LEARNING LABS
What are Learning Labs? Learning Labs are our new type of “breakout session” that focuses on hands-on experience and real-life takeaways that can be implemented in your ministry immediately. These labs have been chosen carefully and intentionally to provide the most relevant resources for moving your own church’s Mission Forward!
Monday, November 10 @ 3:30 p.m.
World-Changing Teams: A Blueprint for Leading and Growing Your NEXT GEN Ministry
Lora Gravatt, Columbia Church, Falls Church, VA
Next Gen Ministry is one of the most volunteer intensive ministries in the church. The high demand for leaders puts intense pressure on the Ministry Leader. In an environment with a shrinking pool of volunteers this lack of resources can leave the most passionate leaders disillusioned, leading to frustration, and ultimately to burn out. But it doesn’t have to be if you learn how to build effective teams. The reality is most leaders have never had anyone walk beside them and teach them how to effectively recruit volunteers and build a team. Inspiring vision, developing leaders,
and building teams is key to the long-term success of evangelizing and discipling kids, students, and their parents and leaders. In fact, when done well, Next Gen teams can actually change the world.
Seven Jesus-shaped Practices for a Thriving Church
Paul Maconochie, Uptick
We train our Uptick Core (Pastors) participants in seven key elements that can help their churches to grow and thrive. These would include principles about how to help members engage with evangelism and discipleship, how to inspire and mobilize the next generation, how to help people to be full of passion for Jesus, How to encourage people to step into their calling and purpose and how to help the church to function as a healthy body.
These are things that are easy to get distracted from in ministry life, but are very important for the long-term life and health of a local church. Discussion, examples, and interaction will be included throughout the session.
Decisions in the Dark: Navigating Uncertain Times
JR Woodward + Jessie Cruickshank, V3 Church Planting Movement
In a world marked by complexity and rapid change, how do we faithfully discern the right path forward, especially when the way isn’t clear? This active, participatory lab is designed to help leaders and teams navigate cultural uncertainty with spiritual discernment and practical wisdom. Together, we will explore ways to better understand the times we are living in and learn how to make faithful decisions even when clarity is hard to come by. Decisions in the Dark is a prayer-led framework for collaborative decision-making in uncertain contexts. Rooted in the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the collective wisdom of the community, this process was forged in real-world situations where the stakes were high and the outcomes unknown. It is a tool developed from experience, not theory, that helps leaders move forward with courage and clarity. You will leave this workshop with a practical, adaptable process that you can immediately use in your church or leadership context.
Religious Liberty and the Golden Rule
Adam Tyler + panelists, BGAV Religious Liberty Committee
Baptists in the US have been champions of religious liberty for people of all faiths, and no faith, since before the beginning of our republic. Yet this foundational principle of both Baptist faith and American freedom must constantly be relearned and applied in new eras and new situations. Join us as we use the lens of Jesus’ teaching of the Golden Rule to consider how to be champions of religious liberty for everyone; this will include a panel discussion with pastors navigating the issues of religious liberty in our cultural context and conversation around current concerns in our society and communities that impact religious liberty.
Food to Faith: Transforming Hunger Ministry into Collaborative Community and Dinner Church
Shannon Kiser, Fresh Expressions
Dean Miller, Impact Missions
This session will help churches consider how their existing food pantries or hunger ministries can become communities of mutual friendship and potentially faith exploration. We will explore a shift from mission “to” or “for” the community to mission “with” and “among” the community and hear from several churches who have navigated this shift. Participants will dream and plan for how they might be able to serve the physical needs of their community while also building friendships and faith community around food.
Tuesday, November 11 @ 1:00 p.m.
Dinner Church: Building a New Form of Faith Community around a Shared Meal
Verlon Fosner, Fresh Expressions
In this session, you will discover how a simple Jesus story, shared lives around a shared meal, and some practical 21st century evangelism skills can transform lives around a dinner table. Your church can do this… we can show you how.
Hands-on Community Ministry
Craig Waddell + Kristen Curtis, Impact Missions
How can my church make a meaningful contribution to God’s mission locally and beyond? Church to community partnerships provide an authentic way to do that, and they enable us to observe how the Holy Spirit is moving God’s mission forward in different contexts. This broader perspective helps us, in turn, to discover how we can better participate in God’s mission in our own and other cultures.
How to Add Staff for Your Church for $20/Month (Artificial Intelligence)
Liz Baker
Multiply your church’s impact without multiplying your budget. Artificial Intelligence isn’t just for big tech companies; it’s the biggest tool of our lifetime for ministry empowerment. Join us to learn how to ethically and practically use AI to free up time for what truly matters: mission.
In this hands-on workshop, you’ll discover how to leverage simple, powerful AI tools to create your own “AI staff.” You’ll leave with actionable takeaways, real-world examples, and a clear blueprint to leverage this new tech. Learn how to lead with AI while keeping the human at the center of your ministry.
Led by Liz B. Baker, Fortune 500-trained strategist, AI leadership expert, and founder of Nimbology. With 20+ years of helping organizations work smarter through technology, Liz specializes in practical AI implementation that amplifies human ministry without replacing the human touch.
NextGen, Next Door: Engaging Your Community with Purpose
Lora Gravatt
It’s easy for NextGen ministry to become siloed–focused on internal programs, events, and discipleship models that rarely intersect with the surrounding community. But what if the key to a thriving ministry isn’t just better programming–it’s deeper presence? This lab will explore how churches and leaders can intentionally build relationships with their “everyday” circles of influence: neighbors, schools, parks, sports leagues, and more to cultivate a ministry that knows its community and is known by it. Through storytelling, examples from real churches, and collaborative exercises, participants will learn how to identify the unique needs and assets in their neighborhoods, partner with local institutions, and train students to be relational bridge-builders right where they are.
Leaders Who Develop Leaders: The Why, the How, and the For How Long
Archie Bates-Mendoza + Sonya Habimana, Uptick
Succession planning is a primal part of discipleship. When we recognize that as we are called to serve, we are also called to disciple individuals to continue, update, and modify what we have been given. Often, this may only be considered in the sphere of church; but what if the principles can be applied in different spheres of life including the non-profit sector or in a business? This Learning Lab will offer general Uptick principles accompanied by Scripture (Matthew 4:19, Matthew 17:14-18, Luke 10:1, and Matthew 16:14-19), and stories from experienced leaders who discipled other leaders as they made plans for succession. Participants will learn one of Uptick’s discipleship Lifeshapes (the square), and understand the biblical importance of discipleship and succession.
Tuesday, November 11 @ 3:00 p.m.
Pause & Paste: Creative Rest for Pastors and Leaders
Amy Hall, Shalom Creatives
This hands-on workshop invites pastors and leaders into a space of creative rest and reflection. Using the simple practice of collage, you’ll explore what’s fueling and draining you in this season of leadership, and discern what rest and renewal may be needed. No art experience is necessary, and all art materials and guidance will be provided.
Reimagining the Classics: Ministering to Gen Z and Gen Alpha
Cadance Tyler, Impact Missions
This session will explore how to transform time-honored ministry events into dynamic experiences designed to resonate with Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Generations change, but a desire to love God and others well continues to connect with younger generations. Participants in this lab will learn characteristics of Generations Z and Alpha, assess the ways in which they are currently ministering to children and youth, and take part in an interactive ministry event redesign to implement in their context.
Beyond the Surface: Revealing the Voice that Shapes Your Leadership and Drives Change
Michael Pumphrey
Leading change is rarely smooth—conflict, resistance, and miscommunication often arise. The 5 Voices framework helps leaders discover their unique leadership style and equips them with practical tools to communicate, collaborate, and engage others more effectively. Leaders will gain actionable insights to foster deeper collaboration and momentum in times of transition.
Ascent’s Vital Preschool Initiative: Reaching the Next Generation Through Weekday Ministry
Jim Baucom + Lora Gravatt, Columbia Church, Falls Church, VA
The Vital Preschool Initiative helps churches reimagine their CDCs and weekday programs as intentional spaces for evangelism and discipleship. Whether your church already operates a preschool or is exploring starting one, this session will help senior leaders grasp the strategic value of weekday ministries and understand how to align them with the church’s mission—not just education or care, but gospel-centered transformation.
Developing Leaders through Coaching Relationships
Ken Kessler, Empower Coaching
Developing church leaders in the 21st century calls for a different approach. Join us as we look at how businesses and ministries across the country and globe have discovered how a powerful coaching relationship can transform leaders into engaging, growing leaders. You will experience a dynamic demonstration of coaching and hear from leaders who have used coaching as a springboard to growth and opportunity.