2026 IMPACT CONFERENCE hosts 90 Youth

Over MLK Weekend, nearly 90 youth gathered at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Hayward for IMPACT Conference 2026—and it was one of those weekends that sticks with you.

Students came from Tennessee, St. Louis, Sacramento, Germany, and all around the Bay Area, and by the end of the weekend, it felt less like a group of strangers and more like one big community. Youth were mixed into groups, shared meals, worshiped together, laughed a lot, and spent meaningful time building friendships with people they had just met.

IMPACT exists to take students out of their everyday routines and place them in a space where they can slow down, be present, and be poured into by the Gospel. Between worship, teaching, games, and late-night conversations, the weekend created room for faith to grow and relationships to form in ways that don’t always happen during a normal week.

As we look back with gratitude, we’re also looking ahead with excitement. Our hope is that IMPACT continues to grow into a yearly gathering for churches—a weekend youth groups can plan for together and look forward to each year.

Churches interested in joining us next year are encouraged to mark their calendars for January 15–17, 2027. We would love to welcome even more youth into this experience.