Where are the youth when they're not with you?

Probably on their computer. 
Our youth say they spend at least several hours a night "IM"ing (instant messaging), on Myspace, or on Facebook, the now much cooler online place to hang.  Youth check their email and their Myspace/Facebook accounts on their cell phones, during lunch, in computer class, after school, before bed -- pretty much any time they can. 
With their schedules more and more structured, and their public "hang out" places more and more limited, youth find online meeting space is one of the best places to gather and talk to their friends, and to see and be seen by a broader group of their peers. 
So, if you haven't already done it for your group, go virtual!
Set up a googlegroup. It's easy to do; just go here
Once you do, you can send one message to all your youth in one fell swoop. What's better is that they can write the whole group via one email address, too.  Add all the youth you know of, whether they participate in your group or not.  
Not only do we do a lot of our planning and conversing via our googlegroup, but even our shyest kids find their voice here, send regular emails out to the rest of the group, and feel connected, wherever they are, whatever time it is, whatever day of the week it may be. 
Get a Myspace or a Facebook account.  Lots of large church youth groups have a Myspace account, where general information about their group and activities is posted.
A Facebook account will also allow you to set up an "event" and send a flyer out to your group that they can respond to, and see who is planning to attend and who isn't.  The possibilities are truly endless.
Virtual meeting spaces are "full-time, always on, intimate communities" (Misa Matsuda, in Peronsal, Portable, Pedestrian) They can't take the place of gathering in person, but for the times when you aren't in your church basement together, they are pretty great places to hang out and chill.