Why you should send your youth to Leaders in Training
Twice a year, young leaders gather together to be encouraged by the gospel and trained for ministry On Leaders in Training camp
During the summer holidays, I had the privilege of delivering three talks from 1 John to 330 young people from Years 10-12 who were excited to be trained as Christian leaders and servants of Jesus. This is Youthworks’ Leaders In Training (LiT) camp, and let me be upfront: I love this camp!
I’ve been involved with LiT for many years. I’ve sent young people from my own youth group, and our church still sends junior leaders; I led the senior group for a number of years, and I was a speaker, along with Graham Stanton—former Principal of Youthworks College—back in 2014. I know the camp, its ethos and what it stands for. a
LiT is the best place for young people to be trained to serve faithfully and passionately.
LiT never fails to impress and encourage those of us who love to see young people engaged with God through his word. I think this is because LiT is a camp that puts its money where its mouth is. Youthworks is committed to not just training young people to be leaders in the future but to train young people to be Christian leaders today. This commitment means that young people are given plenty of opportunities on LiT to lead their peers and venture into trying out new leadership roles with the support and guidance of invested camp leaders.
I love seeing the senior campers leading the group sessions. It’s no small feat for someone to stand in front of 400 people for the first time! I love hearing young people from different stages deliver their testimonies of how Jesus is working in their lives. I love witnessing the growth and transformation of campers in just five short days. And I love their questions as they interact with God’s word in the talks and the connect groups.
You may already be familiar with 1 John and, if so, you’d know that it contains some of the sweetest and most comforting words of assurance for those who believe in Christ. But … You’d also know that John has some of the most challenging words for believers and unbelievers alike.
On the one hand, there is the assurance of life in Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, our adoption as children of the Father through his magnanimous display of love in his Son, and the exhortation to love other believers as we have been loved. On the other hand, there is the chastisement of those who continue to sin, who deny Jesus is Lord, who walk in the darkness, and who are called ‘murderers’ ( John 3:15) because they do not love their fellow believers.
It’s a letter that both comforts the troubled, and troubles the comfortable, and I was encouraged by the many LiT campers who took the time to speak with me further about where our assurance of life can be found.
I had one long conversation with a camper after the evening talks. The conversation began with a question about proclaiming the gospel but soon turned to the more personal issue of their own assurance.
This was a young person who had grown up with Christian parents, regularly attended church, loved the Scriptures and was even a leader at his school lunchtime group. Here was a young person who knew about the gospel of salvation by faith through grace but was yet to experience the assurance of that gospel for themselves. For this young person, the words of 1 John 5:12-13 are the words they needed to hear again and again:
Whoever has the Son has life.
I’m thankful to God for the opportunity to speak with this young person at LiT and affirm to them John’s words of assurance. I hope these words are still ringing in their ears.
I’m thankful to God for LiT and the multitude of young people that are keen to know the Father and remain in his love and the opportunities it presents for our young people to serve Jesus and lead in his name.
Youthworks would love for your church to come on Leaders in Training Spring 2020 or Summer 2021. Call the Ministry Support team on (02) 8268 3355 to see how LiT can become part of your youth ministry training strategy.