Life Teen Leadership Conference

This June a group of rising high school juniors and seniors from Notre Dame Catholic Church attended our first Life Teen Leadership Conference (LTLC). These words of St. John Paul II came to mind as I, the Youth Minister, had the opportunity to observe these young men and women give their hearts to Jesus Christ for a week of their busy summer, “It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.”

After two long days of travel, our group arrived at our home for the week, the beautiful campus of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. The conference host, Joel Stepanek, quickly kicked off the week by introducing the conference theme, New Fire.  At the end of Luke’s Gospel just before Jesus ascends into heaven, He says to His disciples, “stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Jesus commands his followers to stay in the city in which they were, Jerusalem, the place where the events of Jesus’ persecution and crucifixion had just taken place. Perhaps Jesus did this because Jerusalem also became the birthplace of the Church, and it is Christ’s Church that is the answer to the persecution, brokenness and darkness that takes place in the city, and thus the world. Joel reminded the room of student leaders that Jesus wasn’t calling them to something new. Each of them were at the conference because they had already been deemed leaders by their youth ministers, teachers, family and community members. Rather, Jesus was going to use this week to instill in them a new passion and fire (of the Holy Spirit) to be better servant leaders that shine light into the darkness of their world!

Next, the group heard from Randy Raus, President and CEO of Life Teen International about the call and qualities of a Christian leader. Students were challenged to recognize that they have a mission - to know Christ and make Him known by being Christ to all they meet. Then renowned Catholic speaker and Executive VP of Life Teen, Mark Hart, spoke about intimacy with God saying at one point, “if you want your faith to be the strongest you have to be willing to let Jesus into your weakness.”  Students were then led through a deep Examination of Conscience before heading on a silent walk to St. Benedict’s Abbey and Church where numerous priests were present to end the night by celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  After just a few hours into the conference, the power, love and mercy of God was at work in the students’ lives and it was evident.

Day 2 of LTLC began with a celebration of the Mass, and then sessions with speakers Joel Stepanek and Chika Anyanwu that introduced St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, the purpose in which God created us as men and women, and that His love is a constant in the midst of chaos.  These themes continued into the afternoon as the students found themselves in separate men’s and women’s sessions which gave them the opportunity to intensely pray for, with, and over one another.  A room with over one hundred high school junior and senior men with their arms around each other for a significant amount of time in prayer was a sight to behold!  The evening session included a powerful testimony from Sarah Swafford, which challenged the students to seek a drama-free life by basing their friendships and relationships on virtue. The night concluded with a period of silent Adoration of the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Day 3 was another jam-packed day that focused on how to be effective and faithful leaders in today’s Church through a relationship with the Holy Spirit.  “Leaders are not like a thermometer that reflects the temperature of the room,” the students heard, “Leaders are thermostats. They set the temperature. Be a thermostat!”  Stefan Sirianni, senior at OLH, said one of his highlights of the day was the “Holy Ground” breakout session which gave a better understanding of Church art and architecture through a tour of the Abbey by Fr. Jay, a resident Benedictine monk. The day concluded with a candlelight Mass in St. Benedict’s church in which each participant carried a candle representing their specific prayer intention and placed it in the sanctuary.  It was a beautiful and reverent liturgy!

Day 4 once again began with a celebration of the Eucharist which fed into several sessions that gave very practical leadership advice and skills. Topics included forming good prayer habits, sharing your personal testimony, identifying spiritual gifts, and time management. Steve Allgeyer led perhaps one of the more challenging sessions of the week on “Sharing Your Faith with Non-Catholics and Non-believers.” Students were encouraged to go home and live their faith with joy and zeal as evangelizers who as Pope Francis has said “must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral.” The week was capped off with another night of Eucharistic Adoration, this time with powerful praise & worship and a Eucharistic procession.  As the celebrant priest held the Blessed Sacrament directly in front of the aisle in which we knelt, Michael Chapman, OLH senior, said “that very moment was eye-opening...it was me coming face to face with our God!”

While all that we heard and experienced had a huge impact on the faith of these students, it was also special being able to spend a week in such a beautiful and holy place. From the rolling green hills, sound of the waterfall and fountains, Saint statues marking each dorm, the Marian Grotto, quiet prayerfulness of the Abbey, and the overlook of the Missouri River lit up by fireflies at night, the beauty of God’s presence on this Catholic campus of Benedictine College was truly realized.  

This group of students from Notre Dame could not have been a more exceptional group. Sara Bowers, Michael Chapman, Alina McCormick, Adriana Perez, Chris Rendon, Stefan Sirianni, and Kendyl Turner all went immediately back into their leadership roles in the community when we returned home - babysitting jobs, camp counselors, lifeguard manager, leading a Boy Scouts hiking trip, and more!  We will continue to see fruits from our week at LTLC for years to come as these young men and women answer their call to servant leadership in our parish ministry and community with the “New Fire” they gained at the conference. As Adriana, Tivy senior, put it, “we seriously bonded as friends this week as we grew closer to Jesus.”

I would like to thank Michelle Yanez for her love and support that she poured into these students as she chaperoned the week. I would also like to thank the family, friends, staff and parishioners of Notre Dame for your prayers and support of our trip. This conference experience was made possible through fundraising efforts, private donations, and a second collection. We are grateful for your generosity and prayers!  Finally, I thank the parents who entrusted Michelle and I to lead this trip, and joined us in prayer throughout the week!

Written by:
Wyatt Wentrcek, Director of Faith Formation and Youth Ministry