The NextGen Conference
What you do matters. NextGen exists because of that.
This gathering is for everyone who leads children, youth, and young adult ministries, whether you’ve been at it twenty years or you started last week. You’ll find teaching you can use in your own context, worship you don’t have to plan, and breakouts led by people who learned it the hard way. Mostly, you’ll be among people who already know what this calling asks of you.
This January in Jacksonville, Florida, we gather around two words from Jesus: “Take heart.” You are part of work that stretches across generations, and the God who so loved the world is already at work in the kids, students, families, and others you name in your prayers. Come and be renewed.
Highlights
What NextGen Looks Like
The NextGen Conference brings together children, youth, and young adult ministry leaders to sharpen their skills, spark new ideas, and deepen their commitment to the generation they serve.
Speakers
Worship, Learning, and Inspiration
Saturday, January 16
Beth Guckenberger
Co-Executive Director, Back2Back Ministries
Beth and her husband, Todd, serve as co-executive directors of Back2Back Ministries, an international organization dedicated to serving orphaned and vulnerable children. After graduating from Indiana University, they moved to Monterrey, Mexico, where they lived for fifteen years. That season shaped their hearts, their home, and their calling.
Between biological, adopted, and foster children, Beth and Todd have raised eleven children. Her firsthand experiences as a missionary, mother, Bible teacher, and nonprofit leader inform every message she delivers.
Beth is the author of twenty books, including adult and children’s titles. She travels and speaks regularly at conferences, youth gatherings, and church services about reckless faith.
Sunday, January 17
Tammy Swanson-Draheim
President, Evangelical Covenant Church
Rev. Swanson-Draheim serves as the first female president in the denomination’s history. She has held a variety of roles within the denomination for more than twenty-three years and, most recently, served as superintendent of the Midwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church since 2011.
Roslyn M. Hernández
Public Theologian, Researcher & Creative
Roslyn M. Hernández is a Latina public theologian, researcher, creative, activist, and contemplative. Through her work with Chasing Justice, Fuller Youth Institute, Centro Latino de Fuller, Tenx10, and CCDA, she centers the holistic spiritual development, engagement, and empowerment of emerging generations.
Across her roles, Roslyn cultivates healing spaces grounded in justice, holy listening, and embodied faith. She is especially called to support Indigenizing and intergenerational healing within the Latina church.
Roslyn holds a B.A. in film and media studies and Spanish from UC Santa Barbara and an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, with an emphasis in youth, family, and culture. She enjoys spending time in nature, traveling, ancestral wisdom, culinary traditions, and savoring solitude with a cup of herbal tea.
Monday, January 18
Dominique DuBois Gilliard
Senior Director of Discipleship, Evangelism & Justice, Evangelical Covenant Church
Dominique DuBois Gilliard is the senior director of discipleship, evangelism, and justice for the Evangelical Covenant Church. He is the author of Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice that Restores, which won a 2018 Book of the Year Award for InterVarsity Press and was named Outreach Magazine’s 2019 Social Issues Resource of the Year, and Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege. Gilliard also serves as an adjunct professor at North Park Theological Seminary and on the board of directors for the Christian Community Development Association. In 2015, the Huffington Post named him one of the “Black Christian Leaders Changing the World.”
Schedule
What to Expect
January 18–22, 2027 · All times Eastern
Breakout Sessions
Equipped for the Work Ahead
Saturday, January 16 · 3:00 pm
Mobilizing and Maximizing for Unite (Unite Leader Training)
Led by Dominique Gilliard and Pete Sutton
The best week of your students’ year starts with you. Unite 2027 will bring thousands of Covenant teens together for one of the most diverse and formative experiences of their lives. Leaders who arrive prepared make all the difference. In this training, you’ll learn what to expect at this multicultural gathering, how to handle conduct and conflict well, how Unite’s leadership works, and how to help students make the most of every moment. You’ll leave equipped, connected, and ready to lead.
Soul Care for the Caregiver: Settling into Sacred Rhythms
Led by Danielle Hitchen
A time to pause before the busyness of ministry resumes. Through brief teaching and guided practice—drawing on the Book of Common Prayer and other liturgical rhythms such as fixed-hour prayer and silence—leaders will have space to quiet their hearts and reconnect with God before the conference begins.
Sunday, January 17 · 9:00 pm
AI Conversation
AI holds tremendous potential to advance the work of the gospel, but it also brings significant pitfalls and challenges. Those challenges are already showing up in the church’s life and leadership. As the Covenant thinks about how we position ourselves moving forward, we want to hear from NextGen leaders. Come and share what you believe we need to think about and plan for at the denominational level.
Travel & Accommodations
Getting to Jacksonville
Hyatt Regency Riverfront
225 E Coastline Dr, Jacksonville, FL 32202
Double Queen
$179/night + tax
King
$189/night + tax
Need a Roommate?
If you’d like to share housing expenses, fill out this form and we’ll help connect you with others looking to share a room.
Parking
$20/night on Newnan Street, including in/out privileges.
Airport
Jacksonville International Airport (JAX)
2400 Yankee Clipper Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32218
All attendees are responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from the airport and hotel.
United Airlines Discount
Special discounts for the Covenant. Book online with code ZT25554726, or call (800) 426-1122, Monday–Friday. Booking fees are waived for meeting reservations.
Book with United ↗Delta Air Lines Discount
Book at delta.com with Meeting Code NY523 under “Advanced Search,” or call Conference & Events Reservations at 800-328-1111.
Book with Delta ↗Registration
Registration Opens October 5, 2026
Early registration runs October 5 through November 20, 2026. Regular registration applies after November 20, 2026.
| Package | Early | Regular |
|---|---|---|
| NGC StandardSaturday – Monday noon | $175 | $200 |
| NGC PlusSaturday – Tuesday, includes Monday dinner | $250 | $275 |
