08/25/2026
To Our Leaders Academy Alumni,
On September 10, Leaders Academy will begin its 41st year, and as we prepare to welcome another class of interns, I’ve found myself thinking about all of you who have walked these halls before them.
For forty years, God has brought young men and women to Leaders Academy for a season of their lives. Different years. Different personalities. Different stories. But the same faithful God.
And you are part of that story.
For some of you, your time at LA was many years ago. For others, it still feels pretty recent. But I want you to take a moment and remember what it felt like when you first arrived. You probably came with some excitement, some uncertainty, and no real idea of everything God was going to do during your time here.
Think about the people God placed in your life. The friendships that were formed. The conversations that challenged you. The classes that changed the way you thought. The moments in worship when God met you. The times you were stretched, corrected, encouraged, and pushed beyond what was comfortable. Even some of the things you may not have appreciated at the time probably look a little different from where you stand today.
Now another group of young people is getting ready to begin that same journey.
I’m asking you to pray for them.
Pray that they will come with open hearts and a willingness to allow God to work deeply in their lives. Pray that they won’t simply go through a program, attend classes, or complete assignments, but that they will encounter God in ways that genuinely change them.
Pray for the friendships that will be formed this year. Some of the people they are about to meet may become lifelong friends. Pray that God surrounds each intern with the right relationships and gives them the courage to let go of relationships and influences that would pull them away from His purpose.
Pray for our staff as well. Ask the Lord to give us wisdom, discernment, patience, and fresh grace for this particular group of young people. More than anything, pray that we remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit. We don’t want to simply repeat what we have done for forty years. We want to recognize what God desires to do this year, with these interns, in this season.
I believe there are young people arriving on September 10 who don’t yet understand how significant the next several months could become in their lives. You understand that because you have lived it.
That’s one of the beautiful things about reaching our 41st year. Leaders Academy isn’t simply a program that has existed for four decades. It is a family made up of hundreds of people whose lives and stories have been woven together through what God has done here.
Wherever life has taken you since LA, we want you to know that we love you. You haven’t been forgotten. You will always be part of this family and part of the legacy God has built here.
And now, as another generation walks through those doors, I’m asking our alumni family to stand with us in prayer.
Pray that hearts are captured.
Pray that minds are renewed.
Pray that the Holy Spirit moves in powerful and personal ways.
And pray that when this new group eventually leaves Leaders Academy, they will carry what God has deposited in them into their families, churches, workplaces, communities, and wherever else He leads them—just as so many of you have done.
Year 41 begins September 10.
Let’s believe together that some of the greatest things God has ever done through Leaders Academy are still ahead of us.
We love you, LA Alumni. Thank you for continuing to be part of the story.
Paul Kern
Applied Life Leaders Academy
P.S. If you’re able to make it, we would love to see you at LA Alumni Night on Saturday, September 12, at 6:30 PM in the CMA gym. Come reconnect with old friends, spend some time with the LA family, and help us welcome this year’s incoming class. There’s something special about allowing a new group of interns to see the generations of people who have walked this journey before them. I hope you can join us!
