Goodbye iCarly

This past Friday night iCarly aired it’s last episode – iGoodbye. Over the past year, other popular Nick & Disney TV shows have sort of stolen the spotlight from iCarly. Furthermore, Carly, Sam & Freddie are growing up and are moving on to other things.  However, it wasn’t too long ago that the show was insanely popular, especially by preteens.

P.S. – For more blog posts on preteen culture (like this one), go here: preteen culture blog posts

The exit of iCarly can teach us something about preteen ministry. But before I hash out what, here are some interesting facts about the cast members:

As of May 2010, Miranda Cosgrove (Carly) was getting paid $180,000 per episode. That’s a lot of cash for a teenager!

Jennette McCurdy (Sam) will star in a new TV show on Nick – Sam and Cat.  Ariana Grande from Victorious will join her as they become roommates and start a babysitting business together.

Noah Munck (Gibby) will star in a new TV show and play his old character, Gibby, who works at a recreation center as a mentor to four middle-school students.

Carly (Miranda Cosgrove) is now 19 years old. Jeannette McCurdy (Sam) & Nathan Kress (Freddie) are 20 years old. Wow, they grew up fast!

Now, here’s what iCarly can teach us about preteen ministry:

1. Preteen culture is constantly evolving.

In 2010/2011 iCarly was the “it” show across the nation. Now, in late 2012 the series last show was aired. Preteen culture changes quickly. The TV shows, movies, video games and music preteens like now will change in a few months. In order to reach preteens with the timeless message of Christ, we need to be culturally relevant. We need to speak their language. Yes, the message stays the same, but the method changes. I’ve noticed that culture makes a major shift about every year and minor shifts every few months. It’s our job to stay up to date with what’s popular and use culture as a tool to connect preteens to Jesus.

2. Teenagers are preteen magnets.

You might notice that most of the Disney and Nick shows preteens like have teenagers as cast members. You might also notice when those teenagers hit around 18-20 years old, they exit the scene. I would say the sweet spot is 14-18 year olds – high school students. High school students are a valuable asset to a preteen ministry. They can teach, lead a small group, plan events, help run camp and so much more. Preteens easily connect with them and high school students naturally relate to preteens. If you haven’t tapped into the youth at your church, you are missing out. And if you have, I would encourage you to equip and release them to lead. Don’t underestimate them!

3. Stop being so serious and have some fun.

The iCarly webcast Sam, Carly and Freddie created each week was on the fun, crazy and quirky side. Preteens like to let loose and have fun. Be sure to have a wild side to your preteen gatherings. In fact, we’ve brought you iCarly’s last webcast here. Sit back, enjoy and ask yourself, “How can I inject some craziness and quirkiness in my preteen programming?”:

And for those of you who have a sentimental attachment to the show (like me), you will enjoy this flashback down memory lane: