Lads 2 Leaders
Lads to Leaders is a Church of Christ-affiliated nationwide program that focuses on equipping our youth with the tools needed to be the leaders of the future Church. It is a small non-profit organization that is mostly volunteer-powered and hosts 9 conventions in Atlanta, Colorado, Fort Worth, Little Rock, Louisville, Mid-Atlantic, Nashville, North Las Vegas, and Orlando. Lads to Leaders is not age specific. Though most events cater to school-age children, they serve ages 3-93, whether that is through participation or volunteer work. All pertinent information to Lads to Leaders programs can be found in the Lads to Leaders rulebook.
Participants in Lads to Leaders do two types of events: year-round and convention.
Year-round events are more involved than convention events and typically are completed gradually during the year in between conventions. Some of these events are educational such as Keepers/Providers which allows mentors to teach young boys or girls a skill that contributes to God's vision for men and women. However, children are also allowed to participate in one event that is under the category of the other gender. Other events are performative such as year round song leading, year round speech, or teach to teach which involves getting students involved in teaching Bible class.
Convention events involve a variety of events from mass media(podcasting, blogging, powerpoint, video) to art(scrapbook, sketch, painting, photography, bulletin board) to performatives(speech, song leading, debate, bible reading). Unlike year-rounds, convention events are in a competitive format and typically award the top three contestants in a given category.
Camp Hill has participated in Lads for about 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. Our Lads coordinators are Eric and Lydia Forkner, but Lads is truly a parent-driven event. Much of the work participants so is in the home and with the help of parents and siblings. We have practices throughout the year and especially in the months leading up to convention. These practices provide a venue for year-round performative events and for collaborative events that contribute to Lads Programs.
2024 Lads to Leaders Mid-Atlantic will be May 18-19, 2024.