You just can’t miss the commercials popping up everywhere these days: “Do you have cracks in your drywall? Sticking doors? Uneven floors? These may be symptoms of a bigger problem. Your house may have cracks in its foundation.”
Far more concerning, many families today also have cracks in their foundations. They build their lives on shifting values, lucrative careers, sports, leisure, and a thousand other things that crumble quickly when the weight of life settles upon them.
In contrast, the Church is built upon the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, and discipleship builds individual believers on Him — The Right Foundation. The 2025 D6 Conferences brought together people who have a passion for making disciples and for drawing church and home together with that single focus. D6 Family Ministry hosted two conferences: D6 Northwest in Seattle, Washington, March 21-22, and D6 Southeast in Orlando, Florida, April 22-24.
D6 Northwest | Seattle, Washington
Main Stage
Russ Ramsey, author of Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart, compared discipleship to the training, practice, and eventual mastery of the artist striving to perfect his or her craft who then inspires subsequent generations of artists to take their own work to another level. When it comes to discipleship, the church plays an “important role in ‘blowing on the embers’ of the next generation,” Ramsey concluded.
Tim Goodyear, COO of D6 Homepoint, described discipleship as “passing the baton of faith” to the next generation. He urged church leaders not to confuse the role of the church in this process, reminding listeners that parents are the runners, passing the baton, while the church is the track coach. Both church and parents work together to ensure the baton is grasped firmly by the next generation.
Ron Hunter shared “bookend” passages of discipleship: Deuteronomy 6:5-7 (teach them diligently) and Ephesians 6:4 (bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord). Noting the second passage was directed to fathers, Hunter challenged listening dads to develop their ability to nurture. Going further, he encouraged the church to heal broken families by becoming their spiritual family, bringing hurting people into God’s family. “Only when we have relationships can we build influence, and only when we have influence can we reach them with the gospel,” Hunter concluded.
Linc Taylor, minister to next gen and families, shared two “Aha!” moments from his ministry. The first was realizing the complexity of family discipleship (D6). The second came when he realized changed hearts are reflected in changed lives (Romans 12:1-2). He challenged church leaders to help parents embrace needs-focused parenting over wants-focused parenting to meet deeper longings, concentrate on healthy relationships, be guided by purpose and focus, and remain sensitive to God’s plan for our children. Finally, needs-focused parenting teaches children to embrace the careful balance between ministry and Sabbath rest.
Gary Lindsay, executive pastor of Northshore Community Church, asked listeners if they are “glass half full or half empty” kinds of people. Families need a half-full attitude in discipleship ministry. Part of this is learning to create a partnership with parents who may seem combative at first but “sometimes become the strongest allies in our ministry.”
John Mark Yeats, president of Corban University, challenged listeners to create “healthy structures” for each stage in life by establishing basic practices in our family and ministries to keep Christ the priority. What are those basics? A set time for God and His Word, daily prayer, worship, Sabbath rest, and physical exercise, among others. Most important, we must constantly ensure Christ remains the Chief Cornerstone in our lives.
Shelly Melia, associate dean of the Graduate School of Ministry at Dallas Baptist University, challenged churches to work hard to bring generations together in their church experience, rather than putting them on separate paths. Generations can shape one another through shared experiences, meaningful rituals, and intentional presence.
Matt Hanson, leader of the National Rite of Passage Council and developer of the Aion Path, reminded listeners that parents — dads specifically — play the most important role in the discipleship of the next generation. He challenged the church to bring fathers back together with their children and to create a multi-generational culture of discipleship.
Scott Turansky, head of the National Center for Biblical Parenting, encouraged churches to help parents become the primary counselors for their children. “We are in the business of bringing change to the hearts of children,” he told listeners before offering strategies to help parents embrace character development over punishment and to reward and develop a mission-oriented view of life.
As Jim Burns, president of HomeWord, tackled the difficult topic of parenting adult children, he summed up the topic with the quip, “Keep your mouth shut and the welcome mat out!” He offered parents simple (yet difficult) advice for parenting adult children: let go of control, avoid offering unsolicited advice, become a student of their culture, promote independence by refusing to enable, and remember they are responsible for their own choices.
Russ Ramsey returned to the main stage three additional times throughout the conference to share brief vignettes from the art world describing gifts that God shares with believers: the gift of a sad story, the gift of mastery, and the gift of limitation.
Beyond the Main Stage
In addition to Main Stage sessions, D6 Northwest offered 48 breakout sessions with a broad range of discipleship topics.
Leading voices in family ministry shared new ideas and resources, challenged listeners with inventive discipleship strategies, and introduced tools and resources to help equip churches and families for discipleship.
Speaking of resources, exhibitors and sponsors packed the Resource Center at every possible break, with conversations bubbling over about tools and techniques. The conversations carried over into mealtimes (with food provided by food trucks) as attendees processed the flood of information received.
Emcee Arlene Pellicane guided attendees through the packed schedule, introducing main stage speakers, interviewing speakers, asking probing questions to help listeners process content, and prompting the audience to interact and give feedback.
Jon Forrest brought his high-energy, wacky fun and games back to the D6 Conference, interjecting each session with games, crazy questions, goofy prizes, and a non-stop barrage of humor.
First-time attendee Natalie McEathern, from Kirkland, Washington, expressed her enthusiasm about the conference. “It was so affirming as a parent to be reminded my ministry starts first for my daughters and then moves outward from home. I would recommend others attend D6 in the future. It was worth the time and investment. The speakers were very qualified, and their hearts were in the right place. They invested in those of us who listened.”
Throughout the conference, attendees enjoyed worship led by Kiki Edwards and Brendan Sanders, worship leaders at Northshore Community Church, which hosted the conference. It seemed appropriate for the conference to close with attendees joining their voices in song to affirm Christ as our sure and faithful foundation.
D6 Southeast | Orlando, FL
Main Stage
The D6 Southeast Mainstage was packed with powerful reminders about truth, discipleship, and community:
Russ Ramsey emphasized the power of storytelling: “It’s how we reveal truth, invite connection, and reflect the hope of the gospel.” He also reminded the audience that in every storm, “the storm is real, but so is Jesus’ presence.”
Dannah Gresh challenged us to live in truth. “Scripture speaks freedom over the bondage that holds you.” She called abiding a lifestyle: “Stay, dwell, return.”
Tim Goodyear stressed generational faith transfer. “We must create a place where families can pick up the baton of faith — even if they’re limping across the finish line.”
Austin Fruits spoke about vulnerability, asking, “Do you allow yourself to be seen even when you fail? That’s the foundation of real freedom.”
Linc Taylor reminded listeners: “Wants are loud, but needs are deep. If we listen with love, we’ll hear what’s beneath the surface.”
Corey Jones reframed ministry as worship, noting, “Ministry is about doing ministry with God.”
Rich Griffith focused on home leadership: “Discipleship isn’t just something we teach in public — it’s something we must live out at home.”
Jonathan Denton called for full commitment to Scripture. “Discipleship calls us to anchor to the whole truth of God’s Word.”
Brianna Edwards emphasized the importance of repair. “It’s never too late to build a new template.”
Ron Hunter closed with a key truth: “Discipleship is not a solo sport — it’s a lifelong walk together toward Jesus.”
Corporate worship at D6 Southeast was led by Michael Boggs. General sessions were lead by two emcees, Christina Embree and Kevin Jones. To help breakout up the seriousness of the main stage topics, attendees were treated to times of fun and games by Jon Forrest.
This year's D6 Mainstage made it clear: ministry, parenting, and leadership all flow from the deep work of abiding in truth, which is essential in establishing the right foundation.
Beyond the Main Stage
In addition to these main stage talks, D6 Southeast attendees had the option to choose from over 70 breakout sessions in the areas of family ministry, parenting, children’s ministry, student ministry, parenting, leadership, special needs, discipleship, and special topics. One conference attendee made the comment that “the real value of attending a D6 conference is the wide variety of breakouts that give you needed tools for your ministry.”
Moving Forward
D6 Family Ministry is excited to announce the dates and locations for both D6 Conferences in 2026. D6 Northwest will take place March 6-7, 2026, in Seattle, Washington, at Northshore Community Church. D6 Southeast is changing locations, and will take place April 23-25, 2026, at Brentwood Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee. To find out more information on
both these events and to purchase your tickets, visit
www.D6Conference.com/.
