A local homeschool co-op is proving to be fertile ground for 4.12 Leadership Training Program (LTP) students to put their developing leadership skills into action.
High school senior and 4.12 LTP student Cruz Ortiz was the first person to suggest that the older co-op students conduct their own Bible study while the younger students were participating in co-op chapel. Under Cruz’s leadership, most of the boys quickly began attending the optional Bible study.
Inspired by Cruz’s idea and with his guidance, 4.12 student and high school freshman Ava Burgum decided to lead a study for the middle and high school girls. About half of the possible participants joined. “To start and lead a Bible study for the first time took prayer and consideration, but it’s so worth it to see how everyone has engaged,” Ava shared. “I learned how important it is to look for and take the opportunities the Lord gives me.”
At this year’s semester change, Ava needed someone else to take over the Bible study leadership, so 15-year-old 4.12 student Haylee Layton and her 14-year-old friend Anisha Horst accepted the challenge and have been co-leading it ever since.
“We pray, read the passage for the week, answer questions, share comments, and then we are done,” Haylee described. “It all takes about 15 minutes and then we are off to class.”
Topics the girls have covered include women of the Bible, anxiety, the love of God, and currently the Parable of the Sower. “We are talking about the types of soil, what that means for our faith, and what that type of soil might look like today,” Haylee explained.
A topic that particularly resonated with Haylee this semester is the love of God, which they explored through reading the Old Testament prophets, among other passages. “Ezekiel 16 really stood out to me,” Haylee shared. “We really didn’t do anything to deserve the love of God. Yet he still loves us, makes us pretty, and is faithful even when we mess up.”
Haylee cited the Latin proverb of “he who teaches learns” as she described her experience co-leading this Bible study. “When you are preparing to teach others, you learn a lot more,” she stated. “You tend to dig deeper than you might for your own personal study.” She is thankful for this benefit.
Haylee is also thankful for the practical experience she is gaining in leading Bible studies, which includes how to ask and answer good questions. She looks forward to implementing these skills with campers as a junior counselor at Joy El Camps and Retreats this summer.
4.12 students are not merely putting their leadership skills into action by leading the study. Haylee has noticed that the 4.12 girls who participate in the study also display their leadership skills in subtler ways. “The ones who usually volunteer to read are 4.12ers,” she shared. “They are more used to regularly getting into the Word, and they have been taught to be leaders, which includes raising your hand and reading in front of people. They are used to being in an environment of wanting to read the Word together.”
Visit here to learn more about the 4.12 Leadership Training Program. For students interested in applying, find the dates for information meetings and answers to other questions here.
