Author: Kenny Conley

Orange 2018: The NextGen Expereince

Orange 2018: The NextGen Expereince

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One week from today, nearly 7000 individuals who serve kids, teenagers and families will gather in Atlanta for the Orange Conference. This conference will be my 11th to Orange Conference, and I can’t wait. I know that for some people, the idea of attending the same conference every year for 10+ years seems redundant or stale. Honestly, that’s never been my experience and I think I know why. I don’t come to Orange for the content. That’s not 100% true. The content is always very good and inspiring. But the content has never been the driving force. I’ve attended a...

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YEAR ONE: SUMMARY

YEAR ONE: SUMMARY

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I’m currently 18 months into my second try at a NextGen role. So far, everything is going really well. I’ve not experienced any surprises, but I’m learning new stuff every day. I’m seeing wins at a much faster pace than the first time in the role and I truly believe it’s because I’m focusing on the right things this time around. In case you haven’t read the posts, I’ve found five important things to focus on in your first year as a NextGen Pastor. Learn the culture Meet your staff Learn your role Dive into another role Chart the...

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YEAR ONE: CHART THE FUTURE

YEAR ONE: CHART THE FUTURE

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Chart the future. Write out the org chart you want when someone makes a staffing change. Hire towards your new model. When I interviewed for my current position at MISSION, there was only one caution the church had about me after initial interviews. Someone was concerned about a remark I made concerning my staff. I had explained that none of the staff I had inherited was currently on my staff. There was concern that I would come in and clean house. In a follow-up conversation, all concerns were put to rest. I had been at Gateway for eight years....

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YEAR ONE: DIVE INTO ANOTHER ROLE

YEAR ONE: DIVE INTO ANOTHER ROLE

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Being a really great NextGen Pastor means that you’re pretty good at a lot of things. This speaks to the need for NextGen Pastors to be generalists rather than specialists. You might have been an amazing Student Pastor back in the day, but now it’s important to be pretty good at things other than student ministry. There might even be areas you oversee that feels pretty foreign and scary. Yeah, it’s time to get over that because it’s only a matter of time before you’re leading it. Last Fall, Nick Blevin’s and I had a conversation on his Family Ministry...

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YEAR ONE: LEARN YOUR ROLE

YEAR ONE: LEARN YOUR ROLE

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I only know two NextGen Pastors who are in their second NextGen gig. That means that MOST NextGen Pastors are in a new role. The role is usually new to them and new to their church. Since most NextGen Pastors are fairly new to their role, that means there are a lot of unknowns. What an exciting time to be in family ministry, it’s like the Wild West of ministry, right? Several months ago, I had the opportunity to record a podcast with Nick Blevins on his Family Ministry Podcast. We talked about your first year as a NextGen Pastor....

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