Today there is a generation of students who don’t know the real struggles of being limited to twenty-seven photo camera shots, including holding a button for three to five seconds just for a single camera flash, then taking said camera to a local shop to get your photos developed. I take great pride in my geeky antics when I happen to come across really awesome gadgets or apps. So here are three camera tech reviews of the Good, the Bad, and the Nerdy.

The Good. If you’re like me and the rest of the world, the ratio of pictures you have on your phone to actual photo prints is about 500 to 1. On the rarest of occasions, we’ll decide to print off a handful from the hundreds of pictures we take. The Polaroid Pop is not the first of its kind but will probably go down as one of the best 2017 has to offer. Unlike other instant digital cameras, the Pop takes 3 x 4 photos to give that old school feel with its instant Polaroid pictures. There isn’t any ink required to print off pictures, and it allows a memory card for photo/video storage. Capture the greatest moments throughout each year with your youth group and have a wall in your youth room to commemorate them!

The Bad. We are truly blessed to have terrible and annoying trends come and go. With that said, don’t be “that guy/girl” waving the three feet metal rod in the air, attempting to center or focus your phone so you can take the perfect group shot. Do I have one? Shamefully, yes. How many times have I used it? Twice—maybe three times. How did I feel when I used it? Full of remorse and instant regret that I was actually using it. Be the revolution against selfie sticks. #nomoselfiesticks

The Nerdy. Need to take a group picture? Record and share your next P7 Club Bible study? The Polaroid CUBE+ is a tiny action camera about the size of your cell phone charger. The CUBE+ is great for video/photo scavenger hunts with friends, or even capturing some of the great moments at the next youth rally, camp, or NAYC! Film your next church bus karaoke video or live stream your next youth service and share it with your friends online! There are lots of accessories to take your videos anywhere, and with its mounting magnet, the CUBE+ can stick to any metal surface to get all sorts of cool shots for your photos or videos.

With these amazing gadgets come added filters we look through to see the world in which we live. We often find ourselves capturing the moment instead of being caught up in the moment. We lose opportunities to connect with others because we may be too busy recording it. It does a lot of good to know why we decide to pull out our devices to instantly record or capture a moment.

I encourage this generation of students to use technology on the side of evangelism and make a lasting impact in the world. Our cell phones and cameras aren’t limited to twenty-seven photos or six second videos, but the relationships we build in reaching the lost and the memories we make with our youth groups are the moments that last beyond this life and into eternity. We should ask ourselves every time we reach for our devices whether we’re seeking to be seen or for others to see Jesus.

Michael Cena serves at the youth pastor of Kingdom Student Ministries of the Pershing United Pentecostal Church in North Little Rock, Arkansas, where he currently works as a professional web developer of a local marketing agency and his own freelance business. Michael is married to his amazing wife, Hannah Faith and daddy to his studly baby boy, Isaiah Durant.