Faith Lab: The Talk (part 4)

This is the last installment of the series that I am doing on getting the message across to students.  We have taken a look at atmosphere, games, music and other elements that are not the main message but support or detract from the theme of the evening.

Today we are going to talk about the message or the talk or the main vehicle that you communicate the point of the evening.  There is not one way to “do” or prep for the message.  In fact perhaps one of the main things that you should keep in mind is to change things up (at least from time to time).

A couple of things that I have found is that students can see how much you personally buy into what you are selling.  They can tell if you really feel the way you say you feel, they can tell how much time you have or haven’t spent in prep of the lesson and they are not going to buy it if you don’t.

One rule of thumb I have come across from a guy is that he changes things up or tells a story in his talks every 7 minutes.  His context is worship each week with High Schoolers and they tend to preach/talk for longer that my congregation.  Develop your own rules for connectional on-ramps so that students can tune back in.  Be aware of how often you use story, questions that require feedback and group participation.  these things can draw students back in if they have zoned out or gotten sidetracked by something else.

I am taking a look back over Doug Fields and Duffy Robbins book Speaking to Teenagers and it is FANTASTIC!!! They have so much good info packed in there.  I really think that it is an exceptional preaching book as well.  I think that young people are the most demanding audience and if you can talk to them you can connect with anyone.  Check out the book Here

Have a great day and take some risks, with your message in the next couple of weeks.  Some may fail, but others may connect with students in ways that will change their lives.