Leadership Training Update

by Patrique Harris, Youth Ministry Director

At every stage of my development, God has placed people in my life to inspire, support and guide me. I am who I am because of an army of individuals who were invested in my growth. Admittedly, it has been a few years since I was a teenager, but I remember being extremely ambitious during those years. I dreamt big and believed I was capable of achieving my goals. I am so fortunate to have had individuals around me to encourage me and to groom me to achieve those goals.

The fact is, many teenagers don’t have a positive support system to affirm them as they walk through these important years. Given the incredible support I have had, I am so excited to pay it forward with teens in our community.

*Fall picnic at City Park (from left to right: JoJo, Lucy, Alana and Mikya)*

The Leadership Training Project (LTP) is Mission Adelante’s year-long discipleship and leadership development experience for teens that aims to motivate them to become passionate followers of Jesus and leaders in our community. This year I get to share life with four superb teens - JoJo, Mikya, Lucy and Alana. Here are some of the things we have been up to in November.

In early November, we visited Hillcrest Transitional Housing and met with their President & CEO, Tom Lally, who engaged us in a conversation about homelessness and shared about how the organization supports individuals and families on a path to self-sufficiency. Tom gave us a tour of a couple of the cozy residential sites and then we spent some time organizing books and preparing welcome cards for new residents. It was awesome to get exposure to another ministry in our neighborhood and we even brainstormed ways we can partner to better serve the youth in our community.

Later in the month, we attended the Christian Community Development Association’s (CCDA) National Conference for the first time! The 4-day conference was held at the Downtown Marriott in Kansas City, MO and this year’s theme was ‘Reimagine’. It was incredible to have our city being showcased to various ministry practitioners from across the country. We attended plenary sessions, workshops and networking events with various expert speakers. We also enjoyed spectacular worship sessions led by the Kingdom United Collective as well as performances by a few Kansas City groups such as the KC Marching Falcons Drumline and the Fiesta Mexicana dance group. We can’t wait for the next conference!