The Teen Leadership Training (TLT) program is designed to train and mentor youth in service and leadership skills. The teens of today are our leaders of tomorrow and this program has been developed to further the training of our young people in the SDA church and the Pathfindering program in local clubs and on the conference and union levels. The goal of this program is to have our youth experience acceptance, achievement, and responsibility in developing self-efficacy, self-respect, and identity through adult-teen mentoring in a "shared service experience" in developing a redemptive relationship with God.

Teen Leadership Training Weekend 1998

This year's TLT weekend was held at Cohutta Springs Camp in Crandall, Georgia, on December 4-6, 1998. During this weekend, our teen leaders participated in many different activities.

Friday evening there were "Get Acquainted" activities where TLTs from different clubs had the opportunity to meet TLTs from other clubs that they had never met before. After this they had opportunities to see just how much they had learned about one of the other TLTs.

Saturday began with a seminar type session after breakfast. TLTs were introduced to the responsibilities and objectives of being part of the Teen Leadership Training Program. They were taken step-by-step through the TLT manual and provided with the necessary information for becoming a successful teen leader.

That afternoon these teens were divided into groups that they were to work with on the upcoming activity. They were told that they were now the staff of a pathfinder club. Then were presented with scenarios that pathfinder and conference directors are often faced with. Given a certain amount of time, they were to come up with a plausible solution considering all factors of the situation.

In the evening, all pathfinders and directors put on their Class A uniform and were served a banquet kind of dinner. After the dinner, the TLTs were recognized for their service as teen leaders and for their attendance of this annual retreat. Most of our teens had only participated in this program for one year, but there were some who had been a part of this ever-growing program for four years now. If you or your child are interested in becoming a leader in either Pathfindering or your church, this would be a great program to get acquainted with. The Teen Leadership Training Program can promise a very productive future on the part of our teens.

Written by Erin