NEXT Conference 2024

We believe a primary way to fulfill the Great Commission is through faithful, local churches—which is why Acts 29 seeks to catalyze a church-planting movement to see more and better churches around the world. Pastors, church planters, and church leaders, join us as we build on 25 years of God’s faithfulness to us in church planting and look forward to what’s NEXT in church planting and church leadership.

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SPEAKERS & MUSIC

Sam Allberry

Immanuel Nashville //
Nashville, TN

Sam Allberry is the Associate Pastor at Immanuel Nashville. He is the author of various books, including What God Has to Say About Our Bodies and Is God Anti-Gay?; and the co-host of the podcast You’re Not Crazy: Gospel Sanity for Young Pastors. He is a Fellow at the Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics.

Matt Chandler

The Village Church & Acts 29 Executive Chairman //
Flower Mound, TX

Matt Chandler is a husband, father, pastor, elder, and author whose greatest desire is to make much of Jesus. He has served over 20 years as the Lead Pastor at The Village Church in Flower Mound, TX which recently transitioned its 5 campuses into their own autonomous churches. He is also the Executive Chairman of the Acts 29 Network, a large church planting community that trains and equips church planters across the globe.

Matt is known around the world for proclaiming the gospel in a powerful and down-to-earth way and enjoys traveling to share the message of Jesus whenever he can. He lives in Texas with his beautiful wife Lauren and their three children, Audrey, Reid, and Norah.

Dr. Bryan Loritts

The Summit Church & The Kainos Movement //
Durham, NC

Bryan Loritts (D.Min., Liberty University) is the Teaching Pastor at The Summit Church. An award-winning author of eight books, Dr. Loritts has spent the bulk of his ministry serving and resourcing the multiethnic church. He co-founded Fellowship Memphis in 2003 and serves as the President of The Kainos Movement, an organization committed to seeing the multiethnic church become the new normal.

His ministry takes him across the globe annually, as he speaks at conferences, churches, and retreats. Bryan has been a featured speaker for Catalyst and the Global Leadership Summit.

Currently, he serves on the board of Biola University and is a regular visiting professor at Grimke Seminary. He is also the Vice President of Regions for the Send Network.

He is the husband of Korie, and the father of Quentin, Myles, and Jaden.

Joby Martin

The Church of Eleven22 //
Jacksonville, FL

Joby Martin is the founder and lead pastor of The Church of Eleven22 in Jacksonville, Florida. Since launching the church in 2012, he has led a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. In addition to providing The Church of Eleven22 with vision and leadership, Pastor Joby is an author, national and international preacher and teacher. He has been married to his wife, Gretchen, for over 20 years and they have a son, JP and a daughter, Reagan.

John Piper

Desiring God & Bethlehem College & Seminary //
Minneapolis, MN

John Piper serves as founder and lead teacher at Desiring God and is chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, Piper served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church. He has authored more than 50 books, and more than 30 years of his preaching and writing are available free of charge at desiringGod.org. Piper resides in the Minneapolis area with Noël, his wife of 55 years, and they have 5 children and 16 grandchildren.

Ajay Thomas

Seven Mile Road Church //
Philadelphia, PA

Ajay Thomas helped plant Seven Mile Road Church in Philadelphia where he lives and pastors. He also serves as the Executive Director of The Advance Initiative which exists to see a global movement of gospel-centered, multiethnic churches planted by or among South Asians. He is blessed to serve Jesus with his wife Shainu and their two children.

Resonate Movement Music

Based in the San Francisco Bay area of California, Resonate Movement Music serves Resonate Church's multiple campuses through musical worship each week.

EVENT SCHEDULE

Monday, April 15

3:00 p.m. Registration Opens
5:00 p.m. General Session 1
6:30 p.m. Dinner Break
8:30 p.m. Evening Celebration

Tuesday, April 16

9:00 a.m. General Session 2
10:45 a.m. Workshops 1
12:00 p.m. Lunch Break
2:00 p.m. General Session 3
3:15 p.m. Workshops 2
4:30 p.m. Dinner Break
7:00 p.m. General Session 4

Wednesday, April 17

9:00 a.m. General Session 5
10:55 a.m. General Session 6
12:30 p.m. End of Conference

View a list of local recommended restaurants here.

WORKSHOPS

NEXT Conference Workshops are a space for church leaders, staff, and volunteers to learn and be encouraged on a variety of topics. View the list of 20+ workshops below, and learn more about each workshop here.

Workshops Session 1

Sam Allberry
You’re Not Crazy: Gospel Sanity for Weary Churches
Junior Ballroom B

Adam Flynt
Exploring a Call to Church Planting
Room 8

Mike Handler, Awana
Forming Faith: Raising Disciples for a Post-Christian Era
Junior Ballroom A

Rodney Hobbs, Jimmy Needham, Kelly Needham, & Lindsay Schott
Training Women is Complementarian
Junior Ballroom D

Ryan Kearns
Key Systems and Leadership Lessons for Executive Pastors
Room 6

Tim Lukei, Maverick River Collective
How to Build a Vibrant Multi-Generational Men’s Ministry
Room 1

Grace Maultsby
Administrative Assistants: The Position and Potential
Room 3

Resonate Elders
Building a Healthy Elder Culture
Junior Ballroom C

Keely Rule, Guardian Financial Group
3 Financial Opportunities for Ministers
Room 5

Colleen Searcy
Facing the Fears of Leading: A Study of Matthew 14
Room 7

Heather Thompson
Spiritual Moms & Dads and the Future of Church Planting
Room 4

Workshops Session 2

Roberto Bruno
Creative Arts: How to Establish a Culture of Songwriting in Your Church
Room 3

Taylor Burgess
Thriving in the First 3 Years of Church Planting
Room 1

Josh Hibbard & David Pinckney
Church Revitalization in Old and New Contexts
Room 5

Amy Hobson
Strengthening Your Leadership Through Self-Awareness
Junior Ballroom B

Brian Howard
How to Lead and Build Effective Ministry Teams
Junior Ballroom A

Kelly Needham & Lindsay Schott
Raising Up Women Teachers in Your Church
Room 8

Edward Paz, Jim Applegate, & Grace Maultsby
When the Church & the LGBT+ Community Collide
Junior Ballroom C

Colleen Searcy
How to Supercharge Small Group Discussion
Room 6

Jason Shepperd
A Practical Tool for Evangelism: Good. God. Gospel.
Junior Ballroom D

Scott Taylor
Fear, Faith, and Following: Gospel Implications for Discipleship
Room 7

Scott Zeller
Planting Churches Worldwide: Reports From Around the Globe
Room 4

Want to know more? View more workshop details here.

LOCATION

Irving Convention Center
500 W Las Colinas Blvd.
Irving, TX 75039

Located in the heart of the central business hub of Irving, Texas, the stunning Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas is a premiere meeting destination in North Texas and the surrounding Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan region.

Attendees can fly into the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) or Dallas Love Field (DAL). Depending on traffic, DFW is only about a 10-minute drive to the Convention Center. Additionally, the Convention Center has a convenient stop on the DART Light Rail (Orange Line), an easy 17-minute ride from the DFW station. DAL is approximately a 20-minute drive.

RECOMMENDED LODGING

There are many hotels in the Irving/Las Colinas area and we have contracted special rates (good through March 15-24, 2024, depending on location) with the following hotels: