12 Days of Hope
Your gift is changing lives. Read our students' stories.
RuthAnne
“I learned how to ask the right questions to people instead of just defending myself.”
GA Conference Student 2024, 2025, Leadership Cohort Member 2025
RuthAnne grew up understanding apologetics and worldview. But when it came to sharing her faith with unbelievers, she found that they asked questions she couldn’t answer.
Summit reframed how RuthAnne defended her faith. After returning from her 2024 Summit conference, RuthAnne connected with a coworker who had progressive views.
Because of what she learned at Summit, RuthAnne asked her coworker insightful questions that prompted him to be vulnerable about his beliefs and background. RuthAnne explains, “I learned how to ask the right questions to people instead of just defending myself.”
Inspired by Summit, RuthAnne’s shift in tactics increased her effectiveness in sharing biblical truth with the people around her.
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Anna
“It was really cool to see her be more confident about how the Lord had created her…”
Anna opens up about how Summit Ministries helped her anchor her faith, strengthen her confidence in Scripture, and build hope that lasts.
At Summit, she found a community that wrestled with big questions, engaged with truth boldly, and encouraged her to see the world through a biblical lens. Her testimony is a reminder that young people don’t just need inspiration—they need real answers and a foundation strong enough to stand against cultural pressure. Anna found that hope at Summit.
Daniel
“Hope is not lost when the enemy causes friction.”
CO Conference Student 2024, Leadership Cohort Member 2025
Daniel knows there is a spiritual battle. Summit equipped him to join the fight. During Dr. Jeff Myers’ sessions, Daniel heard about the enemy’s dangerous tactics in the spiritual battle, and he learned how to combat them. Daniel felt encouraged because he realized that “hope is not lost” when the enemy causes friction. Instead, he learned to rely on Jesus when opposition threatens to discourage him. Reflecting on his experience, Daniel says, “Summit has prepared us to know truth and keep going on when we’re broken down.”
$1M Match: Equip a Generation
Emmeline
“The people at Summit made me feel like I belong.”
GA Conference Student 2025
Emmeline recently moved away from her hometown. Although she gives back to her new community by leading her American Heritage Girls troop, before Summit, she longed for deeper relationships. During her free time during her first Summit session, Emmeline stepped out of her comfort zone to play a game of volleyball.
“I’m not usually very athletic, and everyone in the game seemed to already know what they were doing,” says Emmeline. But despite her initial discomfort, the other Summit students made Emmeline feel welcome by encouraging her during the game and inviting her to play again. “I’m grateful that everyone at Summit made me feel like people accept me for who I am.”
Manuela
“God is with you through all of those struggles.”
In this short reflection, Manuela shares how Summit ignited her hope, strengthened her faith, and helped her stand firm in a generation searching for truth. Her story is one of transformation, boldness, and the kind of hope that holds steady in a culture of confusion.
Brave
“God’s given us a mind, and it’s our charge to keep that mind sharp.”
GA Conference Student 2025
Brave knows that his Christian walk consists of his mind, body, and spirit. But his time at Summit inspired him to pursue each aspect equally. Before attending his conference, Brave was a leader. He led middle schoolers in community athletic programs and served in his church’s Awana program. But it had been a while since Brave challenged himself to pursue truth intellectually.
Summit motivated Brave to stop settling for his current understanding of the Christian worldview and pursue a more complete understanding of his faith. At Summit, he internalized the fact that “God’s given us a mind, and it’s our charge to keep that mind sharp.” Brave feels deeply grateful to the donors for believing in him and in Summit to give him his impactful experience.
$1M Match: Equip a Generation
Lindsey
“You can’t love someone well if you’re comparing yourself to them.”
CO Conference Student 2025
Summit helped Lindsey find freedom in her identity in Christ. Although she already had a relationship with Jesus, Lindsey felt overwhelmed by anxiety and depression before she came to Summit. Although God had been working on her mental health, God continued to work in her life at Summit through the relationships she cultivated in small groups.
She realized that much of her unhappiness stemmed from her tendency to compare herself to others. At Summit, Lindsey found freedom when she realized, “You can’t love someone well if you’re comparing yourself to them.” Because of this newfound relationship and Christ-centered identity, Lindsey feels prepared to go back to her secular university and make a difference.
Mariano
“I can’t express how grateful and how amazing this experience has been.”
Mariano shares how Summit shaped the way he sees the world, strengthened his faith, and equipped him to live with clarity and purpose. His experience is a reminder that hope grows where truth is understood and community is strong.
Eva
“My 2025 conference instilled me with confidence to defend my faith as I step into my Freshman year at a public university.”
CO Conference Student 2024, 2025
After her first Summit conference in 2024, Eva had knowledge about apologetics. But Eva’s second Summit conference in 2025 gave her the confidence to apply it. After Eva got home after her 2024 conference, she felt disappointed in herself when she wasn’t able to defend her pro-life position on abortion to friends.
She explains that she knew the statistics and questions to ask, but she just couldn’t respond to her friends when they started discussing their opposing views on human life. Thankfully, Eva’s 2025 conference instilled her with confidence to defend her faith as she steps into her Freshman year at a public university.
$1M Match: Equip a Generation
Tyler
“Before Summit I knew what I believed. After Summit I knew why I believed it.”
GA Conference Student 2023, GA Conference Summer Staffer 2024, 2025
Tyler always had a passion for following Christ, but prior to attending his first Summit conference, he struggled to defend his faith. “If I was pressed on why I believe the things I believe, I wouldn’t have been able to go very deep,” reflects Tyler.
While he was a Summit student, Tyler listened to speakers who challenged his approach to faith and equipped him with tools to defend it. Post-Summit, Tyler used this worldview knowledge in his role as a traveling intern with a worldview organization called TeenPact. In this role, Tyler interacted with students who had questions about their faith, and he used the logic he had learned at Summit to direct them to biblical truth.
Shiloh
“There’s a difference between believing and knowing how to share… that’s what they teach us at Summit.”
Shiloh describes how Summit helped her grow in confidence, clarity, and courage as she learned to own her faith. Her story reminds us that hope isn’t passive—it’s strengthened through truth, community, and discipleship.
Asha
“Summit taught me how to listen, ask questions, and be present.”
CO Conference Student 2023, CO Conference Summer Staffer 2024, 2025
Asha felt inspired by the strong friendships she developed during her Colorado session in 2023. “Even though they were only for a season, they really did have an effect,” she explains. Impacted by the type of people she encountered at Summit, Asha returned as a staffer in 2024 and 2025.
Through both of these Summer Staff experiences, Asha’s interactions with her small group students taught her how to “listen, ask questions, and be present when the moment is heavy.” Because of these valuable Summit experiences, Asha feels equipped to pursue a career in journalism, where she’ll utilize her interpersonal and question-asking skills to make a positive impact.
$1M Match: Equip a Generation
Upcoming 2026 Conferences
Anderson University
Nestled in the heart of South Carolina, Anderson University combines Southern charm with vibrant campus life. It’s just a short drive from Greenville and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Session 1: June 28 –July 10
Session 2: July 12–July 24
Sample Schedule: Full version (PDF)
Grandview Hotel
Session 1: May 17–May 29
Session 2: May 31–June 12
Session 3: June 14–June 26
Session 4: July 5–July 17
Session 5: July 19–July 31
Session 6: August 2–August 14
Session 7: August 16–August 28
Sample Schedule: Full version (PDF)