Conclave NextGen returns to Arlington; looks forward to a “family reunion” of ministers, time for rest and investment in ministry

October 6 and 7, the Conclave NextGen conference will return to First Baptist Church Arlington after eight years, for two days of worship, breakout sessions, training and networking with those who oversee any component of NextGen or Family ministry in the local church.

Cory Liebrum, director of Discipleship & NextGen at Texas Baptists, said, “There's some familiarity in being in Arlington,” as Conclave previously met at the Convention Center “for a long time.” He said “there’s something fun” about being in Arlington and this time getting to partner with “one of our great churches.” 

Liebrum and Jennifer Howington, associate director of Discipleship & NextGen and Childhood Ministry specialist at Texas Baptists, said they are excited to have a full Discipleship & NextGen staff headed into this year’s conference. 

“I think this is the first year that we have three full-time specialists [who] are working towards [Conclave],” said Liebrum. “We have a leadership team made up of children's, youth, discipleship and senior pastors [who are] in churches around the state that help us plan throughout the year. But typically, this has been one or two of us planning this, and to now have a third, which allows more creativity [and] more being able to split up the responsibilities.” 

Kurt Krodle, Youth specialist for Discipleship & NextGen at Texas Baptists, said being on staff for this year’s conference has opened his eyes to the number of volunteers and leaders that help make Conclave happen. 

“I’ve had a [planning] team and realized what other [planning] teams are out there, but I don't think I've ever seen the scope of that until this year, which to me, that's really encouraging even to look through that volunteer list we've got, we have people all over the state in all sorts of roles,” said Krodle. “It's encouraging to see the number of people who get to have a hand in making this happen. They have some ownership and I love that part [of it].” 

What to expect at Conclave

Throughout Monday and Tuesday, attendees will have the opportunity to attend four main worship sessions and four breakout sessions. These sessions will include content and resources for preschool, children, students and college ministers, as well as senior pastors. Attendees can treat their sessions as a track within each of these areas or they can attend whichever breakout sessions interest them.

Texas Baptists Intercultural Ministries will be joining Conclave this year, “offering a new track”  on “exploring ways that we can meet the needs of [intercultural] churches.”

“I feel like we're expanding in some ways, and we're able to work with other Texas Baptists staff to meet new groups that may not think to come to Conclave,” said Howington.

In the four main sessions, attendees will hear keynote messages from Shane Pruitt, National Next Gen director for the North American Mission Board (NAMB), David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna Group, Bobby Contreras, pastor of Alamo Heights Baptist Church in San Antonio, and Shelly Melia, associate dean for the graduate school of Ministry, program director for Master of Arts in Children’s Ministry and in Family Ministry at Dallas Baptist University. 

Liebrum said he’s looking forward to hearing from Kinnaman and the perspective he will provide to attendees from a research background. Kinnaman will also lead a breakout session for the “Pastor’s Track.”

Luncheons will be offered on both days of the conference to provide small group discussion with different topics each day, and opportunities for community for several areas of ministry, including new to ministry, ministers’ spouses, bivocational ministers and first-timers at Conclave. Coffee and Conversation will also return this year during the lunch hours on both days. This provides a space for ministers to gather and discuss ministry topics that interest them or about which they have questions. 

Conclave is a time of rest and reunion

Krodle said Conclave “feels like a family reunion.” 

“I love getting to see other people [who] I only see at Conclave… [and I’m excited] to be in that space with people that I love and have worked with for decades,” said Krodle. 

He said his goal this year is to meet more people and make them aware of his new role. 

“I hope, at least [ministers get to] know my name and know my face, and hopefully [it will] create that bridge in their mind of if [they] need something, they know I'm in this seat and, hopefully help them to feel like we really do care about them, we want to be there to help them or cheer them on, or try to help them stay in the game,” said Krodle. 

Liebrum echoed Krodle’s “family reunion” sentiment. He said his favorite part of Conclave is that it provides a few days of rest and community for attendees.

“We want to create a sense of belonging, that when somebody comes in, they don't feel like an outsider coming into a family reunion, [but] we want them to feel like [they’re one of] us,” said Liebrum. “[To see people who] may be feeling dejected or frustrated or burned or something like that, and then just come in and be like, ‘I'll just be here for a few days. Nobody's going to ask anything of me. I'll just be and rest, and maybe meet a couple new people that I didn't know before,’... [is] what I love most about [Conclave].” 

Similarly, Howington said she loves “the energy when we're all in the same room” and the opportunity “to see people face to face that we may not see another time.” 

“When you have the preschool and children’s ministers, student ministers and collegiate ministry leaders all in the same room hearing the same thing, feeling supported and encouraged, there's just an energy there that you can't duplicate elsewhere,” said Howington. 

She said she is looking forward to "working with our churches.” 

“I like the move of doing Conclave within the churches instead of the convention centers. We've already seen First [Baptist Church] Arlington do so much for us [in preparation]. So I'm looking forward to when we're actually there and Conclave is happening, to get to partner with them in a tangible way,” said Howington. 

Making a good investment in your ministry

Liebrum said some people come to Conclave with “no idea why they’re coming, they just come every year.” He said he hopes for those attendees to take away one thing that encourages them in their ministry. 

“Some [ministers] are coming knowing exactly what they need from it… then some of them have no idea why they're coming, they just come every year [or] have never been, but saw that it fits in their calendar,” explained Liebrum. “So for that person, I hope they can come back with just one thing that they look back and go ‘That was a good investment of my time and energy to be [at Conclave] for those few days.” 

Howington said she hopes attendees take away new friendships. 

“When you work on church staff, you can feel isolated sometimes and not know what's going on in the greater NextGen [ministry] world. So [I want them] walking away with some friendships that they can call and ask for advice or just say, ‘How's it going in your ministry?’” said Howington. 

Liebrum said the value of Conclave is that there is something for every church staff member. 

“There's some combinations [of resources] that you couldn't get if you would just go into a  children's ministry or youth ministry or general kind of next gen, family ministry conference. So, there's a value in that for churches that may not be able to send their ministry leaders to four different conferences, but they might be able to send them all to Conclave,” said Liebrum. 

Liebrum emphasized that “we've got a space for you [and] for those that still want to bring a team.” He encouraged pastors to join their NextGen pastors and leaders for Conclave. 

Attendees are encouraged to access all of the information above, including the schedule, breakout sessions and registration information, in the Texas Baptists app, which is free to download online at txb.org/app. 

To learn more about the 2025 Conclave NextGen conference and register, visit conclavenextgen.org.