The Talk Progression: Five Questions To Ask
At WyldLife club, middle schoolers can have fun and also be introduced to the gospel. As leaders, we need to think about how to most effectively unfold this good news over the course of a semester.
These five questions can help you decide how to tell the story in your club setting:
Who do you want kids to know? The answer is simple. Jesus. So whether the WyldLife talk progression includes three talks or six talks, every one of those talks should allow kids to get know Jesus and to understand how much God loves them. Every talk should be a “person of Christ” talk whether the focus is need, sin or the cross.
Young Life’s founder Jim Rayburn reminded staff of this in a 1956 letter. “First, we must stick to presenting Jesus Christ… He is far and away the most important and attractive person in the world and every high school [and middle school] fellow and girl needs to find that out.
So a six-talk progression might look like this:
• Person of Christ
• Person of Christ
• Person of Christ/Need
• Person of Christ/Sin/Cross
• Person of Christ/Resurrection/Response
• Person of Christ/Following Jesus
• Person of Christ
• Person of Christ
• Person of Christ/Need
• Person of Christ/Sin/Cross
• Person of Christ/Resurrection/Response
• Person of Christ/Following Jesus
How often does club meet? Most WyldLife clubs meet twice a month so leaders have the opportunity to share the gospel over six clubs in a semester. Some clubs meet monthly so there may be only three or four talks. Others meet weekly so leaders can follow a traditional high school talk progression schedule. The number of clubs scheduled is an important factor in determining how to share each piece of the gospel.
Who is coming to club? Your audience may vary greatly from week to week or month to month. If your club meets monthly and a kid has a soccer game that evening, you may see them in September and not again until November. Most WyldLife leaders combine sin and cross in one talk because they want every kid who hears about our problem to also hear about God’s solution. As you prepare a talk, be intentional about speaking to the kid who is there at every club but also the one who shows up occasionally.
How much do kids remember after two weeks or a full month since the last club talk? Kids are bombarded by information all day, every day. They spend hours each day listening to teachers and then spend more hours on television and social media. Most likely, a middle schooler does not walk into club thinking “Oh yeah! Remember what they talked about last month?” While still keeping the talk short (8-10 minutes), you will need to refresh their memories.
When will kids process what they hear at club? Middle schoolers are more likely to remember what they hear if they have an opportunity to process it. The speaker can ask a question for kids to think about as they go home. If leaders get to drive kids home after club, they can use that time to ask follow-up questions. You might also consider having a 10- or 20-minute “cabin time” after the talk. Divide kids by grades and gender and let them answer three questions provided by the speaker.
Get more tips on planning a club talk just for middle schoolers in the WyldLife Toolbox.
WyldLife Leader Blog 