The two ideas below were shared with us by Ryan Soderburg, staff associate in Wauwatosa, WI.
Club Talk/Campaigners Video Illustration
“I came across this great video clip and thought it was a GREAT one to use for a club talk or campaigner lesson. The clip features a basketball team in Texas comprised of teenage felons and an amazing act of compassion on the part of another team. As a whole it’s a great clip, but I especially love the part found from 2:11-2:18 where the News anchor notes that one of the students involved in the act of kindness says, “we all need someone to believe in us. We all need someone who knows our mistakes and loves us anyways.“
Isn’t that among the greatest truths about who Jesus is? I used this clip with a club talk on Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus found in Luke 19:1-10. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, someone who was widely hated and yet Jesus reached out to him, asking to share a meal at his house. As a club talk, it highlights a great characteristic of God as seen in Jesus. As a campaigner’s lesson, it could very much be a challenge to students, asking them who in their school do they look down upon, sell short, or view as unworthy of knowing Jesus. I hope this helps some other leaders as they continue to present the Gospel to their high school friends.”
What To Do With The Cards Were Dealt
A few years ago we started using our own form of a club card at Young Life and WyldLife. (The only difference being we do not ask junior high students for their cell number.) We used these to help us remember names, get basic information about students, and to help us keep track of who had been at club.
Last year we realized an even better use for these cards. Before we started second semester last year, we had a leader retreat. I had kept all of these club cards and I brought them to our retreat for a prayer activity. We took 45 minutes and asked leaders to grab a stack of cards, and pray for each student represented by a card. And then leaders returned those cards to pick up another stack. There was something beautiful about being able to pray for each kid by name and reading their name written in their own hand-writing. It brought laughs (based on some responses to the “question of the week”) and tears of joy as God spoke to us over students who were heavy on our hearts.
This year, just before the start of school, we held our committee retreat. We brought all of the club cards from second semester last year, and we invited our committee do the same thing we’d done at the leader retreat, praying over every student who attended club last year.
What a meaningful, tangible way for your committee members to feel more connected to the students, and to bring them before the Lord—which is what this ministry is about.
If you have ideas to share, here’s how you submit a guest post.
