Youth Alpha

There is a fascinating moment in the book of Acts where Paul is preaching the gospel in Athens. He notices an altar ‘To an unknown God’ and basically says I know this God, he has a name and his name is Jesus. Paul uses the things that are around him to communicate the good news in a way that the people around him understand.

Today we live in a multimedia society. Technology is everywhere and if Paul was communicating the gospel in the 21st century I am sure he would still be using the things around him to help. So how do we best make the most of this massive area of technology?

Film
Every Youth Alpha session contains a number of film clips to illustrate the message. They can be incredibly powerful, memorable and entertaining and enhance your talk. Unfortunately, because of copyright reasons, Youth Alpha cannot provide all the film clips for you to use on our website or on a DVD. So the first step is deciding which ones you want to use and then talking to your friends with big DVD collections or renting them out.

YouTube
Video on the internet has exploded in the last few years, as has wireless internet, meaning that the use of video from the internet has become a possibility in Youth Alpha sessions. We have therefore included some links to relevant clips in the material, but do search for new ideas yourself. You may also be able to find some of the other video clips online.

Powerpoint
Powerpoint can be a great way of keeping attention and building momentum through a session. It helps people keep a track of what they are learning and especially useful as in each Youth Alpha session there are a number of clear points to communicate.

Music
Music can also be a great way of connecting with some teenagers and there may be some great tracks that you think really communicate a key point of the session.

Practical
Make sure that your media will work when you want it too! The biggest piece of advice we can give you as a leader is to get someone else to help. There are loads of people who totally love technology and this can also be a great way of getting them involved in serving. Make sure you prepare adequately and fully brief the person you ask - it is well worth having a practice run through so that person knows when to play each clip.

...we are really passionate about exploring the meaning of life and communicating the good news in a relevant and accessible way and technology is a great way of doing this. Have fun in using multimedia in your sessions and may they communicate the life changing message of Jesus in a relevant way.

For some excellent top tips on using multimedia, check out the Leaders' Guide...