By Robert C. Veil, Jr.
Last weekend our young people participated in the Lads to Leaders conference in Altoona,
Pennsylvania. I am so thankful for Jeremy Leasor, Jim Tanis, and the others who arranged to bring
our youth group, and have worked with them and encouraged their participation in this event. I
believe in the Lads to Leaders program, and what it can do for our young people, spiritually. I have
asked Jeremy to provide a written report, which I am pleased to include in this issue: – – – – – – –
“Our youth participated in the Lads to Leaders Mid-Atlantic Convention in Altoona, PA.
The theme this year was “But God Meant If for Good.” Genesis 50:20. It was uplifting to gather
with like-minded Christians to celebrate the future of the church. The conference hit a record
attendance of approximately 500 this year, compared to 350 last year. There were 18
congregations that attended the convention. Congregations came from White Plains, NY (north
of New York City), Buffalo, NY, Indiana, PA, and other congregations in Pennsylvania, Virginia,
Maryland, and of course West Virginia.
Lads to Leaders has two classifications of events: convention events and year round events.
The convention events consists of a variety of events that are in a competitive format. The
convention events consist of: Song Leading, Oral Bible Reading, Speech, Debate, Bible Bowl, Art
Says It, and Puppet Theater. Year-round events consist of: Know the Books, Year-Round Song
Leading, Year-Round Bulletin Board, Pearls Written Test, Teach me to Pray, GUARD, Wilderness
Challenge, Teach to Teach, Good Samaritan, Centurion of Scriptures (DECA), and so many other
activities that support and strengthen the youth and the congregation. This year there was a young
lady who received the DECA award for memorizing 1,000 verses since being involved in Lads to
Leaders. She also received a $64k scholarship.
Our youth participated in the Bible Bowl. This event consists of 60 multiple choice
questions that each team member answers individually. Their individual score is accumulated to
make up the team score. This event lasted about 90 minutes with a single 5-minute break. During
the break, the participants were not allowed to leave the room but could stand up and stretch. Our
middle school team came in second place and our high school team came in third place. Those
that participated in the Bible Bowl were Adrian Floyd, Seth Floyd, Celina Leasor, Cailyn Leasor,
Kiley Riffle, Hannah Taylor, Kinsey Taylor, Josiah White, and Karsten White. We also had some
of our youth take an individual Bible Bowl test and were awarded for their high score. Josiah
White led a song during our Sunday morning service. They are to be commended on how they
represented our congregation.”
Lads to Leaders Conference
