Talk to youth ministry leaders and you will soon learn the expansive impact cell phones have on students. Approximately 95 percent of American teenagers have one.
The speed at which phone use has increased is mind boggling. Consider that in 2011 nearly a quarter of teens had a smart phone. That figure exploded to 73 percent in 2014 and by 2022, practically all of them carried one.
And for youth leaders, phones tend to be a constant distraction.
One step that ministries are taking to combat this is having phone-free zones, whether on trips or even at weekly gatherings.
Immanuel Baptist Church in Arkansas has a ‘cell hotel.’ Similar to parents checking children into the nursery, students check in their phones and receive a matching tag. A “phone valet” watches over them.
At Missouri Baptist Convention’s Next Gen meetings, students have to use a print version of the bible, not an app on their phones. The bible app is great, but when it’s out, messages and email are available as well.
The rule doesn’t apply to just students…. adult volunteers have to follow it too. Mike Fitzgerald of First Baptist in Kearney, Missouri said, “It’s important for them, and parents, to be the example. This generation is very sensitive to hypocrisy. If they see us on our phones all the time, they’re going to notice.”