Hey friends, let’s connect at Orange! Orange is my favorite time of year because of all the amazing people that I get to meet. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and my best chance to meet hundreds of new friends. Before you pack your bags, let’s go over a couple of really important things you need to know.

1. Come meet me and some of my NextGen friends. Over the years, I’ve been gathering the most amazing tribe of NextGen leaders and so many of them come to the Orange Conference every year. I’m hosting just about every NextGen breakout/workshop and I’m always hanging out before or after… so come say hi. I’ll also be at EVERY SINGLE MEETUP. Come hang out with me and my crew, we’re ready to talk shop, exchange ideas and encourage each other.
2. LET ME KNOW WHO YOU ARE! Yes, come meet me, but also fill out the NextGen Survey. It’s the best way for me to connect with you and get to know you. I manage the NextGen tribe primarily through a list I’ve been building for the past five years. Take 5 minutes and fill out my survey, it will help me know who you are and what your ministry situation looks like. There are two benefits of being on my list (filling out the survey):
   1. You’ll get invited to EVERYTHING NextGen. I regularly email my list with resources, networking opportunities and invite-only gatherings. You won’t be in the loop if you’re not on my list.
   2. I’m giving away some fun stuff ONLY to those who fill out the survey (even if you’ve filled it out in past years). I’m giving away tickets to the 2018 Orange Tour, the 2019 Orange Conference, NEXT 2019 (an invite-only NextGen gathering) and about a dozen coaching sessions with some NextGen pros! Fill out the survey for a chance to win something fun!
3. Lastly, join the I Am NextGen Facebook Group. It’s a closed group of NextGen leaders from around the world. The conversations are frequent and so helpful/encouraging. Don’t do this ministry alone, partner with others through this group. Also, we’ll be posting some live Orange 2018 content on the group, you won’t want to miss it!

If you’re a NextGen Pastor, we have an amazing schedule planned out for you this year at Orange. Like every year, we have some amazing NextGen specific workshops and breakouts specifically designed for you (NextGen Leaders). Pay close attention, Breakout C and D on Thursday were recently changed. The new breakouts feature some of the most experienced NextGen Pastors who are going to unpack culture creation and strategy. If you signed up for breakouts before these two changed, you may want to reconsider.

Breakouts are going to be AMAZING, but you MUST take advantage of the NextGen Meetups. We’ve actually scheduled SIX different meetups for NextGen pastors. If you’re an early bird, we have breakfast meetups for you. If you’re a night owl, we have late night meetups for you. The best part of Orange is that you’ll spend 4 days surrounded by thousands of ministry leaders just like yourself. Prioritize a meetup or two. Meet some people who are in similar situations as you. Meet some people who are further down the road than you. Meet someone who isn’t quite as far as you. Just don’t go home without making some connections.

Below is the OFFICIAL NextGen Schedule. You’ll see when and where everything is happening. Orange boxes with the speech bubbles indicate meetups. Blue boxes with the gears indicate NextGen specific breakouts. Dark blue boxes with microphones are general conference sessions.