19 Years of Equipping Youth to Stand Firm

“The Summit gave me some great tools to defend my faith confidently. I also learned so much and know without a doubt that the bible is true. The Youth Summit gave me a new excitement to share my faith and defend it when needed. And has also inspired me to try to live out my faith more.” – 16-year-old at 2026 Summit

We are so thankful for all the volunteers, sponsors, ministries, speakers, and attendees who made our 19th annual Christian Youth Summit an impactful event! What a joy to be surrounded by hundreds of youth willing to spend their weekend growing stronger in their faith. Parents, youth pastors, and ministry leaders also participated and learned along with the students. According to the feedback forms from the conference, 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 after attending the conference. We always encourage skeptics to attend and this year we were thrilled that 27 students expressed making a first time or re-commitment to Christ.  The Summit was held April 10-11, 2026 with about 500 attending from over 90 different churches in the Pacific Northwest. Of the roughly 410 students who attended, 45% were in public schools, 14% in private schools, and 41% homeschooled. Each and every year, it is so clear to us that the younger generation is in the thick of a worldview battle and that they are eager for more resources and support to help them stand firm.

Encouraging Feedback from Teens

We get a glimpse of how the Summit impacts students by handing out feedback forms at the end of the event and asking for online feedback following the conference. Although it takes many hours to sift through the feedback, this process is so valuable. One trend that stuck out this year was that many students prior to the conference did not really feel comfortable answering the basic questions about worldview and faith. One student shared, “I struggle to answer questions like, ‘Why are you a Christian?’ and [Brett’s talk] helped a lot.” Many students said they hadn’t really thought about whether the Bible is reliable, which makes them easy targets for the “deconstruction movement” as they get older.  One teen said, “Stephen Williams helped me learn that there is so so much evidence and objective truth as to why the bible is reliable.” Erin Kunkle’s female-only breakout on Finding Identity in Our Design was packed. One young woman said this, “It was really relatable and provided a great way to see my identity as a woman compared to what the world says.” Teens and parents alike also expressed a desire to defend or share their faith and appreciated getting better equipped in this area.

To read more testimonies from students, youth leaders, and parents, see the Testimony section below.

Speakers Delivered Empowering Talks 

“Attending the Christian Youth Summit has impacted my faith by offering the challenging questions about why I am a Christian. Each of the speakers would then walk us through the process of answering these questions from different angles that I hadn’t thought of before. I’ve been a Christian all my life, and it was empowering to get the answer why, “Because it’s true.” – Parent

Brett Kunkle (Maven), Shawn Hart (the Ambassadors Forum), and Stephen Williams (Prepare the Way Ministries) delivered powerful keynote talks on critical topics such as “An Introduction to Apologetics,” “The Reliability of the Bible,” “Longing for Justice in an Unjust World,” and “Why Your Worldview Matters for Every Single Area of Your Life.” We have had terrific feedback on the general sessions. One teen student said this, “Before this Summit I would not have been able to answer some questions about my faith, but after the talks and breakout sessions, I feel confident answering those questions without trying to find the words and stumbling on them. At the Summit I felt connected to the Lord and I want to grow in my faith even more!” The breakout session speakers tackled a variety of relevant topics including, Only One Way? Why Jesus is Necessary, The Questions of Culture, God’s Design for Women, A Proactive Approach to Suicide Prevention, Choices and Consequences, What’s the Big Deal About Abortion? These breakouts provided a more casual atmosphere where attendees could engage in dialogue with speakers. The Master of Ceremonies, Bryon Mengle, has been with the Summit for about fifteen years now and does a terrific job of keeping the atmosphere fun with humor, prizes and games.

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. We trained almost 40 leaders this year. Some youth 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 teen-led worship band worked hard leading up to the Summit and did a wonderful job helping everyone enter into worship. The musicians represented 6 different churches. 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 a majority of teens who consider themselves Christian overwhelmingly struggle with doubts and questions, and need a safe place to process 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 19 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 New Hope Church staff who made the 19th 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.

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.

Thank You to Our Sponsors:

New Hope Church; Community Bible Church Sunriver; Bend Community Church/House Church Network; Living In His Name Ministries; Crosswalk Ministries; High Desert Baptist Association; Northwest Baptist Foundation; Promise Keepers (Men of Integrity);
Tennant Developments; Friesen Foundation; Axiom Wealth Strategies; Dan Cardot Bend Premier Realtor; Bend Family Dentistry; Oregon Right to Life; X-Press Printing; Smart Solutions;

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Testimonies from the 2026 Summit

Testimonies About the Christian Youth Summit from Teens

“The Summit gave me some great tools to defend my faith confidently. I also learned so much and know without a doubt that the bible is true. The Youth Summit gave me a new excitement to share my faith and defend it when needed. And has also inspired me to try to live out my faith more.” – 16-year-old

“Before this Summit I would not have been able to answer some questions about my faith, but after the talks and breakout sessions, I feel confident answering those questions without trying to find the words and stumbling on them. At the Summit I felt connected to the Lord and I want to grow in my faith even more!” – 15-year-old

“The Summit really helped answer questions about culture I have asked loads of times but never got an answer, plus answered unasked and new questions.” – 13-year-old

“I liked the talks because they made me think deeper, they also gave me great ways to defend my faith and know it’s true.” – Teen

“I was feeling distant from God and was wondering why I was even following God/Jesus. I really liked Brett’s talk on [Why Jesus is Necessary]. I loved this year’s Youth Summit. Great job!” – Teen

“I wanted to say thank you. I learned a lot and I really needed this.” – Teen

“Helped open my eyes to some things I’ve been having doubts about…just very eye-opening.” – Teen

“[Before the Summit] I finished a debate and left feeling confused… [the keynote talks at the Summit] helped clear it up…finally words to describe what I’ve been thinking about recently” – Teen

“The talks were interesting and made me more confident in my faith.” – Teen

“Expanded my [understanding] of unbelievers arguments and how to answer them.” – Teen

“The talks made me feel more equipped to talk about God.” – Teen

“I loved worship and getting a chance to be around so many other Christian youth.” – Teen

“I really liked the topics that the speakers were talking about and the ministry tables.” – 15-year-old

“I liked the breakouts a lot, and I loved that the whole thing was free!” – Teen

Testimonies from Parents and Youth Leaders

“This was my first time attending the Summit as a parent…Such an amazing event. I wish I could have attended something like this as a teenager! Keep up the good work!” – Parent

“Brett put [information on worldview] into interesting, easy to understand ways – it sparked conversations with my students that usually don’t happen.” – Youth Leader

“Attending the Christian Youth Summit has impacted my faith by offering the challenging questions about why I am a Christian. Each of the speakers would then walk us through the process of answering these questions from different angles that I hadn’t thought of before. I’ve been a Christian all my life, and it was empowering to get the answer why, “Because it’s true.” – Parent

“Thank you for teaching these kids and bringing them together. This conference helps our churches have unity.” – Youth Leader

“The equipping and relating… the material and ministries…it was powerful and informative!” – Youth Leader

“I loved all the teachings because they were so powerful and meaningful and they were so encouraging…their words were needed to so many. So grateful!” – Youth Leader

“My kids loved it and so did I.” – Parent

“Seeing kids excited about faith was encouraging to me. I had several pretty mature conversations with students attending which gave me renewed hope for this young generation.” – Youth Leader

“The choice and breadth of the speakers was fantastic…I also made a couple of great connections with other people in ministry.” – Ministry Leader

“Defending the Christian faith is important for our youth! Great conference.” – Youth Leader

Testimonies About Brett Kunkle’s Talks

Why I am a Christian: An Introduction to Apologetics

How Your Worldview Matters for Every Single Area of Your Life

“I thought this talk was excellent because it helped me to know what to say when people ask me questions about my faith, and to not fear the time when someone asks me “Why am I a Christian?” – 15-year-old

“I feel that both of [Brett’s talks] really prepared me and gave me truths about my [faith] and worldview that will help me when talking to others and just walking through life.” – Teen

“Brett Kunkle’s talks were so inspiring. I loved how he showed us the framework of our faith. The puzzle piece analogy made total sense too, how culture is trying to make a puzzle piece fit when it’s not supposed to be in the puzzle at all.” – Parent

“It was good to have it clearly laid out WHY we need to have a clear worldview and how it affects all of your life.” – Teen

“[Brett’s worldview talk] helped me realize how each and every aspect of media tries to push an idea of some kind.” – Teen

“The [Why I am a Christian talk] helped me to be strong in my faith.” – Teen

“I struggle to answer questions like, ‘Why are you are Christian?” and [Brett’s talk] helped a lot.” – Teen

“[Brett’s worldview talk] was very good and helpful for the kids in my youth group.” – Youth leader

“The framework/puzzle analogy with the five worldview questions were very helpful.” – Teen

“I liked Brett’s talk [Why I am a Christian] because I have been asked that question and have not had a good answer!” – Teen

“I liked Brett’s [worldview talk] because I have never really thought about my worldview.” – Teen

“I came home after the Summit rethinking about his objective and subjective positioning and how he gave us the example of “What does my Dad look like”. What a creative approach looking at our answers of why we have our faith, through the lens of an atheist. It really helped me understand apologetics more.” – Parent

“He certainly challenged me in my own mind about how I see my faith and Christ, as an objective proof.” -13-year-old

“It was simple, direct and dealt with root issues rather than Christian platitudes. His explanation about reasons that are/are not persuasive and distinguishing objective/subjective truth was excellent!” – Ministry Leader

“His picture frame analogy applying five key worldview questions, as well as the commandments and commissions, was useful for sharing with people of all ages.” – Ministry Leader

 

Testimonies About Stephen Williams’ Talk

The Reliability of the Bible

“Stephen Williams helped me learn that there is so so much evidence and objective truth as to why the bible is reliable.” – Teen

“He helped me know the bible is not a fairytale.” – Teen

“I absolutely loved learning how to explain and fully understand the reliability of the bible and its evidence.” – Teen

“It was really cool seeing proof for why the bible is valid so I can share with others.” – Teen

“You need to know the Bible is reliable to make it your worldview. It changes everything in your worldview.” – Parent

“I liked Stephen’s talk because he was an atheist but now he loves God.” – Teen

“It was really cool to see all the evidence [for the bible].” – Teen

“I put excellent for this talk because after the talk I felt able to give proof that my faith is true and amazing!” – 15-year-old

“I was impacted by the charts he shared about the amount of copies there are of texts from ancient civilizations. It really shows the amount of evidence there is sitting on our bookshelves. I also thought it was neat to receive a widow’s mite.” – Parent

“I thought this was an awesome talk, it definitely reassured that the bible is for sure true and believable and I thought that was awesome.” – 16-year-old

“I thoroughly enjoyed his account on his up-bringing in an atheist life, his turn to Christ, and I laugh (and still laugh) at the fact that a public school censored primary source documents.” – 13-year-old

“I liked all the evidence he presented.” – Teen

“I liked learning about all the proof we have to back up the bible. I never really thought about how to back it up.” – Teen

“I liked learning about worldview and how reliable the bible is.” – 12-year-old

“I like archaeological evidence a lot …that really interests me.” – Teen

Testimonies About Erin Kunkle’s Talk

Finding Identity in Our Design – God’s Design for Women

“I LOVED IT!!!:) Because I don’t know…it was just so cool how she showed me the different ways of looking at concepts. She is also so funny and sweet.” – Teen

“It helped me see how much men and women are different and God’s love and glory can be seen in both.” – Teen

“It was really relatable and provided a great way to see my identity as a woman compared to what the world says.” – Teen

“She helped give me hope.” – Teen

“I loved it! Great topic and walked away with new things learned.” – Teen

“Helped me feel better about myself and my identity.” – Teen

“I wasn’t sure I would agree with Erin, but it was so sound and spot on…it’s okay that we don’t fall on stereotypes.” – Teen

“It helped me realize I don’t have to be like all the ‘pretty’ girls – I can be myself and love who I am.” – Teen

“I really liked this talk because I was reassured that God made me how I am and he loves me.” – Teen

“I listened to Erin Kunkle for women. Her talk was so special when she validated that being a woman is bearing the image of God. She explained the importance of not walking with stereotypes about gender. I was fascinated how she gave examples that rang so true about generalities for male vs female. It was also interesting when she described the spectrum for masculinity and how it is different for the spectrum for femininity and how both are normal and both are good.” – Parent

 

Testimonies About Shawn Hart’s Talks

The Questions of Culture, The Invitation of Christ and Longing for Justice in an Unjust World

“Crystal clear gospel presentation, helped in getting to the core issues of justice, mercy, and need for Christ.” – Teen

“The justice talk really applies to my life.” – Teen

“Honest and relevant…loved the real questions and examples. Solid teaching.” – Teen

“I admired all of the analogies that Shawn Hart used to help me understand.” – Teen

“It felt very applicable, like stuff I could actually use.” – Teen

“I thought this session was excellent because I realized that as he was describing how people feel happy when someone who does them wrong gets in trouble, but when you do something wrong and you get in trouble, you want mercy instead of justice, I felt the same way when that happens.” – 15-year-old

“Shawn Hart was authentic and had such meaningful things to say. I appreciate how he invested in our youth.” – Parent

“Shawn articulated justice in a bibical, understandable way.” – Ministry Leader

“He just really spoke to me and really hit my heart.” – Teen

“It did well at helping prepare us to talk and invite people to know Jesus.” – Teen

“I liked the talk [on justice] because it answered a lot of questions that I came here with.” – Teen

 

Testimonies About Anthony Watson’s Talk

Choices and Consequences

“This session was really great it really inspired me to take what I learned from the youth summit and hopefully try to apply it to my life.” – 16-year-old

“I am trying to find a good purpose and I wanted to hear from somebody who knows their purpose and enjoys talking and sharing about the gospel.” – Teen

“He brough light to the error of my ways.” – Teen

“I struggle with my actions in not thinking of consequences.” – Teen

“[Anthony Watson] really cares about kids. Sincere. Prayed over kids. On track with doctrine, testimony, desire to grow himself.” – Youth Leader

“Great mix of humor and truth.” – Teen

“The best thing I have been to in my life.” – Teen

“Choices & Consequences: This session was really great it really inspired me to take what I learned from the youth summit and hopefully try to apply it to my life.” – 16-year-old

“I attended Anthony Watson’s session. This session was amazing. It was a perfect mix of humor and theology. I am very jealous that I’m not old enough to be eligible to go to the D.C. trip.” 13-year-old

“Captivated me – really funny and helped me with my choices.” – 14-year-old

Testimonies About Robert Young, Jr.’s Talk

Abortion: What’s the Big Deal?

“I feel like it…prepared me for questions I’ve been asked about abortion.” – Teen

“He had a lot of good facts that support the pro-life position…” – Teen

“Robert had great, important, age-appropriate material and certainly engaged the audience.” – Ministry Leader

“I feel like this material is really important for teens to hear. They get bombarded with messages in the secular culture that the preborn are not really alive, not humans worthy of human rights, and not worth protecting. They start to feel weird if they are pro-life. Robert’s talk gave a solid apologetic for some of the basic questions about abortion. A good mix of science and apologetics and ethics.” – Parent

 

Testimonies About Mark Schaufler’s Talk

A Proactive Approach to Suicide Prevention

“It’s such an important topic to discuss and I deeply appreciated him addressing [suicide prevention] and I felt very seen… I loved how he broke it down into steps, verses, and points.” – Teen

“I used to [struggle with suicidal thoughts] and Mr. Schaufler was really kind.”  – Teen

“He explained things very clearly and helped give me clarity on how to talk to friends.” – Teen

“Gave reasons to help enforce proofs to convince people to LIVE.” – Teen

“I liked it because he showed how to help people struggling with suicidal thoughts. He had a lighthearted way of saying things but knew the seriousness of the topic.” – Teen

“For the morning breakout session I attended Mark Schaufler’s A Proactive Approach to Suicide Prevention. I really liked this session because he explained everything clearly. I now feel able to identify if someone is suicidal and find them the help they need.” – 15-year-old

“Perfect amount of humor, information, encouragement, stories. A lovely mix of truth and love.” – Youth Leader