NEXT Ventures is a ministry of Exponential NEXT and is designed to discover, connect, and learn from innovative ministries shaping the future of the church. This year, at Exponential Global, we selected 13 ministry leaders and provided them with the opportunity to offer a 7-10 minute “pitch” highlighting their innovative ministries. These presentations were heard by a panel of judges, and they were scored on the following criteria.
- Innovative – Is it a creative and/or unique approach to ministry?
- Impacting – Are there measurable and reproducible results?
- Sustainable – Does it have the infrastructure to support its staff and ministry?
- Scalable – Is there a reproducible model to support exponential growth?
- Diverse – Does this represent diversity of age, gender, ethnicity?
- Transferable – Is it possible to replicate these practices in the church?
- New – Is this ministry or project 6 months to 3 years old?
Our leadership team at NEXT Ventures then offered approximately $15,000 in microgrants to those ministries with the highest total scores. The event was an incredible success and an encouragement to each presenter while also inspiring everyone involved. Here is a brief summary of each session.
Workshop #1
In our first session on Tuesday afternoon, we heard from Dexter Harris of Flourish Community Hub, an innovative ministry in Gary, Indiana. Once a vibrant center of the nation’s steel industry, Gary has been marred by neglected, dying industries, abandoned properties, and a skyrocketing poverty rate. Flourish is addressing these issues by renovating a 20,000-square-foot building and transforming it into a vibrant community center that now serves as a hub for their community. The ministry now houses a thriving local church and 20+ community partners, thus integrating social entrepreneurship with spiritual outreach and a vision to plant other hubs across the region.
Next was a presentation by Adam Clewer and the ministry of Glimpse, a unique approach to retelling the gospel story through high-quality, short videos. These videos provide conversation starters and help equip the church to reach the lost. To date, the series of videos has had over two million views and countless testimonies of people coming to faith in Christ. In 2025, 12 new short films will be released.
The final two presentations featured Austin Rockwell with Kamp Love and Will Garinger with Run With Christ. Both presenters are in their early 20s and lead thriving ministries that are growing exponentially. Kamp Love is designed for students to reach their peers by launching a camp ministry on college campuses. In only a few years of existence, the ministry now serves 10,000 students at 15 universities and plans to start 100 camps in the next five years. Similarly, Run With Christ was launched in college towns as an opportunity to start Christ-centered running clubs for college students. Since their first running club, the ministry has now expanded to dozens of cities across the country and thousands of participants. The initiative has also sparked city-wide worship events and prayer gatherings, creating community, and providing spiritual transformation.
Workshop #2
On Wednesday morning, we had the privilege to hear from three other ministries, each finding new ways to innovate. First up was Rick Bolle, founder of Front Porch Church, a ministry uniquely crafted with the special needs community in mind. Rick fought back tears as he told numerous stories of families being seen, valued, loved, and heard through his ministry. He shared, “The services are always unique and might include a spontaneous high five during the sermon, kids walking around, and dancing in the aisles, or loud outbursts and expressions. But there are no distractions, only interactions within our community.” Their future vision is to build a church, barn, and greenhouse on 17 acres of land that will provide jobs and programs for their unique community.
Jimmie Easley, the founder of Street Salt, shared next and explained the deep need for a contextualized Bible curriculum for the urban environment. His ministry’s purpose is to engage urban youth and their communities with gospel-centered resources. The ministry has discovered new ways to repurpose sermons, teachings, and Bible studies through the use of hip-hop, video, and other methods of bridging faith and culture.
The final pitch was from Anthony Rex and a team of people seeking to plant churches on college campuses across the country. Church for the Campus already serves at four college campuses and has a vision to multiply its impact by training 40 new leaders through a customized ministry pipeline.
Workshop #3
The next session on Wednesday afternoon featured Soulcraft, a ministry led by Rodney Flicka that exists to engage individuals through woodworking, mentorship, and hands-on creativity in Ferguson, Missouri, a city often associated with racial tension and division. Three years ago, the ministry set out to create a third space that would be a place for people to come together and interact around projects. Since then, Soulcraft has mentored nearly 300 people through woodworking and forged key partnerships with local schools and community organizations. Their simple approach of engaging individuals through hands-on creativity has opened incredible doors for mentoring and sharing their faith.
Dhati Lewis of MyBLVD shared next and explained his ministry vision to establish sound discipleship in the urban context. Their goal is to establish a presence in the 30 largest metropolitan areas in North America, each with a population of more than two million. These cities tend to be majority-minority, historically vote blue, have a younger demographic, a higher cost of living, and the lowest evangelical presence. Their goal in 2023 was to commission 40 missionaries (poets, pastors, practitioners, and polymaths), and they quickly surpassed it. By bringing these leaders together in each city, their prayer is to foster movements that shape city culture and strengthen the church’s presence.
The final presentation of the day was CommonWealth NOLA, a ministry launched by Shane Booker in New Orleans and one that equips and disciples entrepreneurs and community leaders to launch microchurches, businesses, and non-profits.
Workshop #4
The final day at Exponential Global did not disappoint. We kicked things off with Kisha Williams, Director of the THRIVE Initiative and a veteran church planter. This initiative fuels urban church leaders with advanced training to address the unique challenges of ministry in urban areas. THRIVE utilizes specialized programs in AI and digital outreach, fundraising and budgeting, mental health support, holistic discipleship, and social media engagement. They are currently in four urban areas (Grand Rapids, Atlanta, Charlotte, Indianapolis) and are expanding nationwide.
Another incredible ministry is the MicroChurch Multiplication Plan based in the Chicagoland area and led by Rodrigo Cano, a local Latino pastor in the area who caught a vision for training and mobilizing lay leaders throughout the region. What has evolved is nothing short of miraculous move of God. In a few short years, the network has grown to nearly 200 microchurches and almost 5,000 people involved. Many of those participants are immigrants from Central and South America, and hundreds have come to faith in Jesus.
Finally, we wrapped up with Dino Rosato and Zebulun Marketplace Ministry & Church Planting Model, a creative marketplace ministry that launches barbershops along the east coast. Dino’s story was one of hope and redemption as he found his way back to God in his mid-20s and began to use his passion as a local barber to share the gospel. Along the way, he shared a number of bold steps in response to the Spirit’s prompting. He told story after story of life change and transformation happening with former gang members, prostitutes, and criminals all coming to Jesus through his shops. Based in New Jersey, he plans to expand to other cities across America.
These 13 ministries were a reminder that God is still working through His Spirit to bring the good news of the gospel message to various diverse contexts. Whether it be special needs individuals, urban dwellers, running enthusiasts, college campers, digital natives, Latino immigrants, or any other demographics represented, this year’s Pitching Deck did not disappoint. It reminded all of us of the beauty of His church and the incredible fruit that comes with a willingness to say “yes” to the Holy Spirit. To learn more about NEXT Ventures, visit https://exponential.org/ventures/.
