Chris Storms

Last night, we had one of our new leaders give the Club talk. For new leaders at our Club, their first talk is always their life story. The guidelines we gave her were to talk about her life, her relationship with Christ & to keep it to about 10 minutes.

The talk lasted about 20 minutes and went well over the time we usually get done, but as I watched from the back of the room, I noticed that every kid was engaged. I was reminded that when kids know we love them and we use our time up front to talk about our stories they will be engaged. The didn’t get bored because she was being completely genuine and completely clear. To me those are the two most important things to remember when doing a Club Talk.

There are a few other things I think are important when we do Club talks. Some of these principles I’ve learned from other people and some are just principles I try to stick with.

1. Jesus! – He has to always be the primary focus of every club talk. That’s what we are all about. Sometimes it’s easy & sometimes, like need & sin talks, it’s a little more challenging to keep Jesus in the center. But it’s super important.

2. Talk to the furthest kid out. – I once had a leader tell me she thought kids might get bored with the same stories all the time. That’s a valid point. There are tons of stories about Jesus we can share, but ultimately, I’m not concerned about the kids who come week in and week out for 4 years and hear the same stories 2 or 3 or 10 times before the graduate. I’m concerned about the kid who comes for the first time. That’s the kid I’m talking to. If all my camp kids & campaigner kids know the answers, that doesn’t matter. I’m talking to the kid who doesn’t know anything about Jesus. The other kids can go deeper at campaigners or hopefully church. The other thing with this is words to steer clear from: Church, Christianity, Sin (unless it’s the sin talk or later), Disciples, any other word the furthest kid out might not understand or might have a negative view of.

3. No notes. – Write out every club talk word for word. Practice it over and over. Then, throw the paper away. I’m talking to my teenage friends about something I believe. I’m sharing a story about my life & I’m sharing a story about Jesus (that I can read from the Bible). I don’t need to have something to read about my life or what I believe. In fact, looking at notes makes the conversation seem less personal in my opinion. Can you imagine doing a one on one at camp with notes? (Actually, I think I did that once.) Anyway, a club talk should be a conversation, not a speech. Conversations don’t usually include notes.

4. It’s about Jesus not me. I might have a really cool thing that happened to me the other day, but if it doesn’t really relate to what I’m talking about then, it’s not a good idea to use it. Start with the topic, figure out what Bible verses I’m going to use, then think about something in my life the relates to that. And…it doesn’t have to be a funny or crazy story. It’s great if I have one, but it’s not necessary.

5. Keep A Simple Talk Structure. This isn’t always true for me, but it’s usually where I end up & the reason I don’t use notes. I think about how I’m going to begin my talk and whatever I’m going to talk about from my life. Next, I think about the Bible story (that’s chosen first); how I’ll transition to the Bible story and the Bible story itself. Finally, I think about my closing. That’s really only 3 things I have to remember, because the rest is just talking to my friends.