1. Stop viewing students as consumers of education, buying a product from teachers
2. Instead empower them as owners of their lives, investing in their education as a means to a life worth living
3. As owners, nurture a culture of leadership among the student body of public schools
4. Develop a 10% pipeline of student leaders within any given school because when 10% of a community changes its values, the rest of the population generally follows

Because of this foundational commitment to student leadership development, it was 20/20’s privilege to sponsor Reload 1.2.3 on June 12, the first ever multi-site multi-state student ministry conference. (1 conference. 2 States. 3 sites.)  Specifically, 20/20 Vision contributed three core components to Reload 1.2.3’s one-of-a-kind program.  

First, 20/20 inspired and shaped Reload’s Plus-1 program strategy, requiring every adult involved in the program at all three venues, from musicians and singers to trainers and general session speakers, to integrate a “Plus-1″ protege into their content delivery.  With live music and workshops at all three venues, this strategy created a platform for more than 50 Plus-1 student leaders to provide meaningful leadership at a premiere training event for more than 500 youth workers.  More importantly, Plus-1s demonstrated what empowered student leaders look like, rather than adults simply talking about student leadership as a value, and created a common reference point for more than 500 leaders who can influence a shift towards more authentic student leadership in organizations throughout greater New York.

Second, 20/20 shaped the “Student-Led Student Ministry: Pipe Dream or Possible?” workshop which featured four accomplished student leaders as experts on what student-led change looks like and how to achieve it. The workshop description follows, along with a slideshow that captured visually the impacts of their student leadership.

It’s trendy for youth ministers to say, “Youth ministry is not about ministering to youth, but about empowering youth to minister,” but what does youth-led youth ministry actually look like? Experience youth ministry by young people as NYC students discuss recent student-led ministry models including God Belongs in My City, Kickin’ It Old Skool, Generation Xcel, and World Vision’s Youth Empowerment Project.

(Student Led Student Ministry: Possible from Jeremy Del Rio on Vimeo.)

Finally, Reload 1.2.3 provided a platform for the 20/20 Vision Workshop to be taught live at three venues simultaneously, thanks to our instructors Edwin Pacheco (associate pastor Gateway City Church and director Youth Rock), Walter Sotelo (director New York Gospel Outreach), and Rohin Beach (youth pastor St. Luke’s Baptist Church of Paterson). Here’s that workshop description:

Adults promise children that if they stay in school they will be equipped to succeed in life, but we have failed to make good on that promise for generations — with high school graduation rates in some cities hovering at or below 30%. Come explore how urban youth ministries are transforming public education within a single generation of students by activating congregations, adopting schools, and becoming answers to prayer.

Download video of the Vision Workshop, along with its PowerPoint and lecture notes, here.

Thanks Urban Youth Workers Institute for being an incredible partner and affirming that empowered student leaders are key to reaching their generation.

Video 1

Christ Tabernacle members donate backpacks for every student at Bushwick’s PS 151. Recap and highlights:

Operation Backpack 2009 from Christ Tabernacle on Vimeo.

Video 2

PS 151 Principal Jeanette Sosa thanks the members of Christ Tabernacle for their generosity.

Operation Backpack: Principal of PS 151 Jeanette Sosa from Christ Tabernacle on Vimeo.

Even the “best and brightest” gathered at this year’s TED conference are exploring how to engage public education reform.

Accepting his 2008 TED Prize, author Dave Eggers asks the TED community to personally, creatively engage with local public schools. With spellbinding eagerness, he talks about how his 826 Valencia tutoring center inspired others around the world to open.

About Dave Eggers:

Writing is only his day job: Dave Eggers moonlights as a publisher, philanthropist and advocate for students and teachers.

Dave Eggers’ first book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Since then he’s written two more novels and launched an independent publishing house, which publishes books, a quarterly literary journal (McSweeney’s), a DVD-based review of short films (Wholpin), a monthly magazine (The Believer) and the Voice of Witness project.

Meanwhile, Eggers has established himself as a philanthropist and teacher-at-large. In 1998 he launched 826 Valencia, a San Francisco-based writing and tutoring lab for young people, which has since opened six more chapters across the United States. He has extended his advocacy of students by supporting their educators, instituting a monthly grant for exceptional Bay Area teachers. His TED Prize wish is for more poeple to follow him into getting involved in your local school — and talk about it — through the website Once Upon a School.

“Many writers, having written a first best-seller, might see it as a nice way to start a career. He started a movement instead.” – Time

“Mommy, can you take us to see the good people?” My son chimed in, “Yes, Mommy! Please, I want to see the good people.” So I promised them that I would take them and I did.

Here’s the backstory to the mother’s testimony of the “good people.” The video captures how one church (Christ Tabernacle) embraced its call to engage public schools last fall. Their 20/20 Vision relationship with this school and others is still evolving.