Celebrating Prepare the Way’s 13th Christian Youth Summit

Celebrating Prepare the Way’s 13th Christian Youth Summit

13 Years of Equipping Youth to Stand Firm

What a Romans 8:28 weekend! God indeed worked all things for the good in the face of huge setbacks. We are so thankful for all the volunteers, sponsors, speakers and online “attendees” who made our 13th annual Christian Youth Summit online livestreaming event a success. To date, YouTube analytics show over 2,000 views of the Summit talks. We estimate that we reached about 1,000 people. You can view all the talks on our YouTube Channel now.

Most of you know that Gov. Kate Brown banned gatherings over 250 people one day prior to the Summit; we had roughly 400 registrations at that point. After eight months of planning, it was so disappointing to have to cancel the in-person event. However, God very quickly opened the door for an online live streaming event, which turned out to be very exciting and effective at reaching even more people this year. It is so clear to us that the younger generation is in the thick of a worldview battle. We were beyond grateful that so many people made this online event possible in such a short amount of time, so that we could continue to equip youth, parents and ministry leaders.

Speakers Delivered Empowering Talks

Jonathan Noyes of Stand to Reason flew from LA to speak at the studio where we live streamed the event. He gave powerful talks on moral relativism and tactics for discussing spiritual things. Jon also did a question/answer time via our YouTube Channel and many youth fired questions at him; he gave thoughtful answers to as many questions as he had time for. Kim Meeder delivered powerful talks on redemption and revival that touched the hearts of so many of the viewers. She has such a gift to inspire and share the hope of Christ in a truly life-changing way. Kim is one of the best evangelists of our time. Watch her talks and let us know what you think. Most of our breakout session speakers still traveled to Central Oregon to be with us in the studio (one was remote from Colorado). They did a terrific job of tackling a variety of relevant topics, and even answering questions from the Live Chat audience.

Watch Parties

We had dozens of youth groups, schools, and families hold “watch parties” not only around Central Oregon but in other parts of the country. We estimate that we reached about 1000 people. You Can Still Watch all the Christian Youth Summit talks on our YouTube Channel. Please Subscribe to our channel. Like and share the videos. Under “Past Live Streams” scroll to the right to start at the beginning. You can keep the Christian Youth Summit going! The more people who watch and share the videos, the more the mission of the Youth Summit can continue.

Teens Were Trained to Serve as Table Leaders

One unique aspect of a typical Christian Youth Summit is that the majority of youth sit at tables with Table Leaders who are trained prior to the Summit. We trained over 30 Table Leaders this year. Although they were not able to lead tables, many participated in youth group or family “watch parties” and still led discussion. Many took pictures and sent them to us.

Pray for Those Who Attended

Every year, our surveys reveal that even teens who consider themselves Christian overwhelmingly struggle with doubts and questions, and are thankful for a place to wrestle with them. Please pray that those who participated would grow in faith and be empowered to impact our culture for Christ. Pray that they would be confident in sharing the hope of Christ with those around them.

Expressing Our Thanks

Every year, it is hard to put our gratitude into words. We praise God for letting us steward this event for thirteen years now and for faithfully blessing it each and every year, despite challenges and obstacles. We are so thankful for the sponsors, donors, speakers, prayer warriors, and volunteers.  We are thankful to Mission Church for allowing us to use their studio at the last minute and for Cooper Anderson for doing all the tech work for us. We are thankful to Scott Flora of Ekballo who organized a student team to pray for the entire duration of the Summit, as well as our other prayer warriors who have prayed for us for so many years. We are thankful to Trinity Lutheran staff (special shout out to Jon Vevia) who have hosted the live event in the past and who helped us create enough momentum that the Summit could continue this year despite being online. You ALL made the Christian Youth Summit possible. We are inspired by the youth who are hungry to be equipped and the parents and leaders who participated so they can engage in dialogue with their kids. Thank you for helping us continue the work of equipping the younger generation to stand firm in their faith so they can stand for truth in our culture.

Thank You to Our Sponsors:

High Desert Baptist AssociationTrinity Lutheran Church and School;  Calvary Chapel SE PortlandCommunity Bible Church SunriverBend Community Church/Organic Church NetworkOregon Right to LifeClassical Conversations;
Juan Young TrustBrian’s CabinetsMidstate FertilizerTennant Developments; Friesen Foundation; Dan Cardot Bend Premier RealtorBend Family Dentistry;
X-Press PrintingSmart SolutionsDynamic Arts Graphic Design;

If you would like to support the work that the Lord has called us to, please donate now. We are particularly praying for more monthly donors.

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