Picture Credit: YXL Northeast
“YXL changed my life!”
In the summer of 2016, I returned home and blurted out this bold statement to my parents. My mom was skeptical, but my dad understood. He attended YXL, then Presbyterian Youth Leadership Conference, in Colorado in the 1980s. Forty years later, he still remembers the impact the conference had on him.
My father and I remember the people who spoke into our lives during the conference as well as the leadership skills we learned and applied back home. My dad said he remembers “current leaders like Randy Nabors and James Ward seeing the importance of building up the next generation of men and women to serve in their local churches.”
The people I met at YXL reminded me that my plan is not always God’s plan. What I learned at YXL, I took back to my local church, and then to my freshman year at Covenant College.
The History of YXL
Youth Excelling in Leadership, a PCA conference for student leaders, started in 1976 at Covenant College. For years, the conference impacted the lives of youth throughout the denomination. When former attendees wanted to bring the YXL experience to their local students, the conference added two additional locations in Colorado and Pennsylvania. While the original conference at Covenant College has since ended, the sister conferences — YXL West and YXL Northeast — continue to influence and equip youth to lead in their unique communities.
Deb Felak, an original member of the YXL Northeast leadership team, experienced Presbyterian Youth in America as a parent and youth ministry volunteer at Covenant College in the late 1990s:
It was wonderful to see a relatively small group of teens, young members of the Church and PCA, develop new relationships, study God’s Word through rich teaching, expand self-perceptions through physical, emotional, and spiritual activities, and be held accountable through personalized assessment and leadership training. By the efforts of many dedicated youth ministry volunteers, YXL Northeast originated in 2010 with a small group of brave churches and youth, many of whom had never experienced YXL before.
YXL remains designed for individual growth. The conference is intended for churches to send a select leadership-oriented individual or a small group of serious-minded high school-aged students to receive tailored, gifting-specific training in faith-based leadership.
All types of leaders are welcome at YXL, from the introverted and quiet to the outspoken and boisterous. Joe Slack, director of YXL Northeast, explains that, “our goal is to meet students where they are, help them to identify the unique ways God has gifted them, and then help them hone those gifts for the benefit of the Kingdom. You don’t have to fit a specific mold to be a leader or to attend YXL. You just have to love the Lord, demonstrate a servant’s heart, and desire to be challenged!”
Personal Impact
I attended YXL Northeast on my own, sent by my church, Faith Reformed Presbyterian Church in Quarryville, Pennsylvania. The unique structure and approach of YXL immediately stood out to me — it was completely different from any church retreat or summer camp I had attended before.
YXL felt like a family, one that grew through both challenges and victories. It was a community that celebrated the small moments and cried together when discussing hard topics. YXL was built on relationships and provided me with a safe place to ask questions, be challenged, and grow in my faith alongside other believers. The conference connected me with incredible people who have continued to both disciple and walk alongside me through difficult trials.
After my two summers at YXL, I headed to Covenant College. I developed an interest in Covenant at YXL and was even offered the “YXL Grant” for participating in the conference, a grant still offered today.
I formed lasting relationships at YXL. My husband and I first met at YXL only to reconnect years later. My first job out of college was as a youth intern with Joe Slack, one of my YXL leaders. I am now part of YXL’s planning team, where I have the privilege of coming alongside youth and helping them grow in their faith and leadership. We are actively preparing to welcome youth this summer at YXL Northeast at Kenbrook Bible Camp in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
Relationships, I have learned, are vital in leadership. When I know the gifts of the people around me, I can encourage their growth. YXL was pivotal in teaching me the importance of caring for the people God has put in my life.
Looking Forward
As we celebrate YXL’s 50th anniversary, the conference’s core values remain the same. YXL is a leadership-intensive discipleship conference that equips students to return to their churches and build the Kingdom. YXL seeks to develop church leaders who stay rooted in Scripture and are equipped to serve their community.
One song that students sing every year at YXL Northeast is “Hands of the Potter.” A line from the song is, “shape me into something you can fill with something real.” Year after year, we return to this line, encouraging youth to cry out to the Lord and ask him to shape their lives at YXL and beyond. “Hands of the Potter” is a celebration of God’s work in their lives and a prayerful plea for guidance in the years to come.
My father and I are so grateful for the years we spent at YXL and the leaders who spoke into our lives, teaching us to trust in the Lord rather than in our own strength, a perspective that has transformed our leadership and discipleship. We hope that YXL can continue to transform the lives of students and help them become builders for the church.
Kayla Irvin serves as part of YXL’s planning team and is an active member at Faith Reformed Presbyterian Church in Quarryville, Pennsylvania.