October 18, 2026
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Kim Vallair, children and youth director at The Mount Church in Garland, Texas, walked into the 10th annual ETCH (Equipping the Church and Home) NextGen Ministry Conference wearing all 10 of her name tags from each conference she had attended. Sitting in the front row, she embodied the spirit of the week, celebrating the conference’s history while looking ahead.
The conference was held Oct. 5-7 in Brentwood, Tennessee. Vallair, along with more than 900 next-gen ministry leaders, gathered to be equipped and encouraged “to hold fast — to remain faithful to God’s Word, persevere in their calling and be rooted in Christ,” organizers said.
Attendees traveled from 38 states for the event. Worship was led by Bridge Worship, with a performance by special guest, Brandon Heath. The conference celebrated its history with throwback videos, ETCH-branded cookies and sketch artist John Whitworth capturing moments throughout the week.
The event began with Lifeway’s NextGen director Chuck Peters encouraging attendees, “Don’t be a DNF (did not finish).”
Pulling from his days racing cars, he said, “Anyone can run fast for a very short time. The challenge is to finish the race you started.”
Peters said many leaders start well in ministry but don’t make it to the end. “We want to encourage, refuel you, tune you up and send you back into the race to run the race with endurance,” he said, citing Hebrews 12.
Peters challenged leaders to run free, faithful, focused, and to finish.
“How you finish is what you will be remembered for,” Peters said. “Don’t let temporary discouragement make you a permanent DNF.”
Throughout four main sessions, the theme “Hold Fast” was reinforced through keynote speakers.
On night one, Shane Pruitt, the national next-gen director for the North American Mission Board, spoke on “Gen Alpha and a Return to the Basics.”
“A lot of times, the best way for us to move forward is for us to return to the basics,” he said, calling leaders to return to being led by the Spirit, sharing the gospel, teaching the Bible, making disciples and praying for a generation.
“It’s our turn to be faithful to declare the mighty acts of God to the next generation,” he said, noting that attendees were only sitting in that auditorium because the last generation did the same for them.
In the second main session, Blair Linne, author and Bible teacher, spoke from 2 Corinthians 4:5-11.
Reflecting on a pitcher she received as a wedding gift, she said, “I’ve not forgotten the purpose: Marriage is about being poured out for one another. That’s not just the case for marriage. That’s what it means to be a Christian and to be called into ministry.”
Sharing about her own anxiety, Linne said she had to learn to take it to the Lord. “God was helping me see my life is not my own. I was called to be poured out, and that means being poured out in my weakness,” she said. “I was not to be impressive but to point to the one who is impressive.”
Linne encouraged attendees that it should be evident where the best part of us comes from. “It’s the treasure inside of us. Jesus is the treasure,” she said. “We have the treasure. We have [the next generation’s] greatest need. So we are going to hold fast to our treasure as we are poured out.”
In the third session, Ryan Blackwell, Lifeway’s president and CEO, reminded attendees that good starts matter, but they don’t matter most. “What matters most is holding fast, finishing well,” he said.
Drawing from Nehemiah, Blackwell urged attendees to make the prophet’s four choices their own: Choose to reconnect with God, resist distractions, remember your why and recommit to the work today.
“Build the wall God has called you to build for the sake of His glory and name. When you pass that baton, my prayer is you can say that you left behind a legacy of someone who finished well,” he said in closing.
In the final session, Stephanie Chase, kids minister at Champion Forest Baptist Church, spoke on holding fast to Jesus.
“There is a war going on against the next-gen ministry. Satan and the world are out to get our kids and our students,” she said. “We are the ones holding the rope. We are the ones holding fast.”
Chase challenged next-gen leaders to hold fast to Jesus and hold fast to the mission.
To help attendees discover their mission, she pointed them to their SHAPE: spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. “What’s your mission? What has God created you to do that only you can do for His glory?” she asked.
Beyond the main sessions, attendees were encouraged and equipped through nearly 70 breakout sessions and three pre-conferences:
The special needs inclusion pre-conference was led by Sandra Peoples and Jana Magruder. It was designed to help churches “either improve or expand their disability ministry or start one for the first time,” said Magruder, Lifeway’s NextGen strategic initiative director.
Breakout sessions were offered during the conference to address specific needs of next-gen leaders.
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A digital pass to view all the main sessions will be available Nov. 16. Next year’s conference will be held Oct. 4-6, 2027, at Brentwood Baptist Church. Registration information can be found at Lifeway.com.
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