May 19, 2024
FRISCO, Texas — There is no secret sauce to reaching the next generation — whether they’re people we want to minister to in the church or lead as employees in our organization, said Shane Pruitt, next gen director with the North American Mission Board.
“The Holy Spirit is still the power to reach; the Bible is still relevant to equip and disciple; the Gospel can still save,” Pruitt told attendees at The Summit, an annual gathering for financial officers, human resources professionals and other key decision-makers from churches, ministries and nonprofit organizations. This year’s Summit featured 160 of attendees from 24 states.
Pruitt told attendees in the opening keynote session that it’s important to note that Generation Z — those born generally between the late 1990s and early 2010s — are not ‘the future of the church’ but the church right now.
“It’s our job to equip them to be the church and employee leaders of today,” Pruitt said, encouraging the leaders to work with Generation Z on their question for truth, something the whole generation seems focused on, telling attendees to “stick to the Bible” in ministering to that generation.
Scripture, along with worship, was a key component throughout the meeting. GuideStone President Hance Dilbeck offered the final presentation on Tuesday morning as the concluding keynote speaker. Turning to Psalm 134, the final Psalm of Ascent, Dilbeck encouraged the attendees that their labor, though often in the background, is of utmost importance in the Kingdom.
Dilbeck noted the antiphonal Psalm begins with a call-out to those who “serve by night in the house of the Lord.”
“The Levites did all that work in the background, preparing, cleaning, stocking, and providing for worship,” Dilbeck said. “It’s unseen work. Remember the promise in the New Testament for unseen servants: ‘Your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.’”
Jenni Catron, author of The 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership, spoke in a keynote on “Four Unexpected Trust Building Behaviors of Extraordinary Cultures. In the session, she discussed a cultural hierarchy of needs built on a foundation of Tools for the Job, with Organizational Clarity, Psychological Safety, Connection and Personal Fulfillment building the metaphorical pyramid.
Tools for the job include proper equipment, including physical space, computer equipment or other needs.
Once those are in place, then organizational clarity is the next step, Catron said, emphasizing “clarity of purpose,” “clarity of role,” “clarity of responsibility,” and “clarity of direction.”
“A simple lack of clarity starts to erode trust,” Catron said. “Trust is the foundation of teams.”
The Summit by GuideStone is one of the nation’s largest church and ministry business leader gatherings. The 2025 Summit will be March 30–April 1 at the Westin Dallas Stonebriar Golf Resort and Spa in Frisco, Texas. Registration for the 2025 Summit is already open at GuideStone.org/Summit2025.
