“Get Up, Take Your Mat, and Go Home” – Dr. Chuck Hunt’s Powerful AC25 Keynote on Youth Ministry

August 13, 2025

Experience Dr. Chuck Hunt’s transformative keynote address from the Free Methodist Church in Southern California’s Annual Conference 2025. As Senior Director of Training at Fuller Youth Institute, Dr. Hunt delivers a compelling message about the church’s response to young people in crisis.

Drawing from Mark 2 (the paralytic lowered through the roof), Dr. Hunt challenges churches to radically rethink youth ministry for a generation that is anxious, adaptive, diverse, and lonely. With over 30 years of youth ministry experience and groundbreaking research from Fuller Youth Institute, he presents actionable insights for creating “Sticky Faith” and helping churches “Grow Young.”

🔥 Key Takeaways:

• Why 50% of youth drift from faith after high school
• The 4 elements of Sticky Faith: Relational warmth, Faith fluency, Authenticity, and Community
• 6 Core Commitments for churches to grow young
• Post-pandemic resurgence: Youth are returning for Jesus, not traditions
• How to create truly intergenerational churches

📊 Research-Based Insights:

• 70% of teenagers report feeling lonely
• Churches are calibrated for a world that no longer exists
• The best days of the church are ahead

Dr. Hunt’s message is both challenging and hopeful: “Y’all are doing a good job… but are we willing to tear through the roof for the next generation?”

📚 Free Resource: All attendees received a copy of “Future-Focused Church”

Introduced by Pastors Janelle Coleman and Cameron Shepherd-Beyenberg Sponsored by Aldersgate School of Ministry

📍 CenterPoint Church, Murrieta, CA

🗓️ May 17, 2025

#YouthMinistry #FMCSC #GenerationToGeneration #StickyFaith #GrowingYoung

Learn more: Fuller Youth Institute: [https://fulleryouthinstitute.org](https://fulleryouthinstitute.org)

FMCSC: [https://fmcsc.org](https://fmcsc.org)

00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Recognition

01:00 Opening: “Y’all Are Doing a Good Job”

03:00 The State of Young People Today

05:00 Mark 2: The Paralytic Story

08:00 “Why Are You Thinking These Things?”

10:00 Four Elements of Sticky Faith

15:00 Churches Calibrated for a World That No Longer Exists

18:00 Six Core Commitments to Grow Young

22:00 Post-Pandemic Hope: Youth Returning to Church

25:00 “Get Up, Take Your Mat, Go Home”

28:00 The Best Days of the Church Are Ahead