What is SLi?

Welcome to Student Leadership Institute.
Embracing Kingdom Education as a foundation, Student Leadership Institute trains students on key characteristics of Jesus' leadership and requires students to be actively involved in service, evangelism and church activities.

Students in SLi are trained in the Biblical model and definition of leadership with a core emphasis on the Three Operating Principles of:

• The Biblical Principle of Serving Others
• The Biblical Principle of Evangelism
• The Biblical Principle of Serving in a Local Body of Believers

The Four Program Components of SLi are the practical applications of the Operating Principles:

1. Leadership Courses
2. Direct Leadership Opportunities
3. Leadership Camps
4. Specific Leadership Skills

“Leadership is not something you do to people. It’s something you do with people.”
-Ken Blanchard
Leadership and the One Minute Manager

Student Leadership Institute is designed to be replicated. If you are a school administrator or teacher and have a heart for building Christian thinkers and leaders among your students, you can take Student Leadership Institute to your campus.

SLi Purpose

Student Leadership Institute’s mission is to assist young people in the development of their leadership philosophy and skills by exposing them to a Biblically-based, practical, multifaceted, year-long program.

Students are trained in the Biblical model and definition of leadership with a core emphasis on three operating principles: service, evangelism/engaging the culture and church involvement. This model, founded from God’s Word, focuses on individual and institutional commitments to becoming selfless and others-centered. It is SLi’s goal that students connect these principles to their campus, community and church. Students will be challenged to become more like Christ as they seek a higher level of leadership training.

SLi Core Principles

Student Leadership Institute teaches that a Kingdom student leader will be driven by three core Biblical-leadership principles. All three principles must be advanced in order to develop a balanced Kingdom student leader.

Serving Others - Jesus modeled this Biblical leadership principle by focusing more on others than on Himself. True leadership is fully realized only when one becomes aware of the needs of others. Mentoring, discipleship and evangelism are natural responses when students truly devote their lives to serving others.

Evangelism / Engaging the Culture - Jesus instructed His disciples to employ this Biblical leadership principle by sharing the good news of salvation. Active participation in Kingdom work includes a strong commitment to share the Gospel with others. Lifestyle evangelism occurs when students internalize God’s call on their lives.

Serving in a Local Church - Jesus designed our bodies to operate most effectively when all of the individual parts work together. The church reaches its maximum potential only when the individuals become one body. Students must utilize their spiritual gifts within the framework of the local church to truly live as Kingdom student leaders.

About SLi Components

Student Leadership Institute is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills to become Christian leaders in their schools and in the marketplace. Courses are taught in both large and small groups on a wide range of topics. Teachers, administrators and pastors share teaching responsibilities with outside speakers.

Student Leadership Institute includes leadership courses, which provide the "theory" and skills necessary for a strong foundation, and opportunities for hands-on application of learned principles. Students are also encouraged to attend summer leadership conferences that include Biblical Worldview training such Student Leadership University.

The SLi Story

As a teacher, coach, administrator, and now school head, Larry Taylor, founder of Student Leadership Institute, is passionate about training the next generation of Christian servant-leaders. Through observation and research over many years, Larry Taylor concluded that few schools or churches had deliberate plans to train student leaders. He saw an opportunity to develop a strategic program by which schools and youth groups reinforce what students were learning at church camps, summer leadership programs and on mission trips. Thus, Student Leadership Institute was born.

The vision of Student Leadership Institute is to implement this program in hundreds of schools and churches around the world in an effort to create and equip an army of Biblically-trained and Christ-centered student leaders.

Click here to learn more about our SLi Regional Conferences.

SLi School Model

Student Leadership Institute is designed to fit into the normal weekly schedule at any Christian school.

Building SLi into your schedule may require adjusting certain elements to find a weekly time slot that does not interfere with class time. At Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas (pre-K-12; 1,500 students), a weekly activity period is built in the schedule to create a block of time for SLi and other student groups and organizations.

SLi in Action

In Student Leadership Institute, students are trained in the Biblical model and definition of leadership with a core emphasis on three operating principles: service, evangelism and church involvement. Because most students' schedules are full of extracurricular and church activities, Student Leadership Institute takes place primarily during regularly-scheduled school hours.

Few schools have taken leadership training to this level. In essence, the school becomes the laboratory for hands-on training for leadership and discipleship. The emphasis on connecting the students to their campus, community and church is a deliberate step in going from "theory" to "practice".

SLi Founder - Larry Taylor

In his two decades of service in Christian education, Larry Taylor has focused on building student servant-leaders. At Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas (pre-K-12; 1,500 students), where Larry serves as head of school, nearly 80% of high school students voluntarily participate in Student Leadership Institute.

Larry Taylor was past-President of the Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools (SBACS) and has co-founded a national training institute for Christian schools called Becoming a Kingdom School Institute. In addition to Student Leadership Institute and Kingdom School Institute, Larry Taylor has also created the PCA Institute, a nationally recognized and acclaimed training program for school boards, faculty, staff, students and parents. Hundreds of parents annually attend his Kingdom Family training course.

Larry Taylor has been married to Delinda Rose Taylor for over twenty years and has four sons: Bryce, Luke, Zeke and Chas.

Click here to contact Larry Taylor.