One thousand students and leaders learn how to live in “complete obedience” at Congreso

Malachia Merlos, a high school sophomore, and Sapphire Merlos, a middle school student from United By Grace Baptist Church in San Antonio, said they returned to a second-time Congreso because they experienced life-change last year.  

“Every time I come here… I think of my dad and my family and what we've gone through,” said Malachia Merlos. “[Congreso] really transformed and changed me to be better.”

“I chose to come back because Jesus saved my life… and I love coming to Congreso and praising him,” said Sapphire Merlos. 

March 20-22, 1,132 students and pastors gathered at First Baptist Richardson for a time of worship, fellowship and teaching. With the theme “Obey,” students attended workshops, participated in missions opportunities around the city, learned from three keynote sessions and enjoyed a concert by Kenny Rivers, a faith-based producer and recording artist, at their Friday evening concert.  

Robert Purvey, podcaster and director of Partner Strategies for Tenx10, an organization focused on discipleship and keeping young people engaged in their faith, delivered the keynote messages, and Chris Benites & Co. from Freedom Church in Fort Worth led worship. 

The invitation and instruction to obedience 

Purvey kicked off Congreso by sharing a message on what it means to obey God. He told attendees that there is a call on our lives to obey. God invites us to follow him and gives us the instructions to obey him. 

“For the next three days, you’re going to be challenged to jump and be obedient to the voice of God that's calling you into the deep and saying ‘If you jump, I will teach you how to swim,’” said Purvey. “God is calling you to obey… Tucked in between the ‘O’ and the ‘Y’ of ‘Obey’ is ‘BE,’ and you cannot be who God is calling you to be if you don't obey.”

Drawing from Matthew 4:18-22, Purvey challenged students that “obedience begins with a willingness to respond to God's call.” He said Jesus’ invitation to his disciples was to follow him. 

“Obedience begins with a willingness [and] his disciples were willing to leave everything behind and follow Jesus,” said Purvey. “He has a purpose and a plan in your life that he wants to reveal to you when you say yes. The issue is that in order to follow him, your heart has to be willing, but your heart will never be willing to follow him if it is controlled by something or somebody else.” 

Purvey explained that after we willingly accept the invitation to follow him, Jesus gives us instructions. Focusing on Matthew 4:19, he said the scripture shows that we “have the invitation to obedience and the instruction in obedience is ‘I will make you.’” 

He encouraged attendees that they are “in a season of your life where God just wants to mold you,” but warned them that “it's all about whose hands they are in.” 

“[He] takes your life like a broken piece of clay and puts it on the potter's wheel, and molds you… into who he's called you to be. [But], in order to become who God is calling you to be, you can't be in the hands of people and expect the outcome that only the potter can make,” said Purvey. “People, broken in their hands, they can't fix you. But, broken in the hands of the potter, he can restore you.” 

Purvey concluded his message by challenging the students to ask themselves these two questions: “Will you obey the call and follow his voice? Even deeper, do you even know what his voice sounds like?” 

Walking by faith

Friday morning, students and their leaders had the opportunity to attend 15 unique workshops on topics including discipleship, apologetics, chasing purpose, living out the Great Commission and more. 

Marisol Sandoval, missional lifestyle strategist for preschool, children, and youth at WMU of Texas, led a workshop titled “The Cost of Discipleship: Obeying God in a World That Rejects Him.” She walked students through Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 1:8, and explained that we are called to be disciples and witnesses of Jesus. 

She explained that Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples of all nations” is a “call to action.”

“[Sometimes] we think that [we] have to go from A to B to actually be able to share Jesus with others, but in reality, as we're going from A to B, we can share Jesus with others,” said Sandoval.

Students collaborated and considered what it looks like to be disciples and witnesses in their areas of influence.

Sandoval ended the workshop by encouraging students that in order to be effective disciples and witnesses of the gospel, they need to obey God’s word, and the more time we spend in God’s word, the more we are compelled to obey. 

Damien Ruiz, a middle school student from Grace Temple Baptist Church in Dallas, said this workshop reminded him that God is always with him and “has everything planned out” for how we should live as disciples. 

Fernando Rojas, pastor of Azle Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth, led a workshop on how to overcome fear in obedience. 

Referencing 2 Chronicles 20:3-4, Rojas challenged students to consider, “When trouble comes, what is your first instinct?” He encouraged attendees that it is normal to be afraid, but “it’s what you do next that matters.”

He told the students that “as Christians, our instinct must be to walk by faith.” 

He gave them four steps to take in faith to overcome fear: seek God, listen to God, act in obedience to God, and praise God. He emphasized, “if you want to walk, you’ve got to take multiple steps.”

“If you want to experience God, you have to work on this equation… [that] is going to transform your life. Faith plus obedience equals experience. You’ve got to put your faith in God with your obedience,” said Rojas.

He concluded the session by encouraging students that every problem they face “has a name” and “the name of Jesus is above that name.” 

“He has control over [your problems],” said Rojas. “So stop trying to fight it on your own. Because when the battle is over and God fights the battle for you, what's left over is the reward for us. God rewards those who walk by faith.” 

After workshops, students had the opportunity to participate in mission projects around the city including serving with Texans on Mission, Buckner International and the Cliff Temple Baptist Church’s "Mission Oak Cliff” food pantry. 

Obeying God right now 

In his second keynote session, Purvey challenged attendees that “half obedience is complete disobedience” and that God is calling them to “obey him and take the weight off” that hinders them from running their race. 

“God requires complete obedience from those who follow him… [and] one of the hardest things to do when it comes to following God is not only leaving behind the people or the things you don't need, it's also fighting the urge not to pick up the things that make your life heavy,” explained Purvey. 

Purvey illustrated what it looks like “trying to live life weighed down” by having a student run around the sanctuary with bricks in his backpack. 

“This is what happens in life… you're running, trying to live life weighed down, and there are people cheering for you to keep running with weight when God is calling you to obey him and take the weight off,” said Purvey. “What makes obedience easier is when you don't have the added weight in your life, there is some weight you need to take off.”

Sapphire Merlos said she was impacted by the illustration and learned the importance of taking the weight off to be obedient. 

“When that boy was running, I'm pretty sure it was heavy for him, and so we were actually cheering for him to keep going. [But], we're supposed to get the weight off of ourselves, not to have the weight on us. We have to let it go and let God handle it,” said Sapphire Merlos.

Purvey told students that God is not calling them as a suggestion but as a command. 

“Faith is not believing in spite of evidence, it's obeying in spite of the consequence… I can't afford not to obey God. There's too much at stake. There's souls to be won. There's his kingdom to build,” said Purvey. “He wants to use [you] and he's not calling you as a suggestion, he's calling you as a command.” 

Purvey encouraged students not to wait to obey later but to obey now. 

“Do not despise your youth; God wants to use you right now,” said Purvey. “Despite where you come from, in spite of what you're going through, he's calling you now. He wants to use your life as a testimony to his power.” 

Purvey concluded his message with a time of invitation for students to accept Christ and say yes to their call to ministry. 

Stay connected, stay fruitful, stay dependent

The third keynote session began with a Q&A time, where Oza Jones, director of Evangelism at Texas Baptists, asked Purvey questions sent in by attendees over the weekend. Purvey then closed Congreso with a message on remaining in Christ. 

Drawing from John 15, he told attendees that after they say yes to Jesus, he asks us to do three things: stay connected, stay fruitful and stay dependent. 

He told attendees that Christ is their power source. 

“Staying connected to Christ means you only get your power from him because… there's nothing you can do apart from Jesus Christ,” said Purvy. “If you want to do something great for your community and you want to do something great for your family; If you want to do something great in this world, you can't not do it disconnected from Christ.” 

Purvey encouraged attendees to stay connected to stay fruitful. 

 “Fruit represents the evidence of a transformed life… The more you stay connected to Jesus, the more you reflect his love, joy, and peace to others,” said Purvey. “The more you stay connected, the more fruitful you become. If you want to know the type of life you're living or leading, look at the fruit you're producing.” 

Purvey said the final thing Christ asks us to do is stay dependent on him. 

“Stay dependent on the Lord's power to empower you by staying in your Word… Let your heart be connected to him. When your heart is connected to him, you will produce fruit that looks like him, that sounds like him, that looks like him,” said Purvey. “May your heart forever be postured towards him, and may your eyes forever look to him for everything. May Congreso forever be a recharge for you and not a restart for you.”  

He concluded his message by challenging attendees that to “get [Kingdom] work done,” they have to obey and remain in Christ.

Malachia Merlos said coming to Congreso is “like a release of all the stress and everything we're going through.” She said she would tell students considering attending Congreso that the weekend could “change their perspective about Jesus and following him” and encourage them to continue “walking with him and continue listening to and reading His Word daily.”

For more information or to stay updated on Congreso 2026 dates and details, visit txb.org/congreso.