Learning to Lead: A Week of Faith and Transformation at YLC

What happens when young people are given the opportunity to see themselves not through the lens of their past, but through the calling God has placed on their lives?

For seven students from STCH Ministries’ Boothe and Marshall campuses, that question came to life during Youth Leadership Camp this summer.

During the last week of July, students from the campuses traveled to Shepherd of the Ozarks to participate in the annual camp hosted by the Association of Christian Childcare Administrators. Téa and Shaun, leaders from STCH Ministries’ campus staff, joined them for the week.

STCH Ministries has sent students to Youth Leadership Camp for many years, but this year marked an exciting first: students from the Marshall Campus joined for the first time.

Each year, students from across the country apply to attend this unique camp. Once there, students spend the week growing in their faith, strengthening their teamwork skills and discovering how God can use their gifts to influence the communities around them.

The week combines large-group seminars, small-group discussions and hands-on activities. In addition to being taught about leadership, students are given opportunities to practice it. They work together through a challenging ropes course, persevere through difficult hikes and encourage one another along the way.

For our students, the experience is especially meaningful because Youth Leadership Camp is designed for young people who come from campuses similar to their own. Meeting other students who understand their experiences and backgrounds helps remind them that they are not alone.

Even more importantly, they hear a message of hope.

“The main thing we want students to take away is that where you’ve come from shouldn’t hold you back,” Téa explained. “Some difficulties may still affect you, you may still be in the process of healing, but you have a calling over your life from God.”

“These students have amazing potential to be leaders in the body of Christ,” Tea continued. “This experience is to help them realize that and build skills they will need to actualize that potential.”

Peter, a Boothe Campus student attending Youth Leadership Camp for the first time, befriended a camper from another state. During some of their free time, leaders overheard Peter encouraging his new friend in his spiritual walk. He talked with him about developing habits of prayer, reading Scripture and connecting with the Lord each day.

Even the 13-hour drive to and from camp becomes part of the experience.

Spending that much time in a car with teenagers might sound daunting to some, but Tea and Shaun find the long drive to be one of the most meaningful parts of the trip. “When you’re with the kids that long, you get to see them silly and maybe a bit tired. In that proximity, you grow closer to each other.”

And on the journey home, students have the opportunity to share what God did during the week.

“Returning, you have all that time to hear stories of impact from the week,” Tea said.

Those hours of conversation give students and leaders space to reflect, celebrate and thank God for the ways He showed up.

Moments like these are a beautiful reminder that transformation often happens quietly. The workshops and activities provide valuable tools, but it is in conversations, friendships and acts of encouragement that we sometimes see most clearly the work God is doing in a young person’s heart.

Because of your support, opportunities like Youth Leadership Camp are possible. You help create spaces where young people can discover their gifts, deepen their faith and begin to see themselves as the leaders God has called them to be.