Over 240 participants and volunteers gathered at Third Wave 2025 in Orlando and Lake Placid, Florida from 7-13 January 2025.

Third Wave is a global Nazarene Youth International conference for emerging youth leaders aged 18-29. Each field nominates five individuals for the time of training, discipleship, fellowship, worship, and to help them begin to think globally. 

“Understanding the vastness of our family, the Body of Christ, has given me so much perspective,” said Agnes, a participant from Australia. “I feel like little old me in our corner of the world has so much to learn from the broader Nazarene family.”

A total of 241 participants traveled from 51 different countries, speaking 23 different languages. 

“Having the opportunity to speak with everyone from all around the world [taught me that] while we all come from different areas and may be in different walks of life at the moment, we all go through similar journeys,” said Grace, another participant from Australia. “It’s cool to hear their experiences and how they handle different [challenges].”

Upon arrival in Orlando, participants gathered for an opening service that explained the purpose of Third Wave and provided guidelines for the following days.

Day one began with a service project led by Clean the World, a nonprofit organization in Orlando that has both local and global operations. Participants also attended workshops from Nazarene Compassionate Ministries and packed Crisis Care Kits for distribution worldwide during emergencies. 

The young adults gathered that evening with Nazarenes from the Florida District for worship at Center Pointe Community Church of the Nazarene, followed by a message from District Superintendent Dale Schaeffer, who encouraged the young leaders to not let anything get in the way of leading people to Jesus.

The next day, all the participants traveled by bus to Lake Placid Camp and Conference Center, owned and operated by the South Florida District. Upon arrival, they participated in “The Amazing gRace,” where participants went through various challenges and discussion points to learn more about God’s grace.

Participants spent the evening sampling traditional American food from local food trucks and shopping in the World Market, where each region brought snacks, clothing, candy, treats, and more for sale to raise money for Clean the World. The World Market raised a total of $2,248.

On Friday morning, Africa Regional Director Dany Gomis shared his testimony, focusing on the influence of others. At two panel discussions, leaders from different regions discussed the impact of mentorship and discipleship on their lives and advised the young leaders present.

Nazarene Discipleship International Director Sam Barber spoke in the evening service about saving grace, encouraging the young leaders to take a step of faith and throw themselves into the arms of Jesus.

Saturday began with small groups before participants learned about getting involved in various ministries, including Global Missions, Global Communications, World Mission Broadcast, Global Education and Clergy Development, and NDI.

That night, General Superintendent David Busic spoke on sanctifying grace, reminding the participants that God is continuing to make them into his masterpieces and challenging them to fully surrender their lives to the lordship of Jesus. After the altar call, the Third Wave tradition of foot washing was carried out to emphasize the value of servant leadership and Christlike humility.

Sunday began with the testimony of Central Europe Field Strategy Coordinator Cezarina Glendenning, who received her call to ministry at Third Wave in 2007. She encouraged participants to lean into God’s sustaining grace, allowing them to be the church even in challenging times. The service closed with a time of Communion.

Global NYI Chair Christiano Malta closed Third Wave on Sunday night by challenging participants to let go of anything that keeps them from following God’s will for their lives.

The lessons learned at Third Wave have already deeply impacted many. Multiple participants expressed God confirmed a call to missions and the pastorate.

“My calling is [to] pastor, and for many years, I avoided it,” said Jairo Luiz, a participant from Brazil. “But I felt God encouraging me to start pastoring young people. I will start classes in theology this year. I said yes.”