The Story
After I graduated from California Coast Bible College in 2018, I was offered two opportunities that changed my life forever: the youth pastor position at City Church California and the speech/communication teacher at the college I just graduated from. I quickly realized that my two of biggest passions were the youth and teaching communication. After a year of doing both, I began to brainstorm with the Lord about how we could mix the two of these passions together.
During the spring months of 2019, I went on a walk and had a vision of a communication school where young people, ages 5-25, would be taught how to communicate like Jesus on a public and interpersonal level. It would be a place where every student would understand and believe that they have been given a voice and have something to say! They would learn, through lessons and experience, how to use their voice for the purpose of LOVE.
This vision became a burden (the good kind) when my heart started feeling deeply for kids in the youth group who were socially anxious in relational environments. With the rise of technology, I saw students isolate themselves rather than talk with people. Many of them were dealing with insecurities because they were nervous to speak with others or just didn’t know how. I felt like I could relate to these students because of relational insecurities I had felt in elementary school. Although terrifying at first, public speaking and learning how to communicate brought confidence to me at a young age. I knew that it could be just as helpful for other young people as it was for myself.
I haven’t lived a long time, but I have lived long enough to realize that the success and fulfillment of my life is determined by the health of my relationships. I have also realized that the health of those relationships are built on good communication. It is one of the most important skills we could ever learn and ultimately, my heart is that young people would thrive relationally in every area of life because of the way they speak to others.
The Voices of Love is a result of all of this.
The Content
- The Little Things (eye contact, body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, etc.)
- Conversations (handling conflict, confrontation, listening, asking questions, small talk, etc.)
- Communicating with Confidence (speaking with authority, dealing with nerves)
- Being Authentic Publicly (being yourself, speaking without fear of what people think)
- Communicating with Creativity (creating attention getters, finishing with strong conclusions)
- Organizing Thoughts (learning how to communicate ideas that make sense to the audience)
- Analyzing an Audience (putting the audience first by listening and adjusting to their responses)
- Getting Experience (presenting speeches and many public speaking exercises in front of the class)