Our Lads 2 Leaders Program
Lads to Leaders is a church of Christ-affiliated nationwide program which equips our youth with the skills needed to become future leaders in the Church. It is a small, mostly volunteer-powered non-profit that hosts nine conventions in Atlanta, Colorado, Fort Worth, Little Rock, Louisville, Mid-Atlantic, Nashville, North Las Vegas, and Orlando.
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Lads to Leaders is not age-specific. While most events cater to school-age children, the program serves individuals ages 3 to 93, through participation or volunteer work.
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Participants in Lads to Leaders engage in two types of events: year-round and convention events.
Year-Round Events
Year-round events are more involved than convention events and are typically completed gradually throughout the year between conventions. Some of these events are educational, such as Keepers/Providers, which allows mentors to teach young boys and girls skills that align with God's vision for men and women. Additionally, children are allowed to participate in one event categorized under the opposite gender. Other events are performative, such as year-round song leading, year-round speech, and Teach to Teach, which involves students in teaching Bible classes.
Convention Events
Convention events cover a variety of activities, including mass media (podcasting, blogging, PowerPoint, video), art (scrapbook, sketching, painting, photography, bulletin board), and performative arts (speech, song leading, debate, Bible reading). Unlike year-round events, convention events are competitive and typically award the top three contestants in each category.
The congregation in Kittanning has participated in Lads to Leaders for over a decade and plans to continue for many years to come. We attend the Mid-Atlantic convention in Altoona, PA, at the Blair County Convention Center. We have also attended the Louisville Convention in Louisville, KY. Our Lads 2 Leaders coordinators are Clem and Debby Rosenberger. Though we have regular meetings to work with students, much of the participants' work is done at home with the help of parents and siblings. We have practices throughout the year, especially in the months leading up to the convention. These practices provide a venue for year-round performative events and for collaborative activities that contribute to the Lads to Leaders programs.
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