A little over a year ago, we shared that One-Eighty in Lodi, California, was trying something new – a house that could serve as a hands-on, neighborhood engagement training center – which is why we are happy to share a follow up to that story that comes straight from the NorCal NAB newsletter, The Beet. (Thank you to Kent Carlson, Lisa Schmidt, and Sarah Sciarini.)
This fall, our One-Eighty Lodi Central Street residents, Mikaela, Alejandra, and Andres, pulled off something pretty special together. They hosted a neighborhood Halloween Carnival right on their block, and even though the weather kept raining on them all evening, the community showed up anyway and stayed.
The event was coordinated primarily by Mikaela, who planned the details, gathered supplies, and made sure everything happened on time. But it truly took all three residents working together to bring it to life. Each of them played a different and important role throughout the night, and the event would not have been the same without the full team.
Mikaela spent most of the evening at the front of the event, greeting families and handing out candy. Her heart behind the carnival was to create a place where everyone in the neighborhood felt welcome and safe. And it worked. Days later, her Homework Club students were still talking about it. One parent even called One-Eighty afterward, asking how to get their family connected.
Alejandra guided families around the event, helped with cotton candy and popcorn, and answered questions about who they are and why they are in the neighborhood. . . .
This past spring, Calvary Baptist Church in Easton, Pennsylvania, held a celebration service for Table of Life Church, a new church plant led by Calvary’s former student and teaching pastor, Zach McAlack. Even though Table of Life is still in its infancy, everyone at that service heard stories of new life in Christ and transformation.
Yet, these stories would not have been possible without the support of the North American Baptist Conference. When you give to the NAB’s Ministry Resource Fund, you are, in part, helping to provide the necessary resources that allow new churches like Table of Life to exist. Your gifts support trainings, Fit Assessments, and resources that all serve new church plants and churches birthing new congregations.
Out of the birth of a new church, new life in Christ is blossoming. As Pastor Paul Wilson at Calvary said, “Anytime a birth happens, it’s a miracle.”
Would you support efforts to birth new churches and new life in Christ by supporting the Ministry Resource Fund? Your donation of $50, $100, or more will, in part, help support churches as they send out leaders to birth new communities of faith.
Check Out the Christmas offering
The registration for Bonfire 2026 is officially open! As of today, you can register for Bonfire, taking place May 5–8, 2026, in Medina, Ohio.
What we call Bonfire has taken on several different iterations over the years. At its core Bonfire was always designed to gather NAB leaders together around a shared purpose – a commitment to our missional/formational journey as the NAB.
Just like a bonfire itself brings people together who may not otherwise interact, these gatherings have morphed and expanded as different NAB groups – Multipliers, Governing Board, Missions Advisory Team, just to name a few – have caught wind of and bought into the shared purpose of mission and formation.
This year, based on much feedback, we are streamlining this event in a way we hope reflects this purpose. “Bonfire” will now be the name we use to refer to the overarching event, the main umbrella under which these various gatherings of NAB leaders meet. There will be two main evening sessions for the entire group, including dinner, fellowship, worship, and a unified speaker. During the days, each attendee will join their specific group gathering, or Ministry Track – Multipliers Summit, MAT, Missional Initiatives alum, etc. – to engage with each other.
It is our hope that Bonfire 2026 will serve you, equip you, and encourage you in ways both specific to your individual group but also in broad ways as a vital member of our conference of churches.
As we near the end of the year, here are a few factors to keep in mind as you consider donating to the NAB in this tax year to make sure we are able to give you a tax receipt for calendar year 2025:
- Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) forms must be received at the NAB’s Roseville, California, office no later than December 15, 2025.
- If you are sending a check, please make sure it is dated no later than December 31, 2025, and the envelope is postmarked no later than December 31, 2025.
- Online credit card transactions must be charged and processed no later than December 31, 2025.
- The deadline to donate stock prior to the end of the year, has already passed.
Please note the NAB International Office is closed beginning at 4:00 p.m. (Pacific) on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, and reopens at 7:00 a.m. (Pacific) on Friday, January 2, 2026.