School of Leadership Stories
Stories from the young people who joined us at the School of Leadership in August 2023.
Dan, 20
The School of Leadership was a foundational moment in my life.
Onelife took us on a journey that kept getting better and better throughout the week. From learning how to lead my own life, to leading the person next to me, to leading communities, the week was highly specialised for any hungry young leaders. There was a strong focus on character, integrity, and spiritual formation alongside accountability, conflict, and communication.
My favourite aspect of the week was the balance between the teaching and pursuing God’s presence. The times of ministry and worship were a constant throughout the week, keeping everything that I learned within the context of my relationship with Jesus.
And the scariest part…I had to meet loads of new people! But they were all amazing, and looking back this was one of the most important aspects of the week. From leaders to delegates, it’s all about going on the same journey to seek Jesus’ heart for leadership in our current cultural moment. All while having loads of fun!
It was deeply impactful, and deeply full of joy.
Lucy, 18
Although I find meeting new people hard, the School of Leadership was a good chance for me to step outside my comfort zone and get to know some more Christians who are my age – and who I’ve stayed in contact with ever since.
The teaching was really helpful – exploring scripture and its importance in our everyday lives is something I’ve carried with me since. The leadership teaching about soft skills – posture and how you carry yourself – has been so helpful to me when I’ve gone for interviews and met new people at university.
Before I arrived I was quite new in my faith, and the School of Leadership opened my eyes and allowed me to go deeper with Jesus. Since the week, I’ve felt so much more peace in my life knowing that I’m closer with God and have a deeper relationship with him.
Lucy, 19
I came on the School of Leadership having an idea of what to expect because I’d been to a few of the Onelife conferences, but wow, it was so much more than I could have ever imagined.
Throughout the week, I was pushed out of my comfort zone. In the first session I shared honestly with people I’d only just met, we had teaching sessions on communication where I told my story and acted – which I would normally completely avoid! – but the atmosphere was so encouraging and supportive. It wasn’t nearly as nerve-racking as I thought it would be and it was such a safe environment. It really helped me develop my self-confidence and self-belief.
The teaching was all so relevant and applicable, and the range of topics that were covered was incredible! The talks on character stood out the most to me because they really helped me understand myself, and understand how I can best interact with others, which is so important when it comes to leading others. They really challenged me to recognise areas of my life that I need to hand over to God and areas where I need to invite God in and trust him to transform. The teaching really affirmed how my identity is in Christ and how amazing this is for leading an influential life!
The honesty of the leaders made the teaching like nothing I have experienced before.
I saw the Holy Spirit work in incredible ways in myself and in others, in ways that I never expected. The teaching covered some heavy topics, but the time set aside for worship and for ministry really helped me to process what the Holy Spirit was highlighting to me in the talks and how he was moving in. The Onelife team are so led by the Spirit, and the passion they have for Jesus and for all of the delegates was so evident the whole week.
It was a truly unforgettable experience, where I’ve grown in faith and in confidence and I feel so equipped to a live faithful life, leading and loving those around me!
Susanna, 22
The School of Leadership was not just a place of depth and quality teaching, but of powerful joy.
I felt released into the freedom of being a leader who is marked by joy and lightness. Coming from a context where church leadership has felt heavy or even difficult at times, the School of Leadership empowered me to step into these tensions of leadership with boldness and integrity.
I was particularly impacted by the vulnerability of the leaders at School of Leadership, the power of story was so evident during the week, releasing vulnerability and freedom in me. It’s marked me forever!
Alex, 23
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the teaching was largely theoretical, and therefore differed from my previous experience of (secular) situational-based leadership training. This model made it much easier to take Onelife’s teaching and practices into my personal areas of leadership.
I also really enjoyed the work on preparing and dealing with conflict, which centred on the story of Hezekiah. I’d never understood much about this passage before, but reading it through the lens of leadership unlocked layers to conflict-strewn situations in my own life and illuminated pathways forward. I see this as invaluable since I learnt to intertwine aspects of previously dense Old Testament history into my personal life, and subsequently learnt much more about God in scripture and the present.
I learnt so much from the leaders around me, especially the Onelife staff, who modelled and set the tone for the week by being really attentive to the teaching. From their example, we knew that this teaching was precious and that even those who had listened to it countless times before believed in its value. I’ve never witnessed this before and it was inspiring to see that influential leadership takes many forms – not least in just listening well.