In a special endeavor, North Pacific Union Youth Discipleship Summit brought together Bible teachers, youth pastors, education leaders and others involved in creating young disciples. The event, held Nov. 4–6, 2025 in Seattle, Washington, provided a collaborative platform for leaders to gather and learn from one another.
"We're on a journey in NPUC, and the journey is a conversation on intentional discipleship," shared Rob Lang, NPUC youth and young adult ministries director. "This is our primary call. When Jesus left, He said, 'Make disciples.' How are we doing at that? We need to talk about it, because that's our bullseye."
Lang went on to share that discipleship is a collaborative mission that expands beyond youth and young adult ministries and includes the efforts of education as well as children's, club, camp and public campus ministries.
Lang explained that there are three legs to the metaphorical "stool" of faith development. "One leg is the family — the home — and that's the most important," he said. "The other legs are what the church is doing: departmental activities — led by our lay people in the local setting — and education."
"When all three work together, they bring out our best in outcomes," Lang reflected. "So we've asked our educators, 'Should we collaborate? Should we talk together about this shared calling? And — with God's help and for His glory — could we become more intentional and could we have stronger outcomes?'"
Attendee Feedback
Tissiana Bowerman, Montana Conference superintendent for education, also works with all youth ministries programs within the conference. "For me, the takeaway [is asking] how do we really reprogram and refocus so that our attention is on Jesus?" said Bowerman.
"It [ranges] from how we're interacting with our students all the way to how we're measuring our success," shared Bowerman. "Are we really looking at that relationship — the simplicity of the relationship that we have with Jesus and that our children get to have with Jesus?"
Tyler Morrison, Pleasant Valley Church youth pastor, appreciated that the event inspired collaborative communication between professionals in various fields.
"I really appreciated that this conference actually modeled coming together and discussing the different pain points we have in our different contexts and trying to come up with solutions," shared Morrison. "What can we build on? What are different people in their different contexts doing that's working? What are some areas for collaboration?"
Meeting with like-minded people in ministry was particularly enlightening for Ruth Bradburn, Tualatin Valley Academy Bible teacher. "This has been the first time that I've really felt supported — like I have peers, people who I know I can reach out to. Just having everybody in one room is really impactful and powerful," said Bradburn.
Bradburn felt a sense of camaraderie as she and fellow educators discussed the implementation of the Encounter Bible curriculum. "It was just so good to hear how everybody does it differently so we can learn from each other," said Bradburn.
The Importance of Rest
Morrison also noted that a key takeaway for him was the emphasis on the importance of true rest. "We need to be more intentional about rest, and not just on Saturday, but as a lifestyle," reflected Morrison. "As people who are kept by Sabbath rest, if we want to be more like Jesus, it comes from time with Him, but it's quiet time with Him."
Bradburn echoed this sentiment as well, saying, "I'm coming away from this weekend just feeling like God is putting on my heart, 'You can slow down. You have permission to do less.' All He really wants from me is for me to walk with Him and not do things for Him, but to just be with Him. That's really all that matters."
The worship time was also impactful for the attendees. "The worshiping that we did together really felt like we were just being the church and not having to do anything for anybody else, which I know as a leader is rare," remarked Bradburn.
Measured Impact
Andreas Beccai, Redlands Crosswalk Church pastor and featured speaker, recalled the impact of discipleship efforts on a young person he first encountered during his time as a task force worker at Auburn Adventist Academy. "She was 14 at the time, came in fresh into one of our schools and I watched as she was working with campus ministries," recounted Beccai.
From there, she went to Walla Walla University and served as spiritual vice president. She worked at summer camp and later was an intern at Volunteer Park Church in Seattle, where Beccai was serving at the time.
Beccai shared that all these experiences had an "incredibly profound impact on this young adult" — so much so that she ended up going into ministry. She has since returned to her alma mater to speak for weeks of prayer, was a featured speaker for a summer camp and pastored at an NPUC church.
"I've seen youth ministries succeed when we focus on young adults, empower them, give them leadership, give them mentorship and pray over them — that they then become disciples who produce other disciples," said Beccai.
Continued Partnership
"There have been some really great conversations that we think are going to start changing our culture as we pray together and as we continue this journey to incorporate New Testament church practices into our frenetic-paced culture," said Lang.
"We're excited to see what God is going to do," Lang continued. "It's a humbling task, and we know we can't do it on our own, but if we pray together and if we converse together, the future's going to be bright."*
*José Segovia, North Pacific Union media coordinator, conducted the referenced interviews.
Rob Lang, NPUC youth and young adult ministries director, shares about the importance of rest in the spiritual growth process.
Brian Harris, NPUC secondary education director, guides participants into small groups to gather feedback on strengthening collaboration.
Representatives from ministries across the NPUC come together during the Youth Discipleship Summit to strengthen collaboration.
