I came across this fascinating research from Pew about what teachers in the US think about skills their students will need in the future. ‘Judging the quality of information’ and ‘Writing effectively’ share the number one spot.

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In all fairness, the research was aimed at examining teachers’ perceptions of the impacts of a rapidly evolving technological environment on both their students and their role as educators. The outcomes therefore were all in the area of technology and the Internet (you can read the full report here). But still it’s interesting that judging the quality of information is ranked number one.

What does this mean for youth ministry? My first thought was that we can and should help students in judging the quality of information as well. As a former history teacher, testing the reliability of historical sources has been drilled into me during my degree. If we teach our students to do the same, Jesus’ claims may suddenly be viewed much more favorable than those of other religions.

But there’s another thought. If we had to answer the same question with regards to students’ faith, what would we answer? What faith skills do students need to future proof their faith and where does technology help or hinder in that? Now there’s something to think about.

I’d love to hear your thoughts!