Leader Labs 2025 Recap: Helping Leaders Lead Better, Love Better, and Last Longer

At BigStuf, we don’t just care about the next generation. We care about the people leading them. That’s why every morning during camp, before the main session kicks off, we gather youth pastors and leaders for something special: Leader Labs.

Hosted by longtime BigStuf partner and youth leadership expert Stuart Hall, Leader Labs are more than just a break from the chaos of camp. They’re a chance to breathe deep, reflect, and get equipped for the work God’s called you to. Not just for this week, but for the year ahead.

A Leader’s Life Isn’t Easy. But It Matters Deeply

We know what it’s like. Leading students can be deeply rewarding and wildly exhausting, sometimes in the same moment. You’re managing family dynamics, navigating student mental health, pouring out spiritually, and trying to stay grounded in your own faith at the same time.

Leader Labs created space to name that. To sit in a room with others who get it. And to let someone pour into you for a change.

A Different Kind of Curriculum

This wasn’t a whiteboard seminar. It wasn’t a checklist of leadership tactics or a sermon on how to hustle harder.

Instead, Stuart walked leaders through a series of personal, powerful, and deeply spiritual sessions that were all about formation. Not just what we do, but who we’re becoming. Here are a few of the themes we explored:

1. Expectation vs. Reality: When Faith Gets Tested

It’s one thing to believe in God when life is good. But how do we lead students when their stories don’t unfold the way they hoped?

Stuart opened the week by helping leaders examine the expectations they place on God — and the ones students carry into their faith journeys. We talked about the danger of assuming that a “good God” always equals a “good life.” Because when disappointment hits, some students don’t have a category for how to keep trusting God.

Leaders left reminded: we can’t always fix our students’ circumstances, but we can help them form a faith that holds steady even when things fall apart.

“We tell students: ‘God is good.’ But do we show them how to walk with Him when life isn’t?”

2. Students Aren’t Lacking Passion — They’re Lacking Direction

In another session, Stuart shared the story of Simon the Zealot, a passionate, likely angry follower of Jesus whose fire could have easily turned destructive. But Jesus didn’t snuff him out. He redirected his passion for good.

It was a challenge to all of us: teenagers today have energy, emotion, and passion. The real question is, do they have trusted leaders who can help them channel it in healthy, purposeful ways? Leader Labs encouraged us to be just that — to fuel the fire without letting it burn the wrong bridges.

“Your students are on fire. But they need someone to help them aim the flame.”

3. Loneliness, Friendship, and the Need to Be Seen

One of the most quoted lines of the week was this:

“Teenagers are only as healthy as their five closest friends. And you might be one of those five.”

That hit hard.

Students are forming identities. They’re asking the big questions: Am I okay? Am I enough? Am I seen? And your presence in their life, consistently and lovingly, might be the stabilizing force they need.

Leader Labs reminded us that we’re not just teaching students about God. We’re showing them God’s love by how we show up for them, even in the messy middle.

You’re Doing Better Than You Think

Stuart didn’t just talk about students. He talked about us — the leaders.

He reminded us that you don’t have to be perfect to be powerful in someone’s life. That staying faithful matters more than always being “on.” And that students are watching how we live, not just what we say.

“Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say to a student is: ‘You’re not alone. You’re still loved. You’re going to be okay.’”

Looking Ahead to Leader Labs 2026

Leader Labs will be back next summer, again led by Stuart Hall. If you’ve never made time to attend, we can’t encourage you enough to show up, sit in, and receive. You’ll leave with more than just notes. You’ll leave with a renewed sense of calling and a better understanding of how to love your students well.

Because at the end of the day, you matter. And your health — spiritual, emotional, and relational — impacts your students more than you know.

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We’re in this together. And we’re so grateful for the way you lead.