Celebrating Prepare the Way’s 16th Christian Youth Summit

Celebrating Prepare the Way’s 16th Christian Youth Summit

16 Years of Equipping Youth to Stand Firm

We are so thankful for all the volunteers, sponsors, speakers, and attendees who made our 16th annual Christian Youth Summit an impactful event. It is such an encouragement to see hundreds of youth gathered, willing to spend their weekend growing stronger in their faith. Many parents, youth pastors, and ministry leaders also participated and learned along with the students. The Summit was held March 17-18, 2023 with nearly 500 attending from about 75 different churches in the Pacific Northwest. Of the roughly 380 students who attended, 45% were in public schools, 19% in private schools, and 36% home-schooled. Each and every year, it is so clear to us that the younger generation is in the thick of a worldview battle and that we need to come alongside them to help them stand firm.

Encouraging Feedback from Teens

Handing out feedback forms at the end of the event gives us a glimpse of how the Summit impacts students. One teen wrote this, “The summit was able to motivate me to take my faith more seriously as well as just seeking after the Lord more often than I do!Another teen expressed a common concern about having faith discussions with peers: “ These topics went more in depth on questions I am asked at school and by non-believers. Now I feel more comfortable tackling them.” The youth appreciated having an opportunity to discuss hard topics. One teen commented in his feedback form, “These talks kept my attention and helped me have a better understanding of the Bible’s truth in a secular world.” Roughly 92% of attendees said they were excited to commit more areas of their lives to God and/or more confident in sharing their faith with others. Many attend each year who are agnostic and this year almost 10% expressed making a commitment to Christ. Even though this event is geared towards Christian teens, it is important to understand just how many wrestle with important faith questions. This year, about 35% said that coming into the event, they “really struggle with doubts and questions.” We loved seeing so many youth pastors and leaders attend the Summit and dialogue with their youth to help them grow in faith. One said this, “As a youth group leader it was inspiring to see God work in the lives of our youths. It inspired me to further my service with our youth group. Our teens absorbed so much good information and were encouraged. The experience deepened my faith.

For more testimonies see below.

Speakers Delivered Empowering Talks

Professor Craig Hazen (Biola University) and Ryan Pauly (Think Well) delivered powerful keynote talks on critical topics such as “Resurrection: Real or Real Dumb?”, “Christianity in a World of Religions,” and “How Relativism Undermines Faith.” We have had terrific feedback on the general sessions and the students really appreciated Craig’s humor and intellect and Ryan’s clear presentation of giving a defense of the faith. One student said this in her feedback form: “[The speakers] gave me more information on how to talk to people who don’t believe in God and have an entirely different worldview.” The breakout session speakers tackled a variety of relevant topics, including how culture tries to influence teens, science and Christianity, reliability of the Bible, healthy identity, and living as a Godly man. These breakouts provided a more casual atmosphere where attendees could engage in dialogue with speakers.  The Master of Ceremonies, Bryon Mengle of KNLR, has been with the Summit for many years now and does a terrific job of keeping the atmosphere fun with prizes and games. We also heard great feedback from parents who attended. One father of three said this, “I can see the value in this Summit and I believe it is needed more today than ever before. Our kids need to know why THEY believe and that is exactly what this weekend does.”

Teens Were Trained to Serve as Small Group Leaders

One unique aspect of the Summit is that the majority of youth sit in small groups with leaders who are trained prior to the Summit. Our leaders did an awesome job this year of engaging their groups in discussion, so that they could process the material and ask questions. One teen commented in her survey, “I really loved small group time and worship…the [Summit] is the highlight of my year.” We trained almost 30 leaders this year. Some youth and school groups attended together and the youth pastors or leaders led discussions. We are always thankful for pastors/leaders/teachers who attend with their youth.

Youth-Led Worship

A youth-led worship band worked hard leading up to the Summit and did a wonderful job of leading the crowd in worship. The musicians ranged in age from 14 to 17, represented 7 different churches, and included several pastors’ kids. We love seeing the next generation gather from across denominational lines and all praise God together.

Pray for Those Who Attended

As we described above, 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 attended would get plugged into Biblical Christian community, 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 16 years now and for faithfully blessing it each and every year, despite challenges and obstacles. We are so thankful for the sponsors, donors, speakers, volunteers and Faith Christian Center staff who made the 16th Christian Youth Summit possible. We are inspired by the youth who are hungry to be equipped and the parents and youth leaders who attend so they can engage in dialogue with the 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.

2024 Christian Youth Summit

Josh and Sean McDowell will be the keynote speakers for our 17th annual Christian Youth Summit on April 26-27, 2024. Register now. This event will fill up and pre-registration is free and required to attend.

Thank You to Our Sponsors:

High Desert Baptist AssociationFaith Christian CenterEastmont Church and School;  Calvary Chapel SE PortlandCommunity Bible Church SunriverBend Community Church/Organic Church NetworkEpikos ChurchFather’s House/Buy a Tree-Change a LifeCrosswalk MinistriesClassical ConversationsPregnancy Resource Centers of Central Oregon;
Juan Young Trust; Brian’s CabinetsMidstate FertilizerTennant Developments; Friesen Foundation; Dan Cardot Bend Premier RealtorBend Family DentistryKevista CoffeeOregon Right to LifeX-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.


More Testimonies from the 2023 Summit

They are coming in daily, but here is a sampling:

Teen Testimonies:

“The summit was able to motivate me to take my faith more seriously as well as just seeking after the Lord more often then I do!” 17-year-old

“Gave me more information on how to talk to people who don’t believe in God and have an entirely different worldview.” 14-year-old

“These topics went more in depth on questions I am asked at school and by non-believers. Now I feel more comfortable tackling them.” – Teen

“These talks kept my attention and helped me have a better understanding of the Bible’s truth in a secular world.” – Teen

“Convicted me in areas I needed to be convicted in. Christianity is a lifestyle and you can’t have a foot in both worlds.” – 16-year-old

“…highlight of my year…” 13-year-old

“Opened up my eyes on God and more truth about him and his life for me and how he loves me.” Teen

“[Talks] showed how to share the faith and address current world issues.” Teen

“[The speakers] helped me to really go deeper in my faith.” Teen

“Opened my eyes to how I can minister to the people around me.” Teen

“Really good stuff. Made me feel more confident in sharing my faith.” 14-year-old

“The speakers gave me a stronger knowledge of how to communicate with fellow Christians as well as non Christians.” 17-year-old

“I was strengthened in my faith.” 17-year-old

Parent Testimonies:

“So encouraged! So refreshed! So excited to see teens who want to know and follow Jesus. My oldest is 11 and got to be here – her first Summit! What a joy to know she is witnessing other youth choose Jesus.”

“As a father of 3 teens I can see the value in this Summit and I believe it is needed more today than ever before. Our kids need to know why THEY believe and that is exactly what this weekend does.”

“[Talks] encouraged me to be the hands and feet of Jesus and get out of my comfort zone to share His love with those who do not know His truth.”

“Just so profoundly informative and helpful for understanding how to better defend our beliefs.”

“The content of the general sessions and breakouts is easily the most valuable, though the experience of being gathered with other like-minded Christians is amazing.”

Pastors, Youth Pastors, and Ministry Leader Testimonies:

“I am encouraged as a youth leader knowing that there are other well-educated believers with a heart to show the upcoming generation the truth of God’s word.”

“As a youth group leader it was inspiring to see God work in the lives of our youths. It inspired me to further my service with our youth group. Our teens absorbed so much good information and were encouraged. The experience deepened my faith.”

“Taking a moment to step back and look at your relationship with God is something we don’t do often enough. Both my students and I had a lot to think about.”

“Very relevant and needed apologetics for the current culture!”

“… left them with an understanding that we do not believe blindly and our faith is grounded in truth.”

“I am so thankful for this event! I am a Pastor of a small church plant and brought my two teenage daughters and was greatly blessed to watch my children hear from excellent speakers, who addressed very important issues.”

Small Groups:

“I really loved small group time and worship…” -13-year-old

Speaker Specific:

“Craig Hazen provided relevant and needed apologetics for the many youth in attendance!! Very Reinforcing to see so many enthusiastic young people both days!!” – Ministry Leader

“I loved [Ryan Pauly’s] resurrection talk. I thought it was presented really well and I loved having all the facts and supporting details for the main event of our faith.”

“I liked [Ryan’s talk] because I have more evidence for the resurrection of Jesus if a non believer asks me” – Teen

“Roy Swart: Know the Bible is True — Roy is an engaging speaker, extremely relatable to a nerd like myself, and made some connections that I had never thought through. I came out of his breakout invigorated and my students felt the same.” – Ministry Leader

“[How We Know the Bible is True] helped explain a lot of questions I had on the topic.” – Teen

“Who Influences You? by Mike Thibodeaux. I loved the topic that he spoke of and thought that it was very relatable to the younger generation. As a teenager in Highschool I myself realized things and learned things that I hadn’t considered before.” – 17-year-old

“Mike Thibodeaux. I have a more accurate/biblical way to look at the influences in my life and pass that understanding to the students.” – Youth Pastor

“Abortion 101: The abortion discussion is constantly changing and she did a good job of breaking down new arguments.”

“Pauly: Relativism — I’ll be downloading the slides so I can share them. Absolute gold for this generation.”

“How Relativism Undermines Faith-by Ryan Pauly — This was a really great topic that I feel is relevant to today and something I can apply to my life and conversations with others.” – Teen

“I learned more about my identity in Christ and enjoyed [Crystal’s] talk.” – Teen

“[The Godly Man] talk gave me a better and stronger knowledge of how to be godly.” – Teen

“Abortion 101: I liked the facts since I am a fact and logic type person.” – Teen

“Craig Hazen had life changing stuff.” – Teen

“[Crystal’s talk] will help with my thought life.” – Teen

“[Ryan Pauly’s talk on the resurrection] made me stronger in my faith.” – Teen

“I thought the [Godly Man breakout] contained a lot of good info for teens/young men.” – Teen

“The speakers helped to prepare me for conversations about my faith.” – 14-year-old

“I really liked the [Science and Christianity talk]. It gave me information to back up my [discussions].”

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