ABY Convention 2025
The theme of Oasis for the 2025 American Baptist Youth (ABY) Convention centers on renewal, hope, and spiritual refreshment in the midst of life’s challenges. An oasis is defined as both a fertile place in a desert where water is found and a peaceful refuge during troubled or hectic times. This imagery reflects the Convention’s mission: to provide youth and young adults with a space to encounter God’s presence, experience community, and be refreshed by “Living Water.”
Grounded in Psalm 107:35 “God turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs” the theme points to God’s transformative power to bring life, strength, and renewal where there is dryness or struggle. ABY becomes that oasis for participants, offering an environment where faith can deepen, relationships can grow, and lives can be impacted by Christ.
Workshops, worship, and service opportunities embody the oasis concept by combining spiritual growth, fellowship, and practical mission. The Rescue Mission project, aiming to provide Bibles and food to those “in the deserts of life,” further connects the theme with tangible acts of compassion and justice.
Ultimately, Oasis invites participants to see the ABY Convention not just as a retreat, but as a life-giving encounter with God’s Spirit—a time of refreshment, restoration, and preparation to carry hope into their communities.
Speaker: Rev. Dr. Marie Onwubuariri
Director of Intercultural Ministries with the American Baptist Home Mission Societies
Dr. Marie is a life-long American Baptist, born in the Philippines yet has lived in New York, the San Francisco Bay Area (California), Wisconsin, and now in the greater Philadelphia area (Pennsylvania), near the American Baptist national offices. She was very involved in her first church in Queens, NY, serving in a variety of roles from childhood through high school. After graduating from Binghamton University (SUNY), she had a career in the retail industry before feeling a call to ministry in her mid-20s. Since then, she continued to pursue education and training in ministry and has served God's church in many volunteer and vocational positions.
Dr. Marie is someone who loves seeing how different people connect—especially when they seem worlds apart. Throughout her life and ministry, Dr. Marie makes meaning together with people from all walks of life, and every story reminds her how big and creative God really is! What most amazes her is when a common love in and for Jesus helps people to not just tolerate differences but to choose to be together because of their differences, because they learn that their ministry and their lives are richer when they share with others that are not "just like them." Outside of that, you’ll find Dr. Marie snapping photos or writing poems of moments that matter, cheering at sports events with friends and family, cooking up meals for guests, and occasionally learning a new piano piece. Her biggest joy (and best training ground!) is life with her husband of 23 years, two amazing kids, now 18 and 14, and their golden retriever!
Band: Undefeated
Undefeated is made up of 3 Upstate NY Siblings. While their background is rock music, they will be leading ABY in worship throughout our weekend. Meredith, Christian and Lis decided from the beginning that if God was in this, God would build and direct the way. With their metal influence and the influence of lyrists like Flyleaf, these three are sure to bring the convention into a place of energy and worship.
Grounded in Psalm 107:35 “God turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs” the theme points to God’s transformative power to bring life, strength, and renewal where there is dryness or struggle. ABY becomes that oasis for participants, offering an environment where faith can deepen, relationships can grow, and lives can be impacted by Christ.
Workshops, worship, and service opportunities embody the oasis concept by combining spiritual growth, fellowship, and practical mission. The Rescue Mission project, aiming to provide Bibles and food to those “in the deserts of life,” further connects the theme with tangible acts of compassion and justice.
Ultimately, Oasis invites participants to see the ABY Convention not just as a retreat, but as a life-giving encounter with God’s Spirit—a time of refreshment, restoration, and preparation to carry hope into their communities.
Speaker: Rev. Dr. Marie Onwubuariri
Director of Intercultural Ministries with the American Baptist Home Mission Societies
Dr. Marie is a life-long American Baptist, born in the Philippines yet has lived in New York, the San Francisco Bay Area (California), Wisconsin, and now in the greater Philadelphia area (Pennsylvania), near the American Baptist national offices. She was very involved in her first church in Queens, NY, serving in a variety of roles from childhood through high school. After graduating from Binghamton University (SUNY), she had a career in the retail industry before feeling a call to ministry in her mid-20s. Since then, she continued to pursue education and training in ministry and has served God's church in many volunteer and vocational positions.
Dr. Marie is someone who loves seeing how different people connect—especially when they seem worlds apart. Throughout her life and ministry, Dr. Marie makes meaning together with people from all walks of life, and every story reminds her how big and creative God really is! What most amazes her is when a common love in and for Jesus helps people to not just tolerate differences but to choose to be together because of their differences, because they learn that their ministry and their lives are richer when they share with others that are not "just like them." Outside of that, you’ll find Dr. Marie snapping photos or writing poems of moments that matter, cheering at sports events with friends and family, cooking up meals for guests, and occasionally learning a new piano piece. Her biggest joy (and best training ground!) is life with her husband of 23 years, two amazing kids, now 18 and 14, and their golden retriever!
Band: Undefeated
Undefeated is made up of 3 Upstate NY Siblings. While their background is rock music, they will be leading ABY in worship throughout our weekend. Meredith, Christian and Lis decided from the beginning that if God was in this, God would build and direct the way. With their metal influence and the influence of lyrists like Flyleaf, these three are sure to bring the convention into a place of energy and worship.