about
Equipping teens to become effective godly leaders who engage the culture from a Biblical perspective
In the mid-90’s, LEAD’s program was first developed in Michigan by James Muffett and other Michiganders. Their vision was to train the next generation in statesmanship, citizenship, and biblical worldview. They sought to equip campers to apply biblical principles to their world. Just as has happened in Michigan and across the country, so Wisconsin has increasingly deviated from biblical principles. The Wisconsin Family Council believes that a key element in restoring a culture’s society is raising up Christians who are equipped with godly character to be leaders in their families, schools, and professions. Julaine Appling, president of WFC, visited LEAD Michigan in 2019. She observed LEAD MI in action and was struck by the unique and dynamic experience it offered. She knew Wisconsin Family Council needed to bring the program to Wisconsin. We launched LEAD Wisconsin on the campus of Maranatha Baptist University for the first time in August of 2021. There was such a demand for a camp like ours that we had to cap off registration at 80 campers! The Lord truly moved that week. And now, here we are. Join us for our next camp!
How We Work
LEAD Wisconsin is a week-long, true-to-life leadership simulation. Under the direction of experienced professionals from a wide variety of fields, campers are given the unique opportunity to see what a Christian leader faces in the real world. All our campers get Biblical worldview training sessions and engaging discussions on cultural topics.
All our first-time campers must be in the Assembly track where they role-play as representatives and work to pass or fail real bills from the Wisconsin legislature.
Our returning campers, alumni campers, get to choose which advanced track they would like to participate in the week. Some advanced track options are Senate, Media, and Business.
Visit Tracks to learn more about each track!
Core Values
- Young people are our most important resource, comprising a small part of the current population, yet representing 100% of our future.
- Every individual has a unique God-given purpose that cannot be fulfilled by anyone else. Their ability to fulfill that purpose is greatly enhanced through the development of their full leadership potential.
- Sustaining the vitality of our society depends on the modeling of and transferring of those moral and social ideals to the next generation.
- The blessings of liberty, rooted in time-honored Judeo-Christian ideas and principles, are dependent on personal virtue and civic responsibility.
- The essential qualities of good citizenship, regardless of one’s vocation, include an appreciation of and participation in civil society best developed through hands-on, true-to-life leadership experiences.
Statement of Faith
There is one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, creator of all things visible and invisible, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Bible is the inspired and authoritative Word of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God and the Savior of all humanity, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life culminating in His vicarious and atoning death through His blood, bodily resurrection, and His ascension to the right hand of the Father. He will come a second time at the end of this age.
Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for salvation, which is by grace, through repentance and faith in what Jesus did on the cross.
It is the present ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit that enables the Christian to live a godly life.
There will be a resurrection of both the saved and the lost; those that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and those that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
There is a spiritual unity of all true believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Biblical Worldview Principles
We are called to wholehearted commitment to Christ as Lord of Heaven and earth.
Our primary identity is to be found in Christ and our primary mission is to be Ambassadors for Christ who live out our faith not only in our families, church and vocation, but also in the culture as Responsible Christians in a civil society.
God’s Word is the foundation of truth intended to be applied outward into every sphere of life.
Therefore:
Human life is sacred and must be protected, particularly the most vulnerable in our society – the unborn, disabled and elderly.
Marriage is the union of one man and one woman, is rooted in God’s design for human sexuality and is the foundation of the family which in turn is the foundation of society.
Religious freedom is one of our most fundamental constitutional rights and religious expression should not be suppressed nor excluded from the public arena.
We seek to address all topics with respect, grace, truth and love.
Lifestyle Statement
Wisconsin Family Council is a non-profit Christian organization representing Jesus Christ. As such, WFC requires its employees/volunteers to be born-again Christians, living their lives as Christian role models (Rom. 10:9-10; I Tim. 4:12; Luke 6:40).
Employees/volunteers will conduct themselves in a way that will not raise questions regarding their Christian testimonies. A Christian lifestyle should reflect the biblical perspective of integrity and appropriate personal and family relationships, business conduct and moral behavior. An employee/volunteer is expected to demonstrate a teachable spirit, an ability to share love for others, a willingness to live contentedly under authority and a commitment to follow the Matthew 18 principle when an issue arises with fellow employees/volunteers or management.
WFC expects employees/volunteers to maintain a lifestyle based on biblical standards of moral conduct. Moral misconduct, which violates the bona fide occupational qualification for employees/volunteers to be Christian role models, includes, but is not limited to, drunkenness, premarital sex, adultery, and homosexual behavior or any other violation of the unique roles of male and female. (Rom. 1:21-27; I Cor. 6:9-20). WFC believes that biblical marriage is limited to a covenant relationship between a man and a woman and we believe in the sanctity of human life from conception through natural death.
WFC employees/volunteers will maintain a lifestyle based on biblical standards of conduct. Failure to do so may result in a reprimand or, in some cases, dismissal. It is the goal of WFC that each employee/volunteer will have a lifestyle where “…He might have the pre-eminence.” Col. 1:18.