Two Don’t-Miss YM Resources
I read a recent post from Joshua Griffin with a ton of cool resources online. It took me a while to work through them all, but I worked them down to two outstanding favorites that I think every youth pastor could get a lot out of:
- Simply TXT: Send individual or group text messages to your students, parents, or volunteers. This tool seriously blew me away. I’ve been dreaming about being able to create groups and send text messages on the fly, like I do with email now, but I had never seen something that could actually do it. Simply TXT lets you build groups and send messages whenever you like–you can even schedule them in advance–and the pricing is pretty reasonable.
- Poll Everywhere: Create polls and free response questions your students respond to via text message. Results are updated live and can be displayed right on the screen. Another tool I was honestly thinking, “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” before I heard about it. Pricing is also very reasonable with a free option for audiences under 30 people.
Thanks for the heads up Josh!
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You bet, man! JG
Nate, no way! You talk with Josh griffin?? I listen to the Simply Youth Ministry pod cast. Doug and friends are like celebrities to me :) That’s really cool.
I’m down to eight weeks left of student teaching than I will be a REAL teacher. Hopefully I start a job in January :) Lord willing.
So, what’s your ministry now?? Looks like you’re still working with/for youth pastors :)
~Ashley
Ashley! Well I don’t exactly talk with Josh Griffin… but I do see him online occasionally ;)
Great to hear from you! Yeah we’re actually launching a whole new site here soon… it’s going to be awesome, Lord willing. Congrats on finishing school soon. Can’t wait to hear your real teaching stories.
I love Twitter for text message updates. We set up a Twitter account for our student ministry (http://twitter.com/switchstudents) and we tell the students how to “Follow” us from their cell phones. That way whenever I post an update it get sent to their phones.
It’s simple and it’s totally free.
And, because it’s web-based, you get a Profile page. Parents who may be less technically-inclined (or who just don’t want me texting them) can pull up the profile page online and see the past 25 updates instantly.
Just a thought/tip!
Lex, real great idea! Didn’t think of that one. Thanks for posting!
we use polleverywhere and the students love it. They practically text in their sleep and when you ask them to actually pull out their phone and text in church they they get all into it. Watching the stats pill up as students text is cool and builds anticipation. The students seem to begin cheering for their answer to win. Great fun and incredible way to get feedback immediately.
That’s great–thanks for sharing Matt!! Are there other ways you’ve been able to use texting with your students?