Recently, Wayne Stapleton connected over Zoom for a quick chat with Dave Ambrose about a book he’d recommended to Dave, Who’s the Next You?: A Call for 1,000 More Churches to Invest in Gen Z through Residency by Dave and Kristin Miller. Though only nine-minutes long, their conversation talks about the struggle of local churches attempting to build up leaders in the younger generations; some of the successes Dave has seen in his role as lead pastor of Heartland Community Church in Medina, Ohio; and what they thought about the challenge of the Millers’ book.
We encourage you to read Wayne’s personal reflections on Who’s the Next You? below, followed checking out Wayne and Dave’s discussion at the link below.
In Who’s the Next You?, Dave and Kristin Miller challenge 1,000 churches to implement two-year residency programs to develop Gen Z church attenders so some of them may become tomorrow’s church leadership. Clearly, every church does not have the resources to handle two-year residencies, but I submit that every church does have the ability to put intention into the development of its younger people, not just for tomorrow’s leadership but also for today’s ministry engagement.
The Millers open by stating, “At the heart of this book is a single, transformative idea: investing in leadership residencies isn’t optional; it’s essential” (p. 7). To support the urgency of this need, they cite statistics, writing that “51% of workers in 2024 reported considering leaving their jobs” and that this trend is mirrored in ministry as well (p. 8). Filling open church positions is a vital need for the church. Their proposal for the residency focuses on seven critical ingredients for resident, and ministry, success: “education, spiritual formation, soft-skill development, ownership, best practices, mental wellness and developmental conversations” (p. 8).
While validating the significance of education and spiritual formation as foundational, they also champion the development of soft skills, of which they outline twenty they have prepared training materials to help develop. They also write that weekly coaching meetings are crucial. Of the coaching meetings, they quote their director of Resident Development: “a young leader’s success rises and falls on their supervisor’s ability to coach them” (p. 63).
While every church may not be able to implement an extensive two-year residency program, Who’s the Next You? provides so many ideas about leader development that it is a great resource for churches as we consider how we engage this younger generation in ministry development, for their benefit and for the benefit of the church.
check out wayne and dave's discussion
NorCal churches of the NAB are cordially invited to attend the first-ever International Mission Pop-Up.
Experience an evening of engaging conversation and connections around international missions. Hear from Joel David, the NAB VP of International Missions, and Shan Reed, NAB mobilization director and former NAB missionary to Japan.
It can be easy for our churches to feel isolated or like what we do doesn’t seem to make any kind of global impact, particularly when it comes to the Kingdom efforts regarding international missions. This Pop-Up will help your church grasp the larger picture of NAB International Missions, help connect you with other local NAB churches who share a similar interest in missions, and hopefully promote awareness of and engagement with NAB International Missions and missionaries.
This pop-event will take place 6:30–8:00 p.m. on January 26 at First Baptist Church in Lodi, California. Refreshments will be served.
For more than 100 years, White Cross has been providing necessary medical supplies to those in need. Through White Cross, churches and individuals across the NAB in the United States and Canada are able to partner with medical staff and NAB missionaries in Cameroon. Due to the logistics, White Cross has two separate facilities to collect and ship supplies; in Canada, White Cross is operated by the Alberta Baptist Association, and in the US it is run by Century Baptist Church in Bismarck, North Dakota.
The last newsletter from White Cross Canada for 2025 includes a year-end recap through numbers of all they were able to accomplish, a quick note from the NAB’s Cameroon field director, Maureen Moody, and some ways you can pray in support of this important ministry.
find more info about fit assessment
Bonfire 2026 registration is open! This year, Bonfire will be 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.