YouthLead

Youth Ministry • The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Teens leading teens

For 40 years, YouthLead (formerly Lutheran Youth Fellowship) has equipped teens to develop and use their leadership skills as they serve Christ within their congregations and communities. We offer resources and training to equip teens to lead and mentor each other.

Our annual leadership training event is facilitated by the teen YL Leadership Team. The event makes use of leadership resources developed to give teens the tools they need to mature in their faith, become leaders in their congregations, and reach out to their peers with the love of Christ.

YouthLead is now looking to the future with the development of additional resources aligned with the 7 Practices for Healthy Youth Ministry. This will include resources for adults who mentor and champion young leaders, potential regional conferences and connections to other programs like LCMS Servant Events and the LCMS Youth Gathering.

YouthLead Facebook Group YouthLead Instagram

YouthLead Training — 2026

LCMS Youth Ministry will host a YouthLead Training event Thursday, March 19, to Sunday, March 22, 2026, in St. Louis.

More information to follow as it become finalized.

Training resources

As a part of the annual training, YouthLead resources are video-based, easy for young people to lead, and focus on topics key to youth discipleship. This curriculum is available for use in conducting events in your congregation or district. You can download the pieces here.

Visit youthesource.com or email youth.ministry@lcms.org to learn more about the training materials.

Leadership Team: 2022-25

Leadership Team members for YouthLead were elected by their peers during the 2022 Teen Leadership Training.

Adam Beadle — Chandler, Ariz.
Abbie Kollbaum — Madison, Neb.
Reagan Martens — Kansas City, Mo.
Annaka Zaiser — Holly, Mich.
Ava Dradzynski — Prattville, Ala.
Austin Barber — Worthington, Minn.

Articles

Reporter — Youth workers and leaders meet in Houston

KFUO — LCMS Youth Ministry End Goals – Introducing YouthLead

Reporter — Meet ‘YouthLead’: Lutheran Youth Fellowship gets new name

Engage — The Church of Today and Tomorrow

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The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Inc., including Mission Central (in Mapleton, Iowa), is an IRS registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity.

A contribution designated (restricted) for a specific purpose, when accepted, will be used only to fund expenses related to that purpose. Occasionally, we may receive more in contributions for a particular purpose than can be wisely applied to it in the foreseeable future or the purpose may cease to be feasible. In these situations, the LCMS will make reasonable attempts to contact contributors to apply their contribution toward another aspect of ministry that aligns closely the contributor’s goals and values. If a contributor cannot be contacted, the LCMS will use the gift to meet a similar pressing need that most closely matches the contributor's original intent.

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