“My wife and I would not be disciples of Jesus today if it were not for the work God accomplished in our lives through Pure and Simple. During a season when our marriage was strained — marked by separation and on the verge of divorce — God brought healing and restoration. He also broke cycles of addiction that were present in both of our families. Because of that transformation, we have been able to faithfully serve for the past 18 years.” — Alan and Annmarie Spolar

Stories like theirs are why Pure and Simple exists. For 18 years, this annual conference has drawn disciples of Jesus who seek real help — shame-free, grace-based discipleship. They leave with the kind of healing that changes marriages, frees people from decades of bondage, gives real answers to young people and restores what seemed permanently lost.

More than a conference

With the help of Tom and Carol Nuelle and Guy Hamond, Pure and Simple was founded in 2009 with a bold idea: bring everyone into the same room. Men and women. Singles and married couples. People struggling with unwanted sexual behaviors and those who love them. No shame. Full confidentiality — no photos of the room, and a shared commitment to keep sacred anything spoken within it. One community, healing together. And at the center, “positive purity:” purity is not a burden or a law to keep, but a legacy and a gift to receive.

Eighteen years later, it remains the longest-running event of its kind in the world, and the most affordable, thanks to the generosity of our hosting churches. People return year after year because they’ve found something rare: a place where they are truly seen, where laughter and tears flow freely, and where the deep work of recovery happens among people who understand.

As one elder described it: “I have never experienced the Holy Spirit more strongly than at the Pure and Simple worship service. I was deeply moved.”

That presence comes from the honesty in the room — people who have stopped pretending and started healing.

What makes the weekend different

Real stories, not lectures. You’ll hear from people who have broken free from decades of cycling in sexual sin, codependency, and other unwanted behaviors. Couples who walked through the devastation of betrayal and found a way back to each other. You’ll hear honest testimonies that let you know you are not alone.

Therapeutic art. This is consistently what attendees name as the highlight of the weekend. With simple instructions and a theme, you let your soul speak through art — no skill required. Then you share what you’ve made with a small group trained in curiosity and observation, never critique or fixing. Hidden emotions surface. Buried themes come to light. Many people tell us this one exercise opened doors that years of talking could not.

Freedom experiences. Morning walks, statements of freedom, and activities that allow the weekend’s messages to take root in your heart and anchor the experience by creating lasting memories.

Worship that opens hearts. Singing and prayer in a room full of people who have nothing left to hide creates a unique atmosphere. God’s affirming presence meets you where you are.

Fellowship that lasts. Recovery leaders come to recharge and gather new teaching and resources. Friendships formed here carry on throughout the year. Many attendees describe becoming part of a family — the Pure and Simple family — where real talk on the deep stuff is not only welcomed but expected.

Is Pure and Simple for you?

The conference is designed for married and single disciples, including college students and mature teens. Whether you are the one who struggles, the one who loves someone who struggles, or the one who leads others toward freedom, there is a place for you here.

Interactive classes include:

  • Finding a path to extended freedom for men and women
  • How to heal the wounds of betrayal for couples
  • Special teaching for partners of those who struggle
  • Breaking free for singles, campus and teens
  • Codependency recovery and trauma healing
  • Leadership training to build this ministry in your church
  • Temple of the Holy Spirit: caring for your physical health as part of recovery

Pure and Simple has become a beacon of hope to people who often feel helpless, alone and buried in shame. If that describes you, or someone you love, this weekend is for you.

A global community

Pure and Simple draws in-person attendees from 10 to 15 US states plus Canada each year. But the reach extends far beyond North America. Since 2023, the virtual conference has been offered free of charge to disciples living outside the United States. In 2025, 962 disciples registered from 63 countries, including 340 Spanish speakers from 14 Latin American nations.

Spanish translation was added in 2022, and the conference now serves a vibrant and growing Spanish-language community. Compassion has no borders, and recovery belongs to everyone who seeks it.

Join us in 2026

This year’s Pure and Simple Conference will be held in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, from Friday, November 6 through Sunday, November 8, 2026. Our theme is Psalm 23 — the shepherd who makes us lie down not to punish us, but to restore us.

Whether you come in person or join virtually from anywhere in the world, you are welcome here. Your pain is welcome here. We look forward to helping you find the gifts in your pain that turn you into a wounded healer.

Learn more and register at pureandsimpleministry.org or
https://triangle-church.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3671116