pretty restrictive: Meet me here at this time, for this long, doing this thing. Maybe more than ever there\u2019s opportunity for us to vary the types of content we create, and the length of content we create for our students.<\/span><\/p>\n

With Digital Ministry: Think Daily, Not Weekly<\/b><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t just show up once a week. Coach your small group leaders to show up more than once a week too. You\u2019ll build trust when you show up digitally throughout the week. Instead of restricting your opportunities for engagement with students to one time and one place, create a range of opportunities for a student to engage with your ministry throughout the week. You\u2019ll build trust when you repeatedly show up outside of \u201cregularly scheduled programming.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Questions to Ask Yourself About Digital Ministry<\/b><\/p>\n

Ask yourself these questions as you think about how to reach students in the digital space:<\/span><\/p>\n