The Preaching for Change Initiative invites church leaders to engage in the power of worship and preaching to celebrate our radical call as people of faith. Our goal is to inspire individuals and faith communities to transform their surrounding neighborhoods and even the whole world. Over the past two months, the Hiring Team (consisting of Shani McIlwain, Susan Thornton, Jen James, and Larissa Kwong Abazia) has been blessed to talk with many qualified candidates for the Preaching for Change Coordinator position. They have inspired us and stretched us. The discernment of the team weighed many f ..read more

With gratitude and hope, we are pleased to announce the NEXT Church Vision Team. We received applications (many more than the spaces available) from gifted leaders across the denomination and were deeply encouraged by their willingness and hopefulness for NEXT Church and the greater Church. The following leaders have been invited to serve through 2023: Allison Arsenault Rob Ater Jana Blazek Karen Fitz La Barge Wilson Kennedy Shanea Leonard Jessie Lowry Andrew Plocher Jennifer Thomson Angela Williams-Tyler Joshua Young Shani McIlwain (corresponding member) “I am excited to be a progressive tho ..read more

The women arrived at the tomb weighed down with spices to prepare Christ’s body and, even more so, bearing the pain of his loss. As they approach and realize the stone rolled away, their mourning turns to confusion; to lose their Messiah once again when they had been readied to anoint his body must have been unimaginable. Layer upon layer of loss: first of what they believed to be reality and then the disruptive story unfolding before them. This is the story of faith. We come running for one task, ready for the work ahead, only to realize God’s movement. Our invitation is to remain attuned to ..read more

In December, we shared the good news that NEXT Church had received a grant from the Lilly Endowment to help establish the Preaching for Change project initiative. This five-year project will gather diverse cohorts of preachers and church leaders across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who are leading congregations toward transformation in their communities, with a particular focus on justice and equity. This project stands at the intersection of who NEXT Church has been and the commitment to continually listen to the needs of Christian leaders in order to serve the Church. With enthu ..read more

Dear Next Church colleagues, siblings and friends – Blessings to you in this holy season, as our Lenten journey begins its move toward Jerusalem. We are grateful for your connection to Next Church – whether through a National Gathering, a cohort, an elder symposium or training. With you, we form a network of leaders who believe the Spirit is even now moving through the church. We seek to strengthen the relational fabric of the church, cultivating congregations and leaders who work to promote God’s transformation of our communities. In recent years, we have endeavored to engage that work underg ..read more

We are grateful for so many supporters who attended our Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, December 13, 2022. NEXT Church leadership shared a lot of information about our future along with some exciting announcements. Check out what you missed! Here are the highlights: NEXT Church has shifted its staffing model to build a foundation for the future. These changes include hiring Rev. Larissa Kwong Abazia as Designated Strategic Director and promoting Jen James to Program and Operations Director. The results of the Race Equity Audit were officially released to the public after months ..read more

Looking for COVID protocol language? Here was what we used for the 2022 NEXT Church National Gathering. NEXT Church values centering those on the margins in our practice and planning as part of our commitment to be a more antiracist and anti-oppressive organization. This value drives us to center the most medically vulnerable, as well as young children on-site and at home, as we prepare to gather in May. We also recognize each person has their own level of comfort when it comes to COVID and gathering with others. We are committed to creating an environment that allows you to enter in ..read more

Good People — I write with a huge dose of gratitude to let you know that my tenure as director of NEXT Church comes to a close at the end of May 2021. I am so proud to have been part of this movement of the Spirit over these last 9 years as director. Together, we have created a space for sparking imagination, telling the truth, working toward justice, and pouring into church leaders in this time when the church as an institution is precarious and the common good needs strong and focused institutions. From scrappy early days when we wondered if anyone was interested in thinking together about t ..read more

Rev. Floretta Barbee-Watkins preaches during the mid-week worship service at the 2020 National Gathering in Cincinnati ..read more

Dr. Brian Blount preaches during the closing worship service at the 2020 National Gathering in Cincinnati ..read more