When asked to name their favorite tech guru, many of our readers named Tim Schmoyer. So we invited him to share some of his top tips.

Technology often is misunderstood as a device or service that's nerdy and electronic. While that's certainly a legitimate use of the word, technology really just means "tool" (not "toy" as many of our spouses probably believe).

For those who profess to be non-techies, don't let the technology label intimidate you. Just as anyone can learn to use a hammer, anyone can learn to use technology, too.

Not all technology is complicated and irritating. Some tools may require a learning curve. But for some tools, the curve seems way too high and not worth the required time investment. However, some tools are worth using because they will increase your productivity and relationships, as well as build credibility with the people you serve.

Obviously those tools you deem worth your time will be influenced by your priorities and values in ministry. The following are tools that I use often in ministry and would suggest are worth most youth workers' time to learn. Fortunately, most of them are incredibly simple, even for the non-techie youth worker.

Going Further with Facebook

You may already have a Facebook account and you may already use it to connect with teens in their online space, which is a great place to start using this tool. It also can be used to help communicate with your youth group throughout the week.

Creating a Facebook Page is the perfect way to do this. It becomes a public profile for your group where you (and optionally others) can post pictures and videos, make announcements and engage with other students in your community. (Create a Page for your group by visiting Facebook.com/pages/manage/).

A little secret about Facebook Pages is they also can be used as a free text messaging service. After kids click the "Like" image to connect with the page, encourage them to click "Subscribe via SMS" directly beneath your logo on the left-hand sidebar. SMS stands for Short Messaging Service, the technical name for text messaging. Whenever you post an update to your youth group's Facebook Page, all SMS subscribers will receive the update automatically as a text message on their cell phones.

Texting with Teens

With a couple of my youth group kids, each burning through 18,000 text messages in one month, it almost seems remiss not to use texting to communicate with them.

Facebook's SMS service is free, but it's also extremely limited. So I use TxtSignal.com to broadcast text message announcements and last-minute reminders, cancel events, send daily devotional thoughts, run contests, share prayer requests, get quick feedback about a question or idea and more. It's definitely my ministry's number one most effective tool for communicating with teens.