"We ... want to encourage and give young people a platform to own and share their faith on YouTube.”
“YouTube is a brilliant resource. Through it I have learnt to play guitar, tie a tie, and bake an incredible gluten free cream egg brownie. I spend a lot of time watching YouTube. As do young people,” said Ben Cutting, Digital Evangelist at Youth for Christ Britain. “Based on our research at Youth for Christ, YouTube is the most likely activity a young person engages with in their spare time and 86% of young people watch it on their own.”
Beginning before the pandemic, Youth for Christ Britain recognised that if they were to be meeting young people where they are at, that had to include online outreach. Ben developed an online YouTube channel in Britain called “Intro Outro.” Produced by Ben, the channel hosts weekly videos with the goal of introducing Gen Z young people to the Christian faith and encouraging them to live out a life that will make a difference in the world. Every video is different: sometimes funny, sometimes thought-provoking, but always geared to young people.
“My purpose in life is to bridge the gap between church and culture using YouTube so that unchurched young people can hear about and follow Jesus,” said Ben. “My hope as the Digital Evangelist at Youth for Christ Britain is that through this new venture we can create positive and engaging content for young people that explicitly tells them about Jesus. We also want to encourage and give young people a platform to own and share their faith on YouTube.”
Digital Evangelist Ben Cutting working with team member on producing content.
The pandemic only highlighted the need for Youth for Christ, as well as churches and other ministries, to do more in the digital arena. Much of the content produced by Ben gets used by youth and school workers in their work with young people. As people were locked down at home during the pandemic, it gave many young people something to look forward to each week.
One mother wrote: “I just wanted to email a quick message to say how much my two sons and I enjoy and appreciate the Intro Outro videos on YouTube… As a parent through the lockdowns of the past year especially, I have felt so incredibly blessed to have found this content that not only they enjoy and keeps them engaged but they also learn from. The videos lead to questions and conversations of so much value to their faith.”
To check out Youth for Christ Britain’s “Intro Outro” videos for yourself, go to: yfci.org/intro-outro