Where the Word Comes From

PROX comes from the Latin proximus, a word that can mean two things at once: nearest and next. That double meaning is the point. We picked a word that won't let youth — or the adults leading them — settle for asking, "What's next for you?" without also asking, "What's nearest to you, right now, that deserves your attention?" Here are five ways we’ll explore PROX at YOUTH 2027:

What's Next? Your students get asked about their future constantly — college, career, calling — often at the expense of celebrating who they already are. At YOUTH 2027, we're flipping that: naming them as leaders, advocates, and builders of what comes next for the church, starting now.

The Next Right Step. Not everyone needs a five-year plan. Everyone needs a next faithful action. We'll have opportunities for prayer and discernment, helping students practice choosing the next right thing instead of freezing in the face of the next big challenge.

Nearest Needs. PROX also means closest. What issues directly affect your students and their communities today, and how can the church respond to what's actually nearest rather than what's easiest to talk about? Expect worship and workshop content that stays grounded in the real, local, and immediate, and that encourages youth to be attentive to how they can act and make their world a little bit better for everyone.

Surrounding Scriptures. Many of us know our favorite Bible stories by heart or have heard famous scriptures on repeat…all while remaining unsure about the context of those passages… what happens right before or right after them. PROX invites students to build context around familiar passages—the Good Samaritan, Bartimaeus by the roadside, Ruth's loyalty to Naomi, Micah 6:8, the sheep and the goats, Peter and John at the temple gate—rediscovering them alongside the verses that surround them, rather than memorizing them in isolation.

Who Is Next to You? Who are your friends, family, and mentors that surround you? How do you get to know them, and how do they get to know you? Discipleship begins with relationship, and there will be opportunities to serve, connect, and practice relationship-building skills that can help broaden a youth’s circle of trust.

A Theme You Can Use before July 2027

You don't have to wait until Dallas to play with PROX as you prepare to join YOUTH 2027. Feel free to get creative with PROX as a framework for a youth series (and consider sharing what you create with us to share on socials!). Spend a few weeks exploring "what's nearest," a few weeks on "what's next," and let your students arrive at YOUTH 2027 already fluent in the language they'll hear from the main stage. If you want a starting point, the surrounding-scripture idea alone — reading the verses right before and right after a familiar passage — is a strong single-night lesson you could run this month. Look at the scriptures your church already uses in worship, and see what surrounds those passages to help your youth understand the importance of context around what they hear in worship.