Abundant Blessings
Did you know that Youthworks is blessing Leaders in Training (LiT) participants from all over Australia? And thanks to the help of the Youthworks Ministry Support Team (MST), LiT Victoria will have its inaugural camp in July 2025.
Meet Amanda Bailey, the Youth & Young Adults Minister at South Wagga Anglican Church. A Youthworks College alumni, Amanda brought a group of youth from the regional area of Wagga to be part of LiT Summer 2025.
The blessing of rural funding
It’s a 460-km bus trip from Wagga to the Port Hacking campsite where LiT is held. To help cover transport and conference fees, Amanda’s youth group was able to access subsidised rates for LiT. She says:
“The rural funding was a massive help. I think if we hadn’t got those subsidies, we wouldn't have considered coming, because of the distance and the overall costs, especially for people from a low socio-economic area like Wagga. We wouldn’t be here without it.”
The blessing of Christian networks
For regional areas, opportunities for youth leadership training can be hard to access, so the benefits of participating in LiT are numerous, as Amanda explains.
“In Wagga our networks are small, and we don't have lots of structures, especially around leadership. Connecting into LiT is amazing for our kids to know that they're not alone (in their faith). There are so many Christians who are learning how to be leaders in their own churches and to be encouraged as Christians.”
The blessing of encouragement
Amanda spoke about two of her youth who were particularly challenged during their time at LiT. Nell is a new Christian who has only started attending South Wagga youth group in the last year, so it was a significant step for her to participate in LiT. Amanda says:
“My favourite thing was watching the other leaders that weren’t from Wagga connecting with her and really encouraging and pushing her in her faith, to think more deeply about what she believes.”
For Clover, another of Amanda’s youth group girls, a key takeaway from her LiT experience was knowing she is not alone in her Christian faith.
“Experiencing training with other leaders has really boosted her confidence and her faith, to know that there are lots of people just like her who are pursuing Christian leadership.”
The blessing of shared resources
Meet Amy Brown, the Generations Minister at Mt Eliza Anglican Church on the Mornington Peninsula and the Director of LiT Victoria. LiT’s reach continues to expand to other states around Australia, with the first LiT Victoria conference happening in July this year in conjunction with Belgrave Heights Convention. Amy finds Youthworks’ teaching resources especially helpful for training youth in leadership.
“We've used some of the workshop and design resources that LiT has created. It’s so helpful having stuff ready to go that doesn't need to be adapted, though we can still tweak a few things to suit the size of our groups.”
The LiT ‘Teaching Target’ is the backbone of the conference, and Amy and her team have been able to use this resource to teach their young people how to write Bible studies and lead them in their own peer context at school. Amy explains why this is particularly important in Victorian public schools:
“Adults can't go into schools to teach SRE in Victoria. It’s all peer-lead, so this training really equips youth to do it themselves.”
Youthworks’ LiT program is blessing the next generation of youth and children’s leaders far beyond NSW, enabling even more young people to grow effective youth and children’s ministries in their church.
Click here for more information about Youthworks’ LiT events.