Writing letters with an feathered ink pen used to be the way to communicate, but over the years it has dramatically developed into what we know today as the “internet.” The internet was one of the world’s best developments that played a major role in the way that we communicate with one another today. Instead of writing and mailing off a piece of paper to a loved one; which probably wouldn’t get there until a week later, we now have emailing, text, and the most popular; social media platforms.
In addition to social media, people have the ability to create websites that give specific information depending on the target audience. For youth ministers, the development of websites is crucial in the job of evangelizing more youth. This is important because it gives credibility to the ministry, provides more information about the ministry, and it shows what the ministry has to offer.
A recent study suggested that having a nice font that is legible along with an organized theme on the websites is what attracts the eyes of people. Imagine if you had a meeting for a new job, but you showed up in wrinkling clothes and flip flops. The chances are that people wouldn’t take you seriously. You may even get odd stares and whispers from your coworkers, which would be humiliating right? Well, the same applies to your presentation of the ministry. It is important to make sure that the layout, theme, font, colors are all coordinated and coherent, thus giving more credibility to your page. In an age where appearance matters, youth would be inclined to browse for more information because it seemed worthy for further review.
Now that the website has caught the attention of the target audience, it is important to include things that would answer their additional questions about the ministry. When youth are interested in knowing more about a topic, they will ask many questions. For the minister, they should be actively thinking about what youth are interested in and creating content related to that. This can include things such as, what large groups do they have and what events do they offer for youth to join. Anything that can answer how they can get involved is the key. When questions can be answered through your website then that means that you have done a great job.
Just as a little kid always asks their parents ‘why?,” this is the same question that a prospective student is asking. The parent has told the kid to not do things, without telling the reason to not do it. Instead of just throwing out a bunch of information it is important to let the audience know why they should join and be a part of the ministry. People want to know what is in it for them and what they will gain out of it. By providing them with an answer to the most asked question of all time means that you have successfully mastered the technique to evangelism well, at least for the time being.
Technology is still developing at a fast rate and has the potential to be something extremely different in the near future. That means that as the technology changes, youth ministers will also need to master new techniques to evangelism. It is all a trial and error, but making sure that you answer the most asked questions and provide opportunities to participate will surely put you closer to your goal of evangelizing more youth for your ministry.