Youth group games and mixers, sports and board games all are designed for fun. On a very basic level, these games are tools of social development. These games and mixers teach students appropriate ways of interaction and how to communicate with one another. The best part is that none of it is done in private. All this interaction and awkwardness happens in plain sight where other students and adults can help shape and define social cues so we get to walk alongside students and love and connect with them in ways that honor God.

Most student ministries have some form of small-group gatherings. These small groups are our ministries' primarily vehicle that helps students actually connect with their peers and spiritual mentors. There is space in these groups for students to share their stories to get support and prayer. While most of the time we are content with students sharing their stories and the rest of the group listening and waiting for their turn to share, we can give our small group a larger purpose. We can make these groups a place of true connection. We can help our students learn how to listen, how to ask follow-up questions and how to remember details and check in later. As adult leaders, we have the privilege of hearing these stories. We also have the responsibility to help shape these experiences. Instead of working out these experiences and issues in isolation, we can walk alongside them to encourage them to work it out using the wisdom and care of their community and Scripture.

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It is true that texting and Facebook are here to stay and for the foreseeable future will be the norm in communication. While we can't turn back the clock, we can use our influence to draw students out of isolation and a false sense of connection and into a warm community with true connection. Once you have experienced true connection with other humans—and even more with God—texting and Facebook will become just the tools they were created to be: avenues for connecting instead of replacements for true connection.