JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A total of 198 church leaders gathered at the Florida Baptist Convention building for the 2026 Next Gen Summit, Sept. 21-22. 

“There are always practical ministry tools and times of equipping, but every year the best part is the relationships,” said Nathan Schneider, next generation ministries lead catalyst. “At this event you are hearing great ideas, but at the end of the day it’s being encouraged, knowing that there are other people in the trenches alongside you.” 

Designed to serve every area of next generation ministry, the summit combined general sessions with focused breakouts so each attendee left better equipped for their specific ministry. 

Monday evening featured three general sessions, spaced between breaks and dinner. Tuesday was devoted to breakout sessions for kids, student and collegiate ministries. 

“Shane Pruitt was our keynote speaker. He did a phenomenal job talking about reaching Generation Alpha and related it to kids ministry, student ministry and college ministry,” Schneider said. “The rest of the summit was our Florida Baptist leaders. We had a lead pastor, Heath Woolman, speak on Monday night, and then Tuesday was practical breakout sessions from leaders across the state.” 

The annual event drew one of its largest crowds in recent years, with representation from every corner of the state. 

“We’re about three and a half hours away, so it’s worth coming up here and bringing a team,” said Bill Bender, preschool and children’s pastor at First Baptist Church of Plant City. “I think they do a good job of really addressing some of the topics of what we do in next generation ministry. You know it’s good when you take a lot of notes.” 

Trinity Rivest, middle school leader at First Baptist Church of Macclenny, said the resources provided offered both encouragement and direction. 

“It was good to be reminded of the things we know but lose focus of day in and day out with the different things of ministry,” Rivest said. “It’s about the students and their whole family.” 

Jacob Hanson, student minister at First Baptist Macclenny, echoed that emphasis on families. 

“It’s not just kids ministry or just student ministry; it’s family ministry,” Hanson said. “It’s not only telling families, ‘Hey, you need to be the primary disciplers of your kids,’ but how can we do that? How can we equip and resource them to do that in different ways?”