Leadership Lab Annual Report: 2025

Leadership Lab Report to the Grand Canyon Synod

Greetings and Blessings to you. Thank you for allowing Leadership Lab to report to the Grand Canyon Synod of the ELCA.

Leadership Lab (Lab) experienced its 62nd birthday as an ELCA Youth Event last June and we are excited to share that we are expanding our footprint. Lab was born from the three Illinois ELCA Synods: Metropolitan Chicago, Northern Illinois and Central/Southern Illinois. It has expanded to now include congregations from Texas, Florida, Washington, Arizona,  Nevada and Missouri. This recent expansion has been through word of mouth, former Lab attendees now in adult leadership roles, and from Illinois Pastors who have been called to other locations.

Lab’s Mission… To be an active LABORATORY, practicing church leadership for the future…

During the week, high schoolers and young adults will get to experience large group celebrations and small group discussions with their peers. Small groups are led by two experienced staff that are creating conditions to allow these “Labbers” to be vulnerable and share their curiosities, their fears, their joys and explore their faith in ways that create life-long relationships. All while also learning and experimenting core leadership skills and principles.

Over six days, campers experience the equivalent of 14 weeks of youth group and nearly half a year of Sunday worship services (led in ministry by rostered ELCA Leaders and lay leaders from different synods across the country). While the bulk of attendees are high schoolers, the camp also has levels for young adults (ages 18-23) and adults involved in youth ministry, as well as faith and lay leaders in the church. Rostered leaders are invited to attend the camp as a faith retreat.

Once you get your high schoolers to Lab, Lab will provide the infrastructure and support, so your church is not expected to provide the staff. There are opportunities for adults to attend Lab, to see how Lab works, and expand their leadership skills as well. Beyond that, many of those who attend as adults find themselves serving on staff after a couple years.

We do have a warning… be prepared for the Labbers to come back to your church, wanting, hoping to bring what they learned and experienced back to their church.

We would like to invite you to Leadership Lab 2025, June 23-28, 2025, at beautiful Augustana College, located in Rock Island, Illinois.

Registration is open… leadershiplab.net/leadership-lab-2025/registration

Lab is very affordable! The normal fee for Lab is $470 per person for the week. For first time churches, the cost is $325 for 2 attendees from the same church and then regular price for any additional Labbers. If a church sends 5 attendees (at regular price), one adult can attend for free. For a week’s worth of camp, Lab is very affordable, especially considering the Augustana College amenities… their dorm rooms, meeting rooms, large group celebration room and the cafeteria is tip top.

Would you like to know more? We are ready to give you call to help share the benefits and our personal stories of how we’ve seen miracles and to help you understand the value and experience Leadership Lab has to offer.

The Leadership Lab website link is www.leadershiplab.net

Marissa Metevelis and Nick Rex, Directors