Do you remember 2020? What a year! It gets a bad rap, doesn’t it? While the world as we know it may never be the same again as a result of the damage of everything related to the pandemic, 2020 wasn’t equally as bad for everyone. For us in our church, and in our student ministry especially, we had a great year.
Through the pandemic we saw several students accept Jesus Christ as their Lord in our high school ministry. For most of those that were saved, it happened after the “shutdown.” I am so thankful that our state (Georgia) remained open during the pandemic and that we were able to meet together as a church and youth ministry most of the time.
Ministering Through Screens
I believe the greatest change that churches and youth ministries saw during the pandemic was a rapid uptick in internet usage — therefore the necessity of staring at screens — from phones, TVs, or PCs.
Although I am a techy person, and the students of today are switched-on, heavy mobile users, that doesn’t mean it is easy to reach people online or through screens and technology. I am convinced that online ministry is one of the worst ways to stay in contact with consistent groups of people, like the church or youth ministry. Although we have the technology to stream and group chat readily available (even your grandma can use it), its effectiveness continues to wane for long term use.
At the beginning of the pandemic shutdown, we set up three opportunities a week to engage students on their devices - figuring that they had no other Christian contact and were only left with the wiles of the internet. We wanted to be present in their lives right where they were: on their phones! At first, I think it was well received and the timing was right.
Praise God, as we had many people tune into our Wednesday night livestream and engage with us in the live chat. But over time, our audience began to dwindle away, and we began to lose them — even within three to four weeks.
Posting Content On Screens
While it makes sense to say that our students and congregations are already on their devices — we want to reach them where they are — it is also a place of great distraction and mixed messages. At a time (during the pandemic) when everyone, including school and work, is using the internet for EVERYTHING, even good “content” becomes static. We have so much information in today’s world, that even having good content isn’t enough to interest people. Both students and adults have a limited attention span, and are not likely to engage with your message just because it is YOU or it is GOOD. It is just simply lost in the sea of other digital things.
Ministering God’s word through the internet is certainly a fine thing to do, especially in today’s post-pandemic world. However, that doesn’t make the internet the BEST way to convey the message of the gospel. Yes, God can use our messages and content to reach others online — one of my frequent prayers is Ecclesiastes 11:1 — but we also need to get it to the places where people WANT it, and not “cast our pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6).
Now, being in my fourth year of student ministry, and having ministered during a shutdown and pandemic, I would NOT recommend focusing much effort on getting entire sermons into ‘feeds’, where people are scrolling through content without being emotionally or spiritually affected by it. Social media and feeds are perhaps better served as bite-size platforms to deliver short, encouraging thoughts that God’s Spirit can hopefully use to affect people’s hearts.
The average user scrolling through Instagram or Facebook isn’t likely to stop and pay close attention to a 30-minute Bible lecture. It is simply the wrong platform for that kind of information. Snippets, clips, verses, etc. are of great value, but we must be aware of our audience and their viewing habits, expecting the reasonable, which is only a few moments per post, maybe a share at best.
Losing Touch Through Screens
Although people today are more connected than ever before in history, we are also more isolated, disconnected, depressed, and anxious. That is because we have replaced REAL interactions with DIGITAL ones that are totally incapable of giving us meaningful and fulfilling relationships.
We cannot expect that ministering through screens is a replacement for church or Christian relationships as it is simply lacking. The experiences that come through in-person relationships are irreplaceable. This is why our local church does not allow discipleship relationships to happen exclusively over Zoom calls. We must meet together and be involved in each other's lives to truly do discipleship well. That is the example set to us by the apostle Paul, who always had another with him (as evidenced in his own words at the introduction of his epistles), as well as the life of Jesus Christ, who lived amongst His disciples for three and a half years.
The Mission Never Changes
I don’t know that there is an exact way to minister during a pandemic, as we must consider the specific and unique local culture that we are in, as well as our gifts and abilities (not everyone is tech-savvy). There is, however, a guide that we can use for ANY ministry that is part of the local church, to keep us focused: the MISSION. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding us, whether they are health related or political, God’s mission to reach the world and save souls never changes. We are a part of that mission, therefore our main goals and objectives in ministry stay the same, even in uncertain times.
The Bible calls Christians to reach the world with the gospel (Matt 28:19-20). It doesn’t matter how digital or safe we make our ministries; they must be first based on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Can we share the gospel over the internet? Absolutely. Is it the best method for spreading the word? Probably not.
The Bible calls Christians to meet together for fellowship and growth (Heb 10:25, 1 Thess 5:11, Eph 4:11-16). One thing that screens and devices CANNOT do is get us together in person physically. We can listen to sermons and read devotionals online, but we are still called to fellowship together in person. It is God’s design and command that His people are to dwell together in unity.
The Only Constant Is Change
In less than four short years of student ministry, I have experienced a church split, change of senior pastor, and a global pandemic. So far, the only constant in ministry has been change! God has given me a great privilege and unforgettable experience of serving alongside other great men of God to tackle those difficulties together. I couldn’t imagine doing it without them or through a screen.
Check out this youth ministry focused episode of The Postscript Show
Thomas Harding is the student pastor at Oakland Heights Baptist Church in Cartersville, GA.