How to Make and Keep Good Friends

Friendship sounds like one of those things that should just happen. You hang out, you click, and somehow people end up in your life. But if you've ever felt lonely in a crowd, watched a close friendship slowly fade, or wondered why making friends seems harder now than it used to be — you're not alone, and you're not imagining it. The truth is, good friendships don't just happen. They're built, on purpose, by people who learn how to do it well. In this session, Keegan Hallmark unpacks what actually goes into making real friends and keeping them — how to be the kind of person others want in their life, how to navigate the messy parts (conflict, distance, drift, betrayal) without burning everything down, and how to build the kind of friendships that last beyond high school. Whether you've got a tight circle or you're feeling like you're starting from scratch, you'll leave with practical tools for one of the most important parts of your life.

Keegan Hallmark serves on our student ministry staff and is also a local educator, which means he spends most of his waking hours around teenagers — watching what works, what doesn't, and what most students wish someone had told them years earlier. He brings a relatable, no-nonsense approach to topics that matter, and a real heart for helping students thrive in every part of their lives.