What could it look like if more than 10,000 teenagers were invited to serve people in need? That question was answered at the 2026 Nazarene Youth Conference (NYC), held in Salt Lake City, Utah, during the first week of July.
Between powerful worship services, late-night concerts, exploring the area, and building new friendships, students devoted one afternoon to praying for and serving others, both locally and globally. They assembled hygiene kits for families recovering from floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other disasters. The kits will be distributed through Convoy of Hope, a faith-based nonprofit organization.
The kit-packing event, known as the “Bring With” project, was organized by Encuentro, a Nazarene missions organization that focuses on providing missions experiences for youth. Dozens of Encuentro staff members served during the week, sorting and distributing products and managing the packing sites scattered throughout the city.
This outreach provided districts, churches, and students with the opportunity to collect supplies at home and either ship or carry them directly to Salt Lake City. To connect with the theme of the conference, the kits were titled “Wonder PACKs” (Prayer and Care Kits).
More than 250,000 donated items arrived in Salt Lake City before the conference began. By week’s end, students had assembled 9,750 Wonder PACKs, each designed to support a family of four with essentials such as towels, soap, toothpaste, sanitary supplies, and other hygiene items. Together, the kits will eventually reach more than 38,000 people.
Elisha, a senior from the Indiana District, was impressed by the potential impact of the Bring With project.
“With the care packages, we’re able to plant little seeds,” he explained. “They can help people in need and those seeds can grow, all for the glory of God.”
Angel, a junior from the Southern Florida district, expressed hope that some kits would eventually reach places like Venezuela, where families are suffering after recent earthquakes.
“It reminded me that even from far away, we can still share God’s love and bring hope to those who need it most,” he said.
Convoy of Hope frequently distributes crisis care kits prepared by Nazarene churches in the United States and Canada, strengthening the ongoing distribution efforts of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM) and helping to extend the compassionate reach of local churches. This relationship paved the way for Convoy of Hope to join the Bring With project at NYC.
“NCM considers Convoy of Hope one of its most trusted and valuable partners in emergency relief,” said Brandon Sipes, Disaster Management and Humanitarian Crisis advisor for NCM.
“NCM has provided crisis care kits to Convoy for their responses, as well as connecting their staff to local Nazarene churches and centers during times of emergency. Convoy continues to provide logistical support for our responses, as well as utilizing Nazarene churches to set up their broad distributions during emergencies. Convoy is one of our very first contacts when mobilizing to support our churches, and they are always ready to jump in and support the most vulnerable.”
Jessenia Quintero, a Convoy of Hope staff member, helped direct one of the packing sites.
“After we explained what the kits were for, everyone was excited,” she said. “It was so cool to see everyone working together … there were so many kids coming up to me saying ‘Hey, can I jump in somewhere?’”
Greg Wells directed the Bring With project for NYC this year, and he reflected on his previous experience supporting people in Kentucky after devastating floods, a situation where crisis care kits made a difference.
“When a disaster hits, the value of what is delivered (in a kit) is almost unexplainable. For people to have just the basic necessities is incredible,” he shared. “Our hope was that the kids [at NYC] would see we get to have a huge impact in the US and Canada as well as around the world.”
Tor learn more about how your church can get involved with the assembly and donation of crisis care kits, visit the NCM website.