Imagine a generation that views itself and others as image-bearers of God.
Given our cultural moment in America, Christian educators, youth leaders, and parents are greatly concerned about raising young men and women in a world of bullying, media violence, poor self-image, and racism, to name a few crucial issues.
Considering these challenges, how are we to prepare the next generation of Christian leaders?
The Imago Dei Leadership Forum (IDLF) seeks to do this in 4 areas:
1. Identity in Christ (Genesis 1:26; Ephesians 2:10)— Affirm students’ identities as image-bearers of Jesus Christ—so they can love God, love others, and love themselves—glorifying Him in the process.
2. Faith Integration (Romans 10: 9-12)—Equip students with the essentials of the Christian faith so they can 1) Know in whose image they were created, 2) Discern how biblical truths are presented in the media, and 3) Learn how to integrate their faith in all areas of life.
3. Wisdom and Knowledge (Proverbs 1:1-7)— Equip students to know the truth and impact of treating others as image-bearers—both in history and today—so they can wisely confront inequity and pursue justice as a servant leader in their school and/or community.
4. Visionary Leadership (Proverbs 29:18)—Equip students with the vision to engage a generation to love Jesus and His image-bearers.
The Imago Dei Leadership Forum (IDLF) helps teens affirm their identity and faith in Jesus and equip them to learn the importance of loving others as image-bearers through the inspiring IDLF Program, which uses the engaging In Whose Image? e-textbook featuring new Gen Z research from The Barna Group and 42 videos.
Students discuss what it means to be an image-bearer of God in today’s world–from our identity, to the power of social media, to issues of body image, gender, and race, to name a few topics. They also explore images, media worldviews, and history that omits, misrepresents, distorts and/or undermines the essentials of the Christian faith, as well as the images, media, and history that accurately presents the Gospel and the importance of loving others as fellow image-bearers.
The IDLF Program culminates with a weeklong leadership retreat to Washington, D.C. As students wrestle with the important cultural issues of our day, our prayer is that they will begin to understand each other’s backgrounds and perspectives to better equip them to be a light for Jesus as they graduate and transition to their respective high schools.
In 2020-21, the IDLF Program came to Brookstone Schools.