Impact

Have you ever wondered about the impact your life has on other people? I was down in Toowoomba this last week for Movers and Shakers, a leadership training program for young people. There were 40 participants gathered together to sharpen their leadership tools and grow as leaders. They may not realise it, but many of these young people had an impact on my life.

Fr Morgan answering Questions of Faith at Movers and Shakers

Movers and Shakers gathers young people aged 16-19 from all around QLD. The program draws the participants together as a community and they are faced with numerous activities which challenges their problem solving, team work and persistence. The week is about learning new leadership tools and sharpening their existing skills. My role throughout the week was as a Small Group Facilitator (shout out to the Hakuna Matatas!).

Watching the participants tackle the activities, hearing their responses to the input and experiencing the new bonds of friendship inspired me in ways I was not expecting. It was inspiring to see some of the young people step out of their comfort zone and stand before their peers. It was awesome (in the truest sent of the word) to accomplish the difficult task of creating an Egg Protection Device (it's ok that you don't know what that means, you had to be there). It was heart-warming to see participants comfort each other as home-sickness set in. Most of all, it was inspiring for me to see young people generously and authentically step it up everyday in so many different ways.

Over the last five years I've worked in ministry and different leadership roles. In a lot of ways I'd grown comfortable and plateaued in my own personal development. The facilitators and participants of Movers and Shakers reminded me that there's always room to grow.

I learnt about the importance of authenticity and compassion as a leader, I learnt about leadership as influencing a group of individuals towards a common goal, I learnt about different leadership styles; and I was impacted by young people who embraced all of this in the short span of a week - imagine what they could do with the rest of their lives!