By Randy Schmor
NAB Gateway Director
As many of you know, Kristi TenClay is ending her missionary service with the NAB on June 30, 2025. On behalf of the NAB Conference and the NAB International Missions Department, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to Kristi for her 15 years of serving the children of missionaries and many others in Cameroon, especially at Rain Forest International School.
No matter the time or the season, Kristi served with energy, compassion, and enthusiasm. Just this past October, I had the chance to witness Kristi using that energy and love for students at the NAB/ABA Greater Edmonton Mission (GEM) Conference youth event. Her love for students is evident no matter where she encounters them, and I believe that love will go with her regardless of where she finds herself serving in the future: be it here in North America or abroad. Thank you for bringing yourself to your missionary service for these past years, Kristi! You will be missed.
We also thank YOU, Kristi’s prayer and financial supporters, for all the ways you supported Kristi over the years and allowed her to focus on her significant service in Cameroon, teaching and influencing many lives. Again, thank you for your important support.
As supporters of Kristi, we’d also like to encourage you to consider transferring your giving to another NAB missionary couple . . .
Episode six of the NAB Stories podcast is now available to stream or download.
In this latest episode of the NAB Stories Podcast, Drew Steinhart talks with Jen Woyke, a member of the NAB Governing Board and staff member at Faith Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Together, they dive into a conversation about church history, the joys of living in close proximity to church family, and what exactly the NAB Governing Board does.
You can listen or download this episode directly from the NAB website, or you can subscribe through Apple Podcasts or Spotify at the links below. New episodes are released twice a month through July.
Listen to the NAB Stories Podcast
Blue Ocean is a one-year introduction to what it means to join God on mission, to be formed into a follower with the character of Christ, and to learn to reach friends and neighbors with a robust Gospel in our culture. We meet three times a year in three different cities across the United States and Canada for multi-day retreats. Blue Ocean includes pastors, leaders, and regional ministers from across the NAB. Each cohort represents a cross-section of regions, church sizes, and ministry styles. The discussions are both encouraging and challenging.
Module 1
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Dates: October 21–24, 2025
Topic: Missional Theology – Joining in with the God of Mission
Module 2
Location: TBD
Dates: February 1–4, 2026
Topic: Missional Formation – Becoming Like Christ
Module 3
Location: TBD
Dates: April 26–30, 2026
Topic: A Missional People – Becoming a Sent People
There is no cost for Blue Ocean, though participants are responsible for covering their travel and accommodation costs. All other costs are covered by the NAB.
Sign Up for Blue Ocean 2025/26
“We really want to think of ministry in a different way,” said Dr. Shane Prewitt, senior pastor of Cross of Hope Church in Parma Heights, Ohio. “Instead of looking at our church property as the place where God works, how do we train our people here to go out into the harvest fields and do ministry where they’re at?” This struggle is what missiologists have long defined as the end of Christendom, and Cross of Hope’s response is on the frontlines of where God is working in the North American church to recapture a fervor for the Gospel.
The kind of missional imagination Pastor Shane and the people of Cross of Hope share is at the heart of the NAB. Because God is a missionary God at work in the world, our joy-filled task is to discern that work and receive his invitation to join with him. When you give to the Ministry Resource Fund, you are, in part, creating space for NAB leaders and churches to expand their own missional imaginations through trainings like Blue Ocean, Year of Equipping, Discovery Project, and Bonfire. In essence, each gift plays a small part in training churches and their leaders to bring the hope found only in Jesus to the world around us.
When you give to the NAB 2025 Summer Offering, you will greatly assist us in supporting local NAB churches as they share the hope found only in Jesus Christ. See the links below to give online, or you can text your gift amount, followed by “SUMMER”, to (204) 400-2238 for Canadian giving or to (916) 249-0534 for US giving.
Canadians can also give via e-transfer using givecanada@nabconf.org with “Summer” in the note field.