About the D6 Conference
The D6 Story
It’s not hard to imagine because everyone can identify with these details: You’re a church leader or a parent who deeply cares about the next generation’s faith, but you’re witnessing a troubling trend—young people are growing up and walking away from church, their beliefs, and their spiritual foundations. The same problem has plagued churches for decades, but today it feels even more urgent. Perhaps you’ve tried different programs, only to find them lacking. Maybe you feel disqualified because your kids are not serving God today. You are not alone. Many church leaders and parents face the same dilemma, unsure how to break the cycle of deconstruction and disengagement.
Back in the late 1990s, Dr. Ron Hunter was in your shoes. After 11 years as a pastor, he saw firsthand how traditional methods of teaching faith—like Sunday School—were no longer enough. Families were losing touch with meaningful discipleship, and as young people left home, they left the church. But Dr. Hunter had a vision. His vision was God’s original plan. He asked, “What if discipleship wasn’t confined to a one-hour-a-week program?” What if it became part of the rhythm of life at home and in the everyday moments? What if it looked more like what was described in Deuteronomy 6:5–7 where faith is impressed and diligently taught by those with whom we spend the most time?
The key was recognizing a flaw in the way biblical values were taught. For years, churches have tried to shape worldviews in just one or two hours a week, but that’s simply not enough. The people who influence us the most are the ones we spend the most time with—parents, grandparents, schoolteachers, friends, and others. Dr. Hunter believed that to truly pass on faith, families and mentors had to play a central role. He gathered a talented team of pastors, educators, and ministry leaders to craft a new solution: D6 Curriculum, named after Deuteronomy 6, where God commands us to impress His commandments on our children through everyday life.
At the time, no one was talking about Deuteronomy 6 or family ministry in this way. The idea of generational discipleship was radical, but it made sense: the church needed to equip parents and mentors to carry faith into their homes. In 2004, D6 Curriculum was born, and by 2009, the first D6 Conference launched in Dallas, bringing this new approach to leaders around the world.
Like any new approach, it disrupted the status quo. D6 challenged the idea that age-segmented lessons alone could disciple a family. Instead, it aligned lessons across all age groups, creating natural connections for faith-building conversations in homes—whether around the dinner table, during car rides, or in personal devotion times. Parents suddenly had practical, meaningful ways to engage their children in daily discipleship. It worked.
Today, we see the second generation of parents using D6 to disciple their kids, just as they experienced it with their own parents. The D6 concept has grown into a global movement, with conferences and curricula to help churches and homes keep it fresh and relevant for each new generation. Discipleship is no longer just a program—it’s a way of life, passed down from parent to child, sustaining faith across generations.
If you’re struggling with seeing young people drift away from church after they get their driver’s license or head off to college, you’re not alone. But you don’t have to accept this as the future for your family or church. The principles of generational discipleship, rooted in biblical truths from Deuteronomy 6:5–7, 2 Timothy 1:5, and Psalm 78:1–8, offer a way forward. D6 is here to guide you on this journey, just as it has for countless others across the globe.
Your story doesn’t have to end with another generation lost. You have the power to shape a future where faith is passed down, where children grow up grounded in truth, and where families disciple each other in everyday moments. You can be the hero who changes the course of the next generation’s faith. We have shared our story, but the question is, are you ready to help Christ author a new story for your family and the families in your church?