The Oft-Overlooked Way to Get People to Talk About Your Lesson at Home

(Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash)

As children's ministry leaders, we are constantly trying to find ways to spark faith conversations between children and their parents during the week.

Some of the current methods are:

take-home papers.
apps.
websites.
social media platforms.

But we may be overlooking the most effective way to extend the lesson.

A new U.S. study by Pearson has found that 60 percent of Gen Z kids prefer YouTube for learning over printed materials. More specifically, they prefer YouTube over the take-home papers we give them.

Here's something else to consider. Most kids and families are not going to go to another website to engage in conversation. But they will engage with a website/platform that they already go to daily.

Let's talk about YouTube. Why should you use YouTube to extend your lessons? Because that is where Gen Z is. Forty-seven percent of Gen Z spends three-plus hours each day on YouTube. Fifty-five percent say YouTube has contributed to their education and development. The company is the most popular brand among kids ages 6 to 12.

What if you created a short video (2-3 minutes) each week about the lesson? It doesn't have to be a major production. Just grab your phone and shoot it. Promote the video to the families in your ministry and provide them with a link. Emphasize that it is on YouTube. You can create a channel if you want to archive the videos from previous lessons.

When it comes to making disciples, God tells us to go to them rather than waiting for them to come to us. Look at Matthew 28:19-20.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen" (Matt. 28:19-20).

You can live this out by going to where kids and families are, YouTube, and helping them deepen their faith by initiating parent and child conversations that are sparked by your videos.

Our message doesn't change. The command to go and make disciples doesn't change. But how we go and make disciples must change to be relevant to the culture that we are ministering in. If we can grasp this and live it out, maybe we'll stop seeing take-home papers on the ground after service is dismissed. Maybe, just maybe, we can see kids and parents engaging in faith conversations at home as a result of watching a short video that sparks the conversation.

Your turn. The floor is yours. Are you using YouTube to extend the lesson into the home? If so, put the link in the comment section below, so we can check it out. What other ideas do you have to extend the lesson to weekdays? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

Dale Hudson has been in children's ministry for over 27 years. He is the director of children's ministry at Christ Fellowship Church in South Florida. Christ Fellowship has nine campuses and ministers to over 25,000 people on weekends. Dale leads a children's ministry staff team of over 70 and a volunteer team of over 2,600. He has authored 100 Best Ideas to Turbocharge Your Children's Ministry, 100 Best Ideas to Turbocharge Your Preschool Ministry, Children's Ministry in the 21st Century, Sunday School That Works, the churchleaders.com Top 100 book, and If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry. You can find more of his helpful resources at relevantchildrensministry.com or buildingchildrensministry.com.

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