From preschool volunteers to young adult leaders, Next Gen Conference draws 250

Last weekend, about 250 people gathered for the Next Gen Conference at North Phoenix Baptist Church. 

Volunteers, ministry leaders and pastors who serve in preschool, kids, youth and young adult ministries came together Aug. 21-22 for equipping and connection at the conference.

“We want to help people see that the next generation isn’t something of the future, but it is now,” said Kailee Rutledge, one of the organizers of the conference. “So there is a responsibility to equip ourselves so that we can reach them now. Because if we wait, we might miss them.” 

The conference theme was “Your Next is Now.”

Rutledge saw the need for a conference like this one after traveling to similar events in Texas in previous years. She wanted Arizona volunteers to have the same opportunity.

At the conference, participants heard from Andrew Bailey, pastor at Cross Church Surprise; Chuck Peters, the director of Lifeway NextGen; and Brian Bowman, lead pastor of Valley Life Church in Phoenix. 

Participants could also choose from more than 30 breakout sessions taught by Arizona leaders, covering a variety of topics such as building a youth or young adult ministry from scratch, recruiting volunteers, using technology and AI wisely and more.  

“Every generation carries a spiritual baton that we receive from the generation before us, carry for a while and pass on to the generation right after us,” Peters said during the conference.”

Chuck Peters, the director of Lifeway NextGen, addresses the volunteers and leaders gathered for the Next Gen Conference, Aug. 21-22, 2026. (Photo by Johanna Moore)

Amanda Dean volunteers in the kids ministry at First Southern Baptist Church in Tucson. She appreciated the opportunity the conference provided to connect with others serving in similar roles. 

“You can look a lot of stuff up online, but when we’re all sitting here, sharing ideas, one idea goes into another idea…” Dean said. “You can refine. Iron sharpens iron. You can’t do that sitting behind a desk, silently, anonymously looking up information on the internet.” 

The conference was designed with connection in mind, providing opportunities to collaborate throughout the weekend. 

“I grew up in Arizona, but I worked in the South in denominational work, and they are two different cultures…” Dean said. “How we do things in Arizona, how we do things in Tucson or Phoenix or small communities, we need to hear how other people in our state are doing things.” 

Leaders and volunteers from 65 Arizona churches attended the conference. Most of the attendees were volunteers, not church staff,  said Rutledge, who is the family ministry director at HiWay Baptist Church in Mesa. 

The Next Gen Conference brought together volunteers and leaders serving in preschool, kids, youth and young adult ministries. (Photo by Johanna Moore)

“We wanted to connect leaders with other leaders so we weren’t so alone,” Rutledge said. “And then we can resource share, so being able to take what someone’s doing over here and help see how you can apply it in your context, because we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We don’t need some formula. We need the big ‘C’ Church and connecting everyone because we’re all on the same team.” 

Rutledge co-led the conference along with Kelcey Fry, the family ministry pastor at HiWay Baptist Church. A core team of nine leaders from various ministries across the state planned the conference. 

“Family ministry is just so big,” Rutledge said. “That’s how churches grow. … If we’re not reaching new families, we’re not discipling the generations, but also we’re not able to grow and reach our community because at some point, it will fizzle out. The passion behind this is … we need to equip our leaders.”