ACSI Europe Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Student Leadership Conferences
November 30, 2023
By Rebecca Ewing
25 years ago, a tiny seed was sown that has had a monumental impact for Christ and His kingdom on earth. In 1998, Bill Stevens, the Student Leadership Conference (SLC) Coordinator for the former ACSI Northeast Region, introduced the idea of creating SLCs in Europe to Laci Demeter, who was an educational consultant for the ACSI Europe Office.
The purpose of the SLCs was to train high school students for leadership roles within their schools, empowering them to become agents of change for the gospel message. The initiative was successful in the Northeast region of the U.S. and the hope was to replicate it for ACSI member schools in Europe.
Demeter, who would become the ACSI Europe Director a few years later, immediately got to work, and he and his team held the European Student Leadership Conference later that year. At their first event, the conference had 50 attendees.
In the fall of 2023, Demeter and his team held their 25th annual SLC at a beautiful event center outside of Budapest. More than 400 students from 40 schools in 21 different European countries attended. The event has become so popular that two back-to-back conferences are held on consecutive weeks to accommodate everyone.
In September and October of 2023, students, chaperones, and team members gathered in and around a gorgeous, pillared building surrounded by open space, gardens, and lushly treed countryside. With plenty of room to both gather and disperse for breakout sessions and free time, students bunked in shared rooms in a dorm-like setting, which provided ample opportunity to get to know one another. They bonded during the week over traditional Hungarian cuisine.
ACSI Director of Student Leadership & Learning Emily Pigott was the keynote speaker during the first week of the SLC, with Duane Beach, pastor at High Point Baptist Church in Germany, stepping in the second week. Pigott opened the conference by laying the foundation that “we serve a God Who is trustworthy.” As she explained it, “And then we had to show students that trust in God is what determines the effectiveness of their leadership.”
Expanding on this idea, Pigott invited students to explore how they can become trustworthy leaders like Jesus was and is. Pigott clarified the importance of servant leadership versus power-fueled leadership. She told the attendees, “Now that you’re trustworthy, because you trust in this amazing God, others are going to trust you as a leader and your impact is going to be far greater than you ever thought.”
Looking back on a week filled with many memorable experiences, Pigott exclaimed, “I’ll never forget that last night. I’ve talked at a lot of conferences and been to a lot of countries, but I’ve never been in a room where 11 countries were represented. That’s the magic of SLC. There were students from 11 countries, and as the conference was coming to a close that evening, they spontaneously broke out in prayer for one another.” Pigott said they were not asked to do it, but the students huddled together to pray, knowing they would soon leave for home.
Pigott described the Spirit-filled scene: “The worship band came up to close and they just kept playing and playing, and in the middle of that, two young ladies came up, separately, and professed their faith in Christ for the first time.”
Demeter described that same scene as “beautiful” and was delighted when, during the second week, some students told him that their time at SLC was the best thing that had happened in their lives thus far. “I don’t know how 12th graders can say that,” he said, “but I heard it more than once.”
Another high school senior admitted to Demeter that she had arrived with many doubts and concerns about her life and future, but she felt that God had met her at SLC and answered the questions on her heart. “It’s wonderful to hear that,” said Demeter. He said that he regularly meets people from all walks of life who joyfully recall attending an SLC at some point in the past 25 years. Encouraging testimonies like these motivate Demeter and his team to continue to produce the SLCs as long as the Lord allows.
One of the defining characteristics of SLC—and an ingredient that has led to how successful the conferences have been over the years—is that nearly everything is student-led. Pigott described the set-up as “brilliant—the SLC team is really intentional.” They prayerfully select students ahead of time to be trained in facilitating the breakout sessions, and in doing so, they exemplify the reality that God uses people from any age, race, economic status, and background to lead if they are willing.
This focus on student-led discussions and planning provokes the most positive feedback from attendees, according to Demeter. Teens are inspired and encouraged by one another that they can—at this very time—make a difference in their schools, families, and communities.
“One common area of feedback we receive is that the attendees find it so uplifting to come together with colleagues from other countries, you know, different nations, and they realize that their basic life goals are the same. They take great courage from the boldness of other groups and encourage each other in living out their faith,” said Demeter.
Another aspect of the SLC that extends its life and impact beyond the week-long gathering is that students create an action plan to take back to their schools. The plans include items such as committing to begin student-led Bible studies, becoming involved in Chapel planning committees, and even strategizing ways to engage the community through outreach and service.
After returning home, students have an opportunity to stay in touch with Demeter’s team for follow-up encouragement and guidance. These are God-inspired, student-initiated, and adult-supported action plans, and the youth involved are rising to the challenge and running with them.
ACSI is now looking at how to expand SLCs into Asia and other parts of the world. “Demeter is doing extraordinarily well,” said Pigott. “How can the Student Leadership & Learning team come alongside all the other global regions?” Demeter’s program is being used as a prototype due to its success, and ACSI’s prayer is that God will continue to make a way for the conferences to expand across the globe.