Many of the fundamentals of what we believe haven’t changed since Jesus walked the planet. Though the world we live in today looks nothing like first century Palestine. Recently I read this article on Linkedin about Microsoft buying up Nokia and it got me thinking.

When I was starting out in youth ministry, phones were a new thing. Young people didn’t have them yet unless they were that really bling kid with cashed up helicopter parents. Every youth leader was getting one however and the vast majority were an indestructible Nokia “brick”. The phones best feature, that you could play snake.

Of course we didn’t call them bricks back then. They were new and smaller than the previous model. In fact comparing then to now it’s amazing that we wanted smaller phones with each new model while today we want a bigger phone. Its as if the world is constantly changing and as the article states, if you didn’t change with it (like Nokia) you were left behind.

Nokia had a phone in everyones pocket yet many young people today have even heard of the company. As the market changed and web browsing and apps became popular, Nokia was too slow to adapt to the changes in the market and they quickly vanished from the spotlight and public view.

This is something that happens in business year in year out. The biggest companies of yesteryear come and go. Their practices important one day, forgotten the next. Sometimes even the good things go with them.

For us as Youth Ministers, we are seeking to engage young people emerged in a climate and culture remarkably different to the young people we sought in the past, however their needs and hungers are still very much the same.

Our message doesn’t need to change but the way we communicate does. Not just to be relevant but to be heard.

QUESTION: What are some ways we can increase our awareness to changes in the ministryscape?