A Kentucky Baptist youth conference is celebrating a record turnout. The annual Youth Evangelism Summit (referred to as YES!), organized by the Kentucky Baptist Convention, was held at Hillvue Heights Church in Bowling Green February 6 and 7. The conference has steadily grown throughout the years, with 828 attendees in 2023, 1,207 in 2023, and 1,253 last year. This year saw 1,337 middle and high school students.

Speaking to The Christian Post (CP), KBC Children & Student Ministry Consultant Matt Flanagan praised God’s work behind the scenes. “First, and foremost, we believe the Lord is growing the conference to equip more teenagers to know the Gospel, influence their culture, and go to their communities to reach people. We are simply trying to help our churches accomplish this mission,” he said. He attributed part of the conference’s growth to the ministry’s commitment to building relationships with local churches. “There are very few group leaders who walk through the doors without knowing members of our team personally,” he said. “We believe that we are building trust with our leaders, and the churches are responding because they are confident of both the content and the character of the conference speakers.”

The conference’s main sessions were led by Shane Pruitt, the National Next Gen director for the North American Mission Board. “Shane urged students at YES! to anchor their lives in the true Gospel of Scripture. With biblical precision, he confronted the empty claims of cultural Christianity and commissioned students to courageously follow Christ in a culture that resists Him,” said Jake Hancock, one of the conference’s team members. The conference also featured breakout sessions where students were encouraged to go deeper. More than 60 students indicated an interest in speaking with a group leader about salvation.

While it’s been hard to determine whether younger generations like Gen Z and Gen Alpha are becoming more faithful, Flanagan said he is hopeful that they are establishing a more authentic faith in the youth. “I believe it is more a movement of authentic faithfulness and love for Christ than a rediscovery of a past generation’s version of Christianity. I believe that our next generations are embracing Christ and recognizing His call to make disciples of all people,” he said. “YES! has served churches well by providing meaningful training and equipping for students who desire to live on mission, to be articulate with the Gospel, influential in a culture that doesn’t affirm their beliefs, and intentional about going to the places God has them to verbalize the Gospel message.” This year’s attendees are encouraging churches to begin planning for YES! 2027, which will take place February 5-6, 2027.