EDMOND—Thirteen Imperial Academy students ranging from the fourth grade to senior year joined the Edmond Spokesman Club on November 27 at the John Amos Field House for “youth night.” From the opening comments through the closing lecture, every speaking assignment focused on an unspoken, unofficial theme: mentorship.

Club member David Brown led the table topics session, asking questions about favorite books, hobbies and scriptures pertaining to spiritual warfare, U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent tour of Asia, and advice that club members wish they had applied in their teenage years.

“The table topics provide a really good time for everyone to speak, no matter what age or speaking experience they have,” 10th-grader Samuel McKoy said. “It’s really fun because you’re constantly on the edge of your seat waiting for a question that you are prepared to answer. … [The questions] included everyone, and they were a chance for me to practice becoming a spokesman.”

“When I was younger, going to youth nights always made me gain more respect for the men that participated in Club,” member Nicholas Irwin said. “The formality of the evening, quick-thinking topics participation, and well-organized speeches always made me appreciate more what the baptized men were doing each week. So hopefully, it would have much the same benefit for the boys and girls that attended our youth night.”

Irwin served as toastmaster, introducing the evening’s four speakers. Zachary Bush gave a stir-to-action speech about overcoming his past temptation to watch “Just One More” YouTube video. He encouraged audience members to pinpoint one specific distraction in their lives and to eliminate it.

“My favorite part of the club was the speech about eliminating our distractions,” ninth-grader Aaron Eagle said. “YouTube was a very literal example that anyone could admit to be a true distraction. I loved how simple this step could be to fix so much in a life. … Satan is all about distractions. We need to stay focused.”

“I think an event like this can help erase some of the generation-gap issues in a congregation,” Bush said. “The members of our club range from just-graduated 22-year-olds to members reaching their 60s and beyond. … So, combining both groups can really help solidify that mentor-protégé relationship.”

Grant Turgeon delivered an impromptu speech titled “The Responsibility of an Older Brother,” followed by a humor speech by Jessie Hester about his days-long camping trip in the backyard as a youth.

“I found Mr. Hester’s humor speech my favorite,” 10th-grader Leah Hyde said. “It was very exciting and had great lessons young people can apply to their everyday lives. I found myself drawn into it from the very beginning.”

Ben Young told a personal story in the final speech of the evening, recalling his financial and employment struggles after graduating the two-year program at Herbert W. Armstrong College. He said that one cause of his problems was a defeatist mindset, and that once he developed a growth mindset, his prospects quickly turned around. He has since completed the four-year program at Armstrong College and now works as an Imperial Academy instructor.

“Some of the advice I already applied is to outgrow my expectations,” eighth-grader Micky Dilbeck said. “I used to say to myself that I’m not good at science, so I stopped trying at it. When I applied this advice of outgrowing my expectations, I started to better understand science and do better on my work.”

Assistant club director Mark Hyde gave a closing lecture about God’s promise in Psalm 37:4 to give those who delight in Him “the desires of your heart.” He said that when his family left the Worldwide Church of God, he felt like his 17-year-old life was over. He had lost all of his friends. But through a life-changing Philadelphia Youth Camp, he learned to “delight yourself in the Lord,” he said. He asked God to open doors for him to start a family at a young age, which would require him to reach financial stability early as well. Years later, he saw that God had remembered that prayer and had provided every detail.

“Apart from hearing all the interesting responses to the topics questions, my favorite part of the night was probably Mr. Hyde’s speech on delighting yourself in the Lord,” 11th-grader Jordan Saranga said. “He used his personal experience to show that God’s promises are sure, and that living His way of life brings incredible blessings.”

“He gave a good personal story which showed that young people are in God’s plans and that we can expect results to prayer in our youth,” 11th-grader Micah Turgeon said. “I think it’s easy to think that God has bigger things to deal with than a teen’s prayers, but Mr. Hyde’s lecture showed that God loves young people just as much as anyone else.”

“There was a lot of valuable, practical advice in each of the speeches, and the closing lecture tied everything up neatly,” 12th-grader Zechariah Henderson said. “It was also helpful to learn more about how Spokesman Club operates. As a future participant in club, I enjoyed getting a better sense of club itself so it’s not a huge shock when I eventually become part of it.”

The Edmond graduate Spokesman Club also hosted a youth night on December 4.