Every year, new WyldLife staff gather with hundreds of other new and current staff (Young Life, Young Life College, Young Lives, Young Life Capernaum) for a week of intensive training. Here are fifteen takeaways that this year’s new WyldLife staff are taking home with them and want to share with you:

• If you’re an introvert, bring games/stuff to contact work (e.g. Exploding Kittens/paper & markers to the lunch room).
• WyldLife staff and WyldLife leaders aren’t secondary – we must hold ourselves to the highest caliber of ministry.
• It’s important to remember what it was like to be in middle school – we can’t expect middle schoolers to relate to us, but we can relate to them.
• You can’t export what you don’t have internally. If I want to have a fun and energetic club, I need to come ready to provide those things.
• Middle School is a “thousand days of significance” that I don’t want to miss out on.
• WyldLife must be WyldLife, not Young Life for short people!
• Middle schoolers always prefer fun for everyone over one person being funny.
• WyldLife looks different in different places, and that’s okay.
• Most high schoolers are not ready to be strong ministry leaders.
• WyldLife leaders should be chosen carefully and led well. They can’t be “leftover” leaders from Young Life. WyldLife deserves the best leaders we have.
• If I have high school leaders, I must be prepared to train and mentor them well; they will require more of my time and attention than older leaders.
• When planning WyldLife contact work, club, events, and Campaigners, always keep their developmental stage in mind. It needs to be the lens through which I view every aspect of ministry.
• Middle school kids need space and room to run around and be kids.
• At least half of WyldLife club must be mixers and games that include ALL kids.
• WyldLife is a full-fledged, unique, and complete ministry for middle schoolers, not simply a warm-up for high school and Young Life.