Our Founder — Dream Chaser Kids
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Founder · Dream Chaser Kids

Built on one
conviction.
Every child
is gifted.

Leslie B. James founded Dream Chaser Kids because he watched too many kids grow up knowing they were loved — but not knowing what they were for. That gap became a mission.

"Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep."

Acts 13:36 NIV — the founding verse of Dream Chaser Kids
Work with us See what we've built
Leslie B. James, Founder of Dream Chaser Kids
Leslie B. James
Founder · Dream Chaser Kids
700+
students served
4+
partner organizations
32+
project playbooks
hello@dreamchaserkids.com · Orlando, FL
The origin

He didn't build a program.
He answered a question.

The question was simple: why do so many kids grow up knowing they're loved — by their family, their church, their community — and still arrive at 18 with no real sense of what they're for?

Leslie James had seen it too many times. Kids who were bright, caring, creative — kids who had been told they were special their whole lives — standing at the edge of adulthood without a map. Not because they lacked ability. Because no one had ever given them a structured, guided pathway from "I think I'm good at something" to "I built something real with it."

"Discipleship taught them who they are. I wanted to build something that showed them what to do with it."

Dream Chaser Kids started with that conviction. Not a curriculum. Not a curriculum first, anyway. A conviction. That every child is given something by God. That those gifts aren't decorations — they're directions. And that the job of every adult who loves young people is to help them name those gifts, develop them, and aim them at a real need in the world.

The name comes from Acts 13:36 — David, who served God's purpose in his own generation. Not the generation before him. Not the generation after. His own. That's the call Leslie built Dream Chaser around: not preparing kids for some vague future someday, but equipping them to serve their neighbors, their communities, and their world now.

What he built was a model that works without him in the room. The Comprehensive Program Framework is designed so a youth pastor, a teacher, or a community org staff member can run a complete Dream Chaser program — from TalentExplorer to final StoryBuilder page — without Leslie traveling anywhere. That's not a limitation. It's the architecture. A mission that scales doesn't travel on the founder's calendar. It travels in an Integrated Strategic System that any leader who loves kids can pick up and use.

Three convictions behind the model
Conviction 01
Every child is gifted — not as encouragement, as fact.
TalentExplorer wasn't built to make kids feel good. It was built to give them accurate language for what God already placed in them — language they can carry into every room they enter for the rest of their lives.
Conviction 02
Identity without application is incomplete formation.
Telling a kid they're an Artistic Creator is the beginning, not the end. Project Playbooks exist because discovery without direction is just a quiz. The mission is a kid who built something — and knows why they built it.
Conviction 03
The model has to work without the founder.
A mission that requires the founder in every room doesn't scale to the neighborhoods that need it most. Every piece of Dream Chaser is designed to be run by the adults who are already there — because they're the ones who matter most to these kids.
Conviction 04
This generation's work deserves to be documented.
StoryBuilder pages aren't just portfolios. They're testimonies. Every kid who completes a project leaves with evidence — for themselves, their family, their community, and anyone who ever asks what this generation is capable of.
How it started

A sermon series.
A summer camp.
One spark.

The concept didn't start in a classroom; it started in a pulpit. In 2018, Leslie preached a sermon series called "Dream Chaser," focusing on the life of David—from his initial calling as a shepherd boy to his ultimate defeat of Goliath. The core message was simple: God gives us gifts not just to bless us, but to equip us to slay the giants of our generation.

The response to that series was overwhelming, but it begged a practical application. A year later, in 2019, a decision to volunteer at a friend's summer camp provided the testing ground. Leslie took the spiritual framework of the sermon series and applied it practically to over 100 kids—from kindergarteners to high school seniors. He watched firsthand as the concept of "you have a purpose" moved from a theological idea to a tangible action plan.

"What began as a sermon series became a bridge for children to discover their actual gifts."

As a father of three, Leslie has seen firsthand what excessive screen time can do to a child's mind and motivation. Research warns that passive digital consumption can diminish creativity, focus, and social skills. Dream Chaser's answer isn't fear — it's formation. Instead of scrolling, kids are building. Instead of consuming, they're creating.

700+
Students reached since the first summer camp in 2019
100+
Kids at that first camp — where the mission took shape
How Dream Chaser Kids grew
2018
The Message
The "Dream Chaser" Sermon Series

Preaching through the life of David, establishing the foundational conviction that every individual is uniquely gifted to serve their generation.

2019
The Spark
A volunteer shift that changed everything

One summer camp. 100 kids. The moment Leslie saw the gap between "you're gifted" and "here's what to do with it" — and built a framework to close it.

2020
The Model
TalentExplorer + Project Playbooks

A structured pathway from "I think I'm good at something" to "I built something real with it." Tested with real kids during the complexities of remote learning.

Now
The Mission
Raising creators — not consumers

Partnering with public schools, YMCAs, homeschool co-ops, and ministry contexts. The Comprehensive Program Framework is ready, and the goal is to equip local leaders everywhere.

What We Found In The Land of Dreams — Dream Chaser Kids Book 1 by Leslie B. James
Book 1 of Series Ages 4–9 Kindle + Print
The Dreamland Adventure Series · Book 1

What We Found In
The Land of Dreams

By Leslie B. James · Dream Chaser Kids
★★★★☆ 3.8 on Amazon · Kindle & Print editions

What if dreams were just adventures waiting to be discovered? Young explorers ages 4–9 learn how to make a profit and make a difference — discovering self-discovery, healthy relationships, imagination, resilience, wealth creation, and philanthropy through a story built to be read together. Kids tag along as young entrepreneurs outwit the Dream Keepers and unlock new abilities to launch companies. In dreams, we plant the seeds of our future.

Self-discovery
Entrepreneurship
Philanthropy
Resilience
Faith-rooted values
Get it on Amazon Questions? Email us

Kindle edition from $6.99 · Print edition from $12.99 — priced to reach every family.

Meet the real Dream Chasers — Leslie's kids — who inspired the story
Imani
Artistic Creator · Social Connector

Used her love of fashion to launch a micro-business helping other kids access books and supplies — learning design, pricing, storytelling, and generosity along the way.

View Imani's StoryBuilder
Aniyah
Mindful Helper · Innovative Explorer

"I created Meet Meeps Adventure because I think they're cute, and I believe it will make people laugh." A brand built on joy and imagination.

View Aniyah's StoryBuilder
Nehemiah
Problem Solver

"I wanted a place where everyone could find a game they loved." He built a multi-game arcade hub to connect his whole community.

View Nehemiah's StoryBuilder
What's been built

Ten years of conviction
becoming infrastructure.

Dream Chaser Kids didn't arrive fully formed. It was built student by student, partner by partner, program by program — tested, refined, and rebuilt until the model was tight enough to scale without Leslie in the room.

700+
Students served
Across Charlotte, Orlando, Spartanburg, and nationwide.
5+
Validated partner orgs
CMS Schools, YMCA, TMSA, Ark Academy, and ABF.
78%
Pathways & agency gain
Measured using the peer-reviewed Children's Hope Scale.
32+
Project Playbooks
Mapped to 10 talent types and 4 age bands. Ready to use.
What guides every decision
Faith language should fit the room. In faith-based environments, God, calling, and spiritual gifts are central. In secular public schools and community programs, that language is removed while the core framework remains. The mission is always formation, not performance.
Kids deserve to be treated as emerging leaders — not "cute helpers." The language, the projects, and the expectations all reflect that.
Fear-only framing about screens and AI is lazy. Dream Chaser names the concern and immediately offers the hopeful alternative: building instead of scrolling.
The model has to be affordable for the communities it serves most. $25 per student for a one-day workshop isn't a promotional price — it's a design commitment.
Data is a form of faithfulness. Every outcome measure, every StoryBuilder page, every pre/post survey exists because this generation's work deserves to be documented.
A note from Leslie

"I didn't start Dream Chaser Kids because I had a business plan. I started it because I kept meeting kids who were gifted and directionless — and adults who loved them but didn't know how to close that gap.

I built the model I wished had existed for the kids in my own life. Structured enough to produce real outcomes. Flexible enough to work in a YMCA, a church youth room, a public school computer lab, or a summer camp. Affordable enough that a community org with a $500 budget can run it without apologizing.

And I built it so it doesn't need me. Not because I don't care — but because the mission is bigger than my calendar. The adults who are already present in these kids' lives are the ones who matter most. My job is to give them the best possible strategic framework — and get out of the way."

Leslie B. James
Leslie B. James
Founder · Dream Chaser Kids · Orlando, FL
Working with Dream Chaser Kids

Three ways to build together.

Run a program
You're a school, church, YMCA, or community org. Complete the scoping form and Leslie's team will design a program matched to your students, format, and budget — and ship you everything you need to run it.
Fund a program
You're a foundation, United Way chapter, or corporate funder. View the full cost benchmarks, outcome methodology, and reporting deliverables — then request a proposal tailored to your grant requirements.
Start a conversation
You have a context that doesn't fit neatly into any of the above. Reach out directly at hello@dreamchaserkids.com. Leslie responds to every message that comes with a real question about real students.
Beyond Dream Chaser Kids

Leslie's broader ecosystem.

Dream Chaser Kids is one thread in a larger 100-year investment. Leslie is an author, scholar, and advisor building the permanent infrastructure for the church to reclaim its place in the neighborhood — across three interconnected platforms.

The Intelligence Layer
Community Playbook™
ZIP-level neighborhood data layered with lived stories — helping churches see their community clearly so they can love it on purpose.
communityplaybook.org
The Formation Layer
Multiply™
Turns sermons into week-long discipleship journeys. Formation that follows people into their phones, schedules, and habits — not just Sunday mornings.
multiplymission.org
The Practitioner
lesliebjames.com
Author, scholar, and advisor to churches, networks, and foundations. Over 20 years building at the intersection of faith, community, and technology.
lesliebjames.com
Ready to build with us?

The model is built.
The framework is ready.
Your students are waiting.

Complete the scoping form and Leslie's team will design a Dream Chaser pathway for your context — one-day workshop to full-semester program — within 3 business days.

Get started hello@dreamchaserkids.com