Just about anywhere you turn in youth ministry, you’re guaranteed to find an acronym. And much like the day the “cross clap” swooped in and hijacked our youth conferences, acronyms have held captive the naming of our ministries. In this world where our tweets and text messages are limited to a certain number of characters, we have ensured their survival. So unless one of us invents the flux capacitor, jumps in our DeLorean, and hits 88 mph, there’s nothing we can do.

Each one of us probably has our favorite and some that make us LOL. I still remember the one from my high school years: SPiriT. Seriously, that was it. I know there’s one thing you’re thinking, “Why are some letters capitalized and some not?” Honestly, I don’t know, but I can tell you what it stood for: “St. Patrick’s in relationship involving Teens.”

So when you think about it, using an acronym probably makes sense. I mean who would want to make the following announcement: “Hey teens, we want to see you at St. Patrick’s in relationship involving Teens tonight. And of course, don’t forget about our bible study, Working On Remaining Disciples, this Wednesday.” (I broke a sweat just typing that.)

Understandably, it would be a lot easier to say, “Hey teens, come check out SPiriT tonight and don’t forget about our bible study, WORD, this Wednesday.” (Ahhh . . . much better. PTL for acronyms!).

Simply put, acronyms make our lives a little bit easier, allow us to seem a little bit cooler, and show teens that we can speak their language. This way teens know that when they tell us they will BRB or that they are JK, we can feel like we too FI (Fit In- Yeah, I made that up. Now try dropping it on your teens). So, much like the river, we just need to let the acronyms flow, unless any of you happen to know a Doctor Emmett Brown, and if so, I need to contact him ASAP.

Question: What acronyms do you use in your youth group? (Share below)