 Heying adults, it is Katie Hartfield and I am coming to you from Houston, Texas where I am gearing up for the Steubenville Encounter Conference and you know, the Steubenville Youth Conferences have really been an enormous part of my life and it's where I first fell in love with Christ It's where I really learned to pray when I took part in the Francis Ken lead program as a high school student It's where as a youth minister I took hundreds of teens every year year after year and watched their lives change forever And now where I'm blessed to be a part of the ministry team When I first heard that the youth conferences were going to be expanding into young adults I got chills Because when you look at the youth conferences and the way that they have impacted Vocations and ministries in the lives of teenagers and then you think about Steubenville having that same sort of impact on young adults the potential ripple effects are Absolutely mind-blowing to me and you know, I think that young adults often times sort of feel like a lost demographic in ministry and I think that this conference is really more than just an opportunity to go and to have a retreat experience But it's really a movement. It's a message that you as young adults are not forgotten And as young adults, you know, we have the passion and the excitement of young people But we also have something that they don't have and that's resources and skills in order to take really concrete Action in the world. My husband was just saying today How young adults are at what he called the age of influence and what he meant by this is that they have so much Power in being able to impact the lives of people who are younger than them But also in their peer groups and even people who are older Because a young adult that swims against the current and really lives as a light Really stands out to other people who are in who encounter them at this conference. We're going to talk a lot about mission We're gonna talk a lot about motivation We're gonna talk a lot about living our lives with passion and our hope for each of you is that you're going to leave With a new fire and a new clarity for God's will in your life So I am so excited about this weekend and I'm excited not just because it's going to be a suitable youth conference That has young adults there instead of teenagers But I'm excited because the conference office has meticulously Deserved a schedule that is meant for you with content and activities that are going to be young adult friendly And you'll still feel like you get the student welfare But also that God is going to encounter you And he's going to encounter you in a personal and a singular way that wherever you are in your relationship with Christ That the Lord wants to meet you right there and that he wants to use this as a chance to take you further And I can't wait to experience this conference with you in the meantime You're going to be in my prayers and you can send me a prayer as well if you don't mind So God bless you and I will see you soon