At Missionlab, we believe your job as a youth minister is an extremely important one.

You provide fun, advice, counsel, and support to kids and youth at completely different points in their lives. You’re an example of honesty, integrity, faith, and humility.

It’s a complex position that’s rewarding, at times challenging, and it fosters amazing growth in yourself and your community.

So, how can you make the job easier?

Technology is offering it’s helping hand everywhere — and it’s even showing up in the church. It can help you navigate the many responsibilities of being a youth minister with efficiency and impact.

Check out the following three youth ministry apps for better organization, smarter operation, and overall smoother experiences.

1. Grow

Grow is a fantastic new app with many facets to aid in being a successful youth minister.

It allows you to make and manage Groups, where you can communicate seamlessly with your staff, kids, their parents, and more. It has an attendance feature that lets kids check-in at the beginning of programs and weekly gatherings.

It also has a curriculum aspect that discusses scripture and thought-provoking questions to accompany the lessons.

And lastly, it’s packed with hundreds of Icebreakers — perfect for get-to-know-you sessions when traveling to and from events, the start of new programs, and more.

2. Encounter Outreach

Are you looking for new and better ways to reach the people in your community and track their (and your) spiritual progress?

This app is a free mapping tool that does exactly that.

It effectively “mobilizes the Church,” allowing for the Word to be heard across any distance, any neighborhood, and any family.

You can organize an outreach group and easily communicate with those in that network. You can make and then track different “stats” for the group, as well, to see how effective your work is — and to see where you could improve.

Encounter Outreach has a variety of new features, such as Engagers, Networks, Groups, and more, making outreach easy and possible for you and others.

3. Remind

The Remind app is used by educators all over the globe.

It streamlines communication between you, the kids, and their parents by utilizing the smartphone we all know and love. Instead of expecting your kids to keep track of paperwork and save-the-dates, you can easily Remind them through the app.

You can schedule announcements ahead of time, set your availability for questions or concerns, and send updates whenever necessary.

Simply ask the parents for permission to use their phone number. From there, engagement — and your relationships within the youth group — increase exponentially.

Download These Essential Youth Ministry Apps

Hopefully, you made it through this article without having to pause and browse through your app store!

Now that you’ve got all the details, check out these youth ministry apps to see what works best for you, the kids, and your church. You may prefer one over another, so play with them all and choose the best.

To further prepare you for ministry life, check out this post about getting yourself ready for a mission trip.