As we navigate this time of social distancing, we have pulled together some helpful resources for youth leaders. If you have ideas or resouces that you are using in your church, please pass them along to Laura McLean so that they may be added here as well.
Youth leaders are invited to join in on a bi-weekly Zoom call on Wednesdays at 11:30 am. Our next Zoom will be July 1. This is a place to connect, check in and share ideas and resources. To join you may follow this link.
The Holston Conference Youth Ministry Facebook page and the Holston Conference Youth Leaders group on Facebook are other resources you may find helpful.
Sites that will continue to post articles and resources
Youth Worker Collective organized by Discipleship Ministries Young People's Ministries
Fuller Youth Institute
UM Youth Leaders
Youth Specialties
Perkins School of Youth Ministry webinars and other various resources
Safe Sanctuaries
Safe Sanctuaries during Online Meetings from Discipleship Ministries
Mental Health Resources
Youth Mental Health FAQ
Grief FAQ
Anxiety FAQ
Depression FAQ
Digital Depression
Ask a Therapist- Kelly Minter is a youth minister and therapist in Florida
Ideas for Digital Youth Group
Netflix Party tutorial video from Rev. Nathan Irwin, First UMC Maryville
Netflix Party with discussion questions from East Ohio Conference
Download Youth Ministry (DYM) tons of ideas to use in your virtual meetings. Also, you can get a free 60 subscription to their Gold Membership.
YM360 Articles, resources and a weekly online, interactive Bible study.
The Youth Cartel Games and resources
Zoom Youth Ministry Games
At Home Scavenger Hunt
Lectio Divina
Emoji Bible
Name That Voice
Quarantine Bingo From Jacob Ducote, Scenic South District
LeaderTreks virtual games for groups
Bible Study on Fear, Waiting and Disappointment from Motown Mission
Streaming Services and Resources- Thanks to the North Alabama Conference for compiling this list.
- Streaming Services:
- Facebook Live: Click here for instructions and tips.
- Instagram Live: Click here for instructions.
- YouTube Live: Click here for instructions.
- Communication & Collaboration Services:
- Facebook Groups: Groups are a place to communicate about shared interests with certain people. You can create a group for anything — your family reunion, your after-work sports team or your book club. Read more here.
- Zoom: Zoom is an online video conferencing app for either one-on-one or group video meetings. There is a free version, but there are limits (a 40-minute max duration). Read more here.
- Google: Google is offering its enterprise version to G Suite and G Suite for Education users, which includes access to advanced Duo & Meet video-conferencing capabilities like meetings for up to 250 participants and live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within the domain. Read more here.
- Microsoft: Microsoft is offering Teams for free. Teams is a collaboration tool with chat, video calling, personal and team file storage, and more. Read more here.
- Slack: Slack is a collaboration app with a free version, but they also offer webinars and one-on-one consultations to help you navigate your own transition to a remote workforce. Read more here.
- GroupMe: Think group texting but with access beyond a cell phone. GroupMe offers both browser and cellular technology for group messaging. This is a great tool for youth groups! Read more here.
- Trello: Trello is a free production management tool that you can use for communication and tracking different conversations and/or projects. Trello’s simple and flexible design lets your team collaborate and organize everything (literally, everything—from the day-to-day operations of your business to your next family vacation). Read more here.