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. If you haven’t yet taken the plunge into Blue Ocean, we want to invite you to join us for our three gatherings, beginning in the fall. In case you’ve ever wondered, each of the gatherings has a distinct focus:

• Vancouver, British Columbia – Theology (October 16–19, 2022): Not only does this first set of meetings help foster a sense of community, it also entails an exploration of the missio Dei and uses topics such as reading Scripture, the Gospel, and the Trinity to get at the missional nature of our God.
• Sacramento, California – Formation (February 5–8, 2023): These few days focus being formed into the image of Christ, especially as leaders and how the dark side of leadership can impact our ministries, and even our very souls.
• Chicago, Illinois – Ecclesiology (April 24–26, 2023): The final gathering is a movement toward missional ecclesiology: what it looks like for us to be a people in a place, creating space and bearing witness to what God is doing there.

Over the last number of years, scores of NAB leaders have undertaken this journey together and by doing so have captured a vision for their church, ministry, and personal lives about what it means to be on mission with God in our communities. Consider taking the plunge into this next Blue Ocean cohort, beginning October 16–19, 2022. To find out more, visit the NAB Blue Ocean webpage or reach out to Sara-May Cardy.