Discipling towards a better culture of smart phone use
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Smart phones are a pocket-sized gateway into a vast world of incredible opportunity. With an eye-watering array of specialised apps and social media platforms only a touch away, smart phones have been radically re-shaping the social landscape of our world since their release in the mid 2000’s.
The prominence of the smart phone, however, means that today’s Christian teenager is faced with the challenge of not only figuring out how to use their phones in a way that honours God and loves their neighbour— they’ve got to do this while navigating a social landscape created by algorithms designed to influence their worldview and shape their values. That’s a hard ask of a group of people whose brain has not yet fully developed the systems that help exercise logic, wise discernment and self-control!
As youth leaders, our calling is to teach and model to young people how to navigate life as a disciple of Jesus— and now this includes discipling them toward a better culture of smart phone use.
Youth leaders have employed various tactics to deal with their frustration with bad phone use at youth group. From enforcing a no-phone policy to collecting phones in a bucket as youth group starts or the phone pouch where kids choose to hand over their phones for the night. At the other end of the spectrum, some have tried embracing phones to read the scripture on the bible app, or even use them to engage with young people through Kahoot and the like.
Simply ignoring the fact that young people and smart phones usually go hand-in-hand , or just hoping that they will somehow intuitively use their phones well, will probably end in frustration. We must ask ourselves, ‘how can we thoughtfully and intentionally disciple young people towards a better culture of smart phone use?’
Gospel-driven discipleship
One issue that often comes up in discipling young people (and let’s face it, it’s an issue for ALL of us) is a lack of self-control. When it comes to using smart phones, self-control is something that many people struggle with. When discipling someone through a lack of self-control it may sometimes be necessary to help them set up restrictive boundaries to break unhelpful patterns. But when our discipleship starts and stops at prohibition, although it might feel like we’re doing something constructive, the reality is that we’re not really addressing the heart of the issue. What young people actually need is, of course, the good news of Jesus.
They need the transformative gospel of Jesus prayerfully proclaimed and applied into their lives, to address their sin and point them towards the ongoing forgiveness, grace and mercy enabled through Christs’ atoning death. They need their hearts to be set on a greater vision of living for Jesus in everything because of what he has done for us.
As young people grow into self-sufficient Christian adults who live in this world, they need more than prohibition of things that may be misused— they need to be equipped to navigate life as disciples who make decisions about what they do which are driven by deep appreciation of the Gospel. This is what happens through intentional, gospel-driven discipleship.
Partnering with Parents in Discipleship
Since parents play the primary role in the discipleship of their children, youth group leaders who want to be intentional ought to be proactive about partnering with their parents. We must ask ourselves questions such as:
how do we promote the role of parents as primarily responsible for the discipleship of their teenage children when it comes to using phones?;
how do we communicate clearly with parents about our aims and expectations regarding their children having phones at youth group?; and
are there avenues through which parents can contribute to or comment on our approach to phones?
Being an Influencer
But along with partnering with parents, youth leaders have a huge amount of relational credibility with young people, which positions them well to be significant role-models to young people of what active faith in God’s word looks like in practise. Youth leaders are key influencers and contributors to the culture of a youth ministry. What we say and do has a big impact!
In light of this, youth leadership teams should think through the following together:
what boundaries regarding phone use at youth group are helpful to maintain?; [i]
how do we communicate the boundaries around phones to the youth?;
how will we intentionally keep the area of phone use on the agenda as we teach and apply Gods word at church / youth group?;
how do we keep phone use as a part of the discussion in small group time?;
how can leaders be active and intentional in being role models of good phone use as a disciple of Christ?;
are there some guidelines that leaders can agree upon and follow regarding their own phone use, especially at church / youth group?; and
when someone misuses their phone, how will we ensure that we respond in a gospel-driven way which helps them set their hearts on a greater vision of living for Jesus in everything because of what he has done for us?
Promoting a better culture of phone use amongst the young people in your church might at times prove a tricky issue to navigate, but it’s a pursuit well worth undertaking for the long-term impact it can have on our teenagers. A little intentionality here and now will help set them up to make good decisions about phone usage into their adult lives.
What will be the first step your youth leadership team takes to promote a better culture of phone use amongst the youth at your church?
[i] Some boundaries around phone usage, social media and electronic communication in youth ministry must be dictated by safe ministry standards. (if you are unclear about these rules / guidelines read the Faithfulness in Service document produced by the Sydney Anglican Diocese)
