The Life Teen Leadership Conference is a transformative Catholic leadership formation experience for rising juniors and seniors—a week of prayer, mentorship, and mission that equips teens to lead and live as disciples of Christ.
We believe in empowering this new generation with practical leadership skills, while first teaching them the importance of being a disciple.
At the Life Teen Leadership Conference, teens will experience:
This event is open to all rising juniors and seniors, together with their adult chaperones—no Life Teen parish affiliation required. All teens must attend as part of a group accompanied by an adult chaperone.
Many parishes use this opportunity to intentionally form and train youth leaders who take on leadership roles within their communities. Since this conference is intended as a one-time experience for teens, we encourage you to bring a new group each year to be formed into leaders.
We recognize that strong young leaders thrive in a supportive community, so youth ministers and priests are given ample time throughout the week to engage deeply with their groups, strengthening both faith and leadership.
LTLC is held on the beautiful campus of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.
Plan your itinerary to fly into/out of the Kansas City Airport (MCI). The college is approximately 45 minutes from the airport. Life Teen does not provide transportation from the airport to the college. Parishes are responsible for arranging their own transportation.
At arrival, enter through the main entrance and park near the John Paul II Student Center. There is a Student Center loop for bus drop off. Check-in will take place in the Student Center. Further instructions on housing locations and parking will be given at check-in. Click here for an interactive map of campus.
Check-in is on Monday, June 27, from 11:00am-2:00pm, with the first session beginning at 2:30pm. It is approximately a 45 minute drive from the airport to Benedictine College. Lunch is not included on Monday. Please plan your flight times accordingly. If, due to flight options, you need to arrive a night early, please indicate that when you register. The fee for early arrivals is $65/person and includes Sunday night accommodations as well as breakfast & lunch on Monday. Check-in for early arrivals will be Sunday, June 26, from 7:00-10:00pm. LTLC ends on Friday, July 1, at 11:30am and does not include lunch on Friday.
Check back soon for a full schedule.
Accommodations are provided for all groups on campus at Benedictine College. Males and females are housed separately. Therefore, if you are bringing male and female teens you MUST have a male and female chaperone. The required ratio of chaperones to youth is 1 chaperone for up to every 8 youth of that same gender. Priests are housed in their own private dorms with other priests.
Pillows are available for all participants but pillowcases, sheets, blankets, and towels are not provided. If your group is unable to fit bedding in your luggage, alternative arrangements can be made. To inquire about fees and request to have bedding provided, contact Mary Zitelli at mzitelli@lifeteen.com. Bedding arrangements must be made no later than May 15th.
Find all the information below regarding paperwork and registration policies for your group.
Cost:
Rate: $560/person
Deposit Amount:
$100/person (applied to total cost)
Deadline for Payment of Deposit:
2 weeks after registering online
Deadline for Payment of Final Balance: May 15
Payment Methods:
All paperwork is due May 15, 2022. Paperwork information and downloads can be found below.
Mary Zitelli, Events Registration Coordinator
mzitelli@lifeteen.com // 800-809-3902 ext. 231
Sarah Houde, Director of Events
shoude@lifeteen.com // 800-809-3902 ext. 201
Cost:
Rate: $560/person
Deposit Amount:
$100/person (applied to total cost)
Deadline for Payment of Deposit:
2 weeks after registering online
Deadline for Payment of Final Balance: May 15
Payment Methods:
All paperwork is due May 15, 2022. Paperwork information and downloads can be found below.
Mary Zitelli, Events Registration Coordinator
mzitelli@lifeteen.com,
800-809-3902 ext. 231
Sarah Houde, Director of Events
shoude@lifeteen.com,
800-809-3902 ext. 201
Life Teen is committed to keeping the health and safety of our event participants and staff a top priority. We are monitoring the continuously changing pandemic situation and working with each of our venues to ensure all required safety protocols at the time of the event are met. Specific plans will be communicated closer to the event date.
In order to make this experience the best one possible for your teens, we recommend a maximum of 16 teens, 8 of each gender. But you know your parish and your teens best, so we ultimately leave that decision up to you! Remember, for up to every 8 male teens, you must have at least 1 male chaperone and for up to every 8 female teens, you must have at least 1 female chaperone. The minimum group size required is at least 3 people, made up of 1 chaperone with 2 teens (all of the same gender).
In prior years, we have allowed chaperones to be responsible for teens from other groups in order to meet the gender-specific chaperone requirements. That will not be permitted this year. Each registered group must meet the gender-specific chaperone requirements within their own group.
After May 15, you can only make substitutions of the same gender and age category (chaperone or youth) due to housing arrangements. If you have questions regarding this, please contact Mary Zitelli (mzitelli@lifeteen.com).
Due to limited dorm space, we are not usually able to provide private rooms for chaperones. If you are the only chaperone of your gender attending from your parish, you might be paired with a chaperone of the same gender from another group.
Yes, you have two options to get your teen registered for the conference. You can form and register a small group comprised of yourself, your teen, and some of his or her friends. In that case you would be the group leader. We require a minimum group size of 3 and all groups must comply with the chaperone requirements. The other option is to find out if there is a parish in your area attending the conference and then you can contact the youth minister at that parish to see if they’d be willing to take your teen as a part of their group. Contact Mary Zitelli (mzitelli@lifeteen.com) to see if any groups from your area are registered.
Life Teen does not provide transportation for the conference. A list of transportation options at the kansas City airport can be found here.
We would love for you to concelebrate! We ask that you please bring your own vestments (alb & stole). And be sure to submit your Letter of Good Standing ahead of time.
We do have a very limited amount of scholarships available for teens to attend LTLC. If you have a teen in great financial need, please download this scholarship application and submit it.
Youth participants must be rising juniors or seniors. All chaperones must be 21 years of age or older. All participants must be registered as part of a group with a group leader taking responsibility for adhering to the payment, cancellation, paperwork, and event policies.
The food served at the conference is cafeteria-style. If you or anyone in your group has a food allergy we need to be aware of, please let us know. There is a section on the participant liability form that allows you to share this information with us. In order for allergies to be accommodated by the college, that information must be submitted via the participant liability form no later than May 15. We always do our very best to accommodate your needs; however, it never hurts to bring some snacks just in case.
Kansas is warm and often humid during the summer. It’s hot during the day and pleasant at night and in the mornings. Dress to be casual and comfortable. The main room/breakout rooms can get chilly so bring a sweater or sweatshirt. While the main room is air conditioned, some dorm rooms are not.
There is internet available by ethernet cord in each dorm room and wireless in the student center. Internet is not available in the main room.
Yes, the Life Teen Store will have lots of great product for you to purchase!
We will have very basic first aid (band aids, Tylenol, Tums, etc.) For any major needs, participants will need to go to the local urgent care or hospital. The group leader should bring first aid supplies as well.
Yes, we will have a digital audio download of all keynote and most breakout talks for sale at the conference. The digital download will not contain music that is played at the conference. Group leaders can purchase the download on site. Cost is $60.
The expiration date on all existing credits from previously cancelled events was extended to December 31, 2022. This means you can use your existing credit for any Life Teen event, camp, resource, or subscription until the end of 2022. If you choose not to attend the conference this summer, be sure to use your credit for something else as it will expire at the end of 2022. As a reminder, your credit is equivalent to the amount of money paid and is not specific to the event you were registered for or the number of spots you had registered for. If you are unsure whether or not you have remaining credit or the amount of your credit, please contact Mary Zitelli at mzitelli@lifeteen.com.
If, due to unforeseen circumstances, Life Teen cancels the event, any deposits paid will become credit and any final balances paid will be eligible for a refund.
Mary Zitelli, Events Registration Coordinator
mzitelli@lifeteen.com, 800-809-3902 ext. 231
Sarah Houde, Director of Events
shoude@lifeteen.com, 800-809-3902 ext. 201