LifeDate Spring 2026 – Stand Firm For Life
Y4Life, the youth branch of Lutherans For Life, hosted the 2026 Y4Life Summit from February 20-22 at Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Each February, the Summit takes place on a Concordia campus. Through the use of educational sessions and hands-on opportunities to support life, the Summit is specifically designed to equip high school and college youth to uphold the lives of others. Youth learn how to spot a life issue and are also given practical and concrete ways to respond to the issue with both a Gospel-motivated voice and through acts of mercy.
This year’s Summit welcomed 45 youth from across the nation. Eight different colleges and universities, all with active Y4Life teams on their campuses, sent representatives to the Y4Life Summit including Purdue, KU, Luther Classical College, Concordia Chicago, Concordia Wisconsin, Concordia Nebraska, Concordia St. Paul, and Concordia Texas. High school students also attended from a variety of states including Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Missouri.
While participating in the Y4Life Summit, youth learned about Christian citizenship, the life-affirming benefits of marriage and family, IVF, the complex intersection between mental health and homelessness, and how to engage as a compassionate Christian using a Gospel-motivated voice in a world broken by sin. All educational sessions were led by experts on life issues, including three local speakers—Minnesota South District President Lucas Woodford, Rev. Scot Missling, and Rev. Joshua Miller—as well as two experts from Lutherans For Life—Deaconess Chrissie Gillet (Word of Hope Director) and Michelle Bauman (Y4Life Director).
In addition to learning about life issues, those who attended the Summit worshipped together, watched a For Life movie, and partnered with the St. Paul Outreach Center at Jehovah Lutheran Church for a service project. Attendees packed over 400 snack kits and made fleece tie blankets for the unhoused in the Minneapolis and St. Paul communities.
The conference offered youth an opportunity to transform their beliefs into actions and build deep relationships with other life-affirming youth. If you’d like to find out more about the Y4Life Summit or discover resources and gatherings Y4Life—the youth branch of Lutherans For Life—has to offer, please contact Director Michelle Bauman at Michelle@y4life.org.
