Our mission at Camp Mini-Yo-We is to develop tomorrow’s leaders through life-changing adventures in God’s creation. At the core of this mission are our Leadership Development Pathway Programs. This four-step process turns campers into leaders at Mini-Yo-We and then ultimately launches them into roles as lifelong leaders who are transforming communities all over the world. These pathway programs include:
- Enterprise (Ages 14-16)
- Leaders in Training (Ages 16-17)
- Summer Staff (Ages 17-24)
- Mini-Yo-We Internship (Ages 18-25)
We are spending time improving this pathway because we believe it’s at the core of what God has called us to do at Camp. In the coming years, you’ll see us make changes in the way we serve the young leaders on our leadership pathway in an attempt to help them best develop their leadership abilities.
For the 2019 season of the Leaders in Training program, we are making three exciting changes. The goal of these changes is to extend the development of our LITs throughout the year as we want to spend even more time serving our LITs and helping them grow.
Camp Mini-Yo-We’s Leaders in Training program has always been world class and these improvements step it up another notch!
1. Year-Round Life Coaching
New for 2019, we’re adding monthly one-on-one coaching sessions with our LIT small group leaders. Each LIT will have the chance to connect with their small group leader in the months after they leave Mini-Yo-We to help them continue to apply the lessons they learned while at Camp! This significant addition to the program will extend the growth of our LITs beyond the six-week summer-based program. We want to give our LITs a coach to help them navigate the challenges of life and leadership as a young person!
2. Three Weekend Retreats
On top of the time during the summer when our LITs are learning and serving onsite at Camp Mini-Yo-We, we will be adding three weekend retreats to their programming. The goal of these weekends is to not only extend their learning throughout the entire year but also offer them a chance to stay connected to the community they built during the summertime. Here’s a breakdown of the retreats:
- May Long Weekend // As the kick-off to the LIT program,” this weekend is designed to help our LITs form a deep sense of community from the very beginning of their time together.
- January 2020 // A wintery get-away designed to help our LITs launch into a new year, we will spend this weekend asking them to reflect on how they will use their influence in 2020 to help others.
- March 2020 // This early spring retreat will focus on helping our LITs take their leadership to a new level as they finish out the school year.
3. More Ways to Stay Connected
We are also adding a number of ways for our LITs to stay connected to our team and each other throughout the year. Our goal in seeing them stay connected to one another is to drive deep those positive relationships formed throughout this leadership experience! We also want to keep challenging them to grow and use their leadership to transform the communities they are a part of at home. Here are a few ways they’ll stay more connected:
- Monthly Newsletter // Our team will be producing a monthly newsletter full of news from the LIT community as well as a “monthly challenge” their leadership skills. [Click here to see a recent monthly newsletter.]
- Community App // Before the summertime, we’ll be releasing a phone app that LITs will use to stay connected to our leaders, their small group, and everyone else in the program. They will have access to this app for the entire year they are a part of the LIT program. This is a great way to keep the growth and community going!
LIT applications are open! We’re looking for young leaders who want to start making a difference in the world right now!
Find out more on the Leaders in Training webpage or head to our registration webpage to apply!