Youth Leadership Initiative
Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90263
About
Youth Leadership Initiative is a program at Pepperdine University that includes several specific offerings for young people interested in Christian leadership and preaching. CrossWays is a nine-day experience for high school students in the summer after their sophomore and junior years, and Youth Leadership Lab is a free, online course for 6th–8th graders in Christian leadership. The initiative also includes Next Gen Preacher Search, in which young people with an interest in preaching submit a 5-minute video sermon and may be selected for further training and presentation opportunities.
• Ages: 11–17 years old
CrossWays has the stated goal of enriching students' lives both spiritually and academically in order to develop strong Christian leaders by equipping them to love and live like Jesus in order to serve and lead as he did. In Youth Leadership Lab, students learn key character traits and leadership skills from faculty and staff, interact with other students from across the country who are taking the course, and develop as Christian leaders. Next Gen Preacher Search is a joint effort with the North American Christian Convention and several other Christian colleges and universities, and its forty semi-finalists attend a Preaching & Teaching Training Workshop with personalized coaching before four finalists present lessons before over 25,000 Christians at large Christian gatherings.
Pepperdine University was created and endowed in 1937 by George Pepperdine to provide education led by administrators and mentors who support Christian principles. Pepperdine is a Christian university committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership. The Youth Leadership Initiative is led by Jeff Walling, the founding director, who is a nationally recognized public speaker addressing over 65,000 teens each year throughout the world and who has served churches in Orange County, California for over 20 years, as well as serving as preaching minister of the Providence Road Church of Christ in Charlotte, North Carolina since 1997 before stepping into his role at Pepperdine in 2014.
Last updated June 10, 2026.
• Ages: 11–17 years old
CrossWays has the stated goal of enriching students' lives both spiritually and academically in order to develop strong Christian leaders by equipping them to love and live like Jesus in order to serve and lead as he did. In Youth Leadership Lab, students learn key character traits and leadership skills from faculty and staff, interact with other students from across the country who are taking the course, and develop as Christian leaders. Next Gen Preacher Search is a joint effort with the North American Christian Convention and several other Christian colleges and universities, and its forty semi-finalists attend a Preaching & Teaching Training Workshop with personalized coaching before four finalists present lessons before over 25,000 Christians at large Christian gatherings.
Pepperdine University was created and endowed in 1937 by George Pepperdine to provide education led by administrators and mentors who support Christian principles. Pepperdine is a Christian university committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership. The Youth Leadership Initiative is led by Jeff Walling, the founding director, who is a nationally recognized public speaker addressing over 65,000 teens each year throughout the world and who has served churches in Orange County, California for over 20 years, as well as serving as preaching minister of the Providence Road Church of Christ in Charlotte, North Carolina since 1997 before stepping into his role at Pepperdine in 2014.
Last updated June 10, 2026.
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