LTC History

In the late 1960's, Jack Zorn began working with the young boys in his congregation. His goal was to develop their leadership skills. Under the name "Lads to Leaders," the program spread to nearby churches of Christ.

Annual Easter weekend conventions, usually held in Nashville, Tennessee, attracted participants from many states. Eventually, registration at the convention grew to about 3,500. Recognizing that more groups would participate if the convention were closer to home, an effort was made to establish a Southwest Region of Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes. A regional convention was held in Houston, Texas during the Easter weekend of 1988. Over 700 attended.

Following the 1988 convention, it became obvious to the group from the Southwest that the geographical complications of coordinating two conventions through two boards of widely dispersed members was hindering the basic goal of both groups. The decision to form Leadership Training for Christ was finalized in October, 1988.

Since its origin, LTC has focused on making the annual convention an opportunity to challenge young people to develop in an increasing number of leadership areas. From 1989 to present, conventions have been held in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. This convention has become known as the North Texas convention of LTC. During this time, other convention sites have been added in Phoenix, AZ; Kokomo, IN; Austin, TX (Central Texas); Tulsa, OK (Great Plains); San Francisco, CA; and Spearfish, SD. Each of these conventions is run by an independent board which tailors its convention for its unique area. In 1998 the combined conventions had an attendance of over 7,000 youths; in 1999, the youth attendance approached 10,000.

The Great Plains LTC region was founded in 1995 and had its first convention in 1997 at the Adamç—´ Mark Hotel in Tulsa, OK. This board served AR, CO, KS, IA, LA, MO, NE, OK and portions of North Texas.

In 2001, the Great Plains LTC and the North Texas LTC teamed up to help start the Southeastern LTC which first met in Mobile, AL.  In 2001, GPLTC also worked with with the newly formed board of the Heart of America LTC to start a convention in Kansas City to better serve the congregations in the four state area around Kansas City.