Another brilliant year of the Youth Growing Leaders (YGL) course has come to an end — and what a joy it’s been to see young people grow in confidence, character, and leadership.
Run annually by Thrive Youth Ministries and developed by CPAS, the course is a key part of our commitment to investing in young leaders across Warwickshire and Coventry. Over the past year, we’ve seen God at work in amazing ways as young people stepped up to explore their leadership potential.
Led by Ryan McNair (Youth Mission Enabler at Thrive) and Kate Wallis from St Paul’s Church in Leamington (our wonderful host venue), this year’s course brought together 12 young people from 7 churches. They met monthly from September to April for sessions filled with learning, reflection, activities, and prayer.
Learning to Lead
YGL is built on the idea that Christian leadership is rooted in character, calling, and competency — and that we grow best when we learn together in community. It was inspiring to watch this year’s group quickly form strong friendships, encouraging and challenging one another along the way.
From group activities to prayer times, they threw themselves into each part of the course. Many of them also stepped into leadership roles in their churches and ministries during the year, putting what they learned into action.
One church leader shared:
“They’ve grown so much in confidence and have started leading in youth group and church services. It’s made such a difference.”
What the Young Leaders Said
At the end of the course, we asked the group to reflect on their highlights. Here are some of the themes that stood out:
🟡 Growing in Faith – Many spoke about discovering more of their God-given gifts and feeling more confident in their leadership abilities.
🟡 Friendships – They valued being able to journey together, support each other, and grow as a team.
🟡 Mentoring – Regular time with a mentor gave them space for reflection, encouragement, and personal growth.
You can hear more from the young leaders themselves in this short video:
👉 Watch the video
What’s Next?
We’re excited to be offering the Youth Growing Leaders course again this coming year — with groups running in both Leamington/Warwick and Coventry.
📣 Applications are now open!
If you know a young person aged 14–18 who would benefit from this, encourage them to apply today.
👉 Visit thriveym.org.uk/growing-leaders
Please pray with us for more young leaders to step forward — we can’t wait to see how God will continue to work in their lives.