By Our Reporter
Frontline non-denominational Christian ministry, The Elevation Church (TEC) is set to equip the young with the requisite skills and capacity to stand out, at the yearly Navigate Conference for teenagers. This year’s Navigate Conference has two installments. It takes place on the Lagos Island axis from 25th to 29th July and on the Lagos Mainland from the 1st to 5th August 2022, with each installment offering a virtual online experience.
Themed “DARE”, the 2022 Navigate Conference has a rich curriculum developed to inspire teenagers to step into the full expression of the gifts, talents and interests, by engendering teamwork, spiritual wholesomeness, and overall character development in teenagers, to close the developmental gap that exists among teenagers, and bridge the mentorship and relational gaps between teenagers and adults and strengthen teen-parent/guardian relationships.
According to Godman Akinlabi, Global Lead Pastor, TEC, the Navigate Conference is geared towards preparing the next generation with the right mindset and requisite skills to guarantee a thriving future. “These curricula will provide our wards with strong internal filters to engage external influences and remain in right standing afterwards. We are not only raising leaders, but kingdom influencers, who are resilient, gritty, adaptable, capable of managing diversity, and thriving in it. The skills they will learn will further ensure that professionally, they are future-proof, and just like in sports, if you start early enough and learn from great teachers, you have a higher propensity to become one of the greats yourself,” Akinlabi said.
At the Navigate Conference, teenagers will benefit from the wealth of experience of their mentors, and lessons on self-esteem, leadership, nation-building, personal & group productivity, and more at the Navigate Conference. It also offers them the chance to learn current and future-relevant skills such as web design, baking, music production, writing, cinematography, French for beginners, animation graphics design, photo editing, digital content creation, film production/film editing, and more. The Conference runs between 8am and 4pm on each day.
The pre-teenagers (children aged 12 and under) are not left out, as TEC has organized a STEM-focused Vacation Bible School (VBS), to help their curious minds. The VBS will take place according to a serialized schedule starting with the Lagos Island experience from August 1st to 5th, followed by the Lagos Mainland experience, August 8th to 12th, and Virtual Experience, August 10th to 12th.
This edition, with the theme “I Wonder,” focuses on teaching children how to use their gifts for God, love others as God loves them, and live their life for God. The activities for engagement are also science-focused, with lots of hands-on tasks to keep the children active and engaged throughout.