Innovation in the church rarely begins with a polished idea, clear strategy, or a fully formed ministry plan.
More often it starts with a deep burden God places on the heart of a leader, often a pioneering leader. It is a deep sense that something new needs to happen so more people can experience the love of God and a relationship with Jesus.
At Exponential, one of the ways we create space for those ideas to be identified and grow is through NEXT Ventures. NEXT Ventures is an initiative designed to identify, encourage, and accelerate innovative ministry projects that have the potential to multiply Gospel impact.
NEXT Ventures exists to come alongside pioneer leaders who are building new expressions of the church, experimenting with new ministry models, or responding creatively to emerging challenges in their community and our world. Our goal is not to simply celebrate innovation, but to help it take root, grow, and eventually multiply.
NEXT Ventures is a growing portfolio of 70+ ministry projects that is also a family. We are friends on mission. Through this community, peer coaching, and catalytic resources we seek to intentionally help leaders clarify their vision and take their next bold steps toward even greater Kingdom impact.
One of the key on-ramps into our family is the NEXT Ventures Pitching Deck, which takes place each year at Exponential Global in Orlando, Florida. During each of the four breakout sessions at the conference, we give three to four ministry leaders the opportunity to pitch their ideas, models, and early progress to a panel of leaders and peers.
In many ways, Pitching Deck functions like an incubator moment – an opportunity for pioneer leaders to share the vision God has given them, the problem they are trying to solve, and how they believe their project could serve the mission of Jesus in a fresh way. These seven minute pitches must clearly articulate the impact God is having through their ministry.
Beyond that, these project leaders are pitching for the opportunity to apply for NEXT Ventures Shark Tank which will be held in Jacksonville, Florida on Sept. 28 and 29. Only 12 ministry projects will be invited to pitch at Shark Tank, where micro-grants and an expanded partnership with Next Ventures will be extended.
During the 2026 Exponential Global Conference, we hosted the latest version of Pitching Deck. We heard from 15 projects representing a wide range of contexts and innovative ministry approaches. 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?
What follows is a summary of each session and the leaders who stepped forward to share their bold pitches.
Pitching Deck Session #1
Session one kicked off with Aidan Britnell pitching Kaleo AI. Kaleo AI is reimagining what it means for the Gospel to be heard by removing language as a barrier. By combining custom-trained AI with a radically simple user experience, they have equipped 500+ churches to instantly translate entire worship gatherings without the need for costly infrastructure or personnel.
Estuary Go!, founded by Joey Tomassoni, is igniting a movement of everyday missionaries by equipping churches to move beyond their walls and into the lives of people in the places where they work, live, and play. Through their GO! Ecosystem and AWAKEN model, they are uniting churches within cities for collective, disciple making impact that multipliers leaders and transforms communities. With 26 partnerships already in motion and vision to add 100 more each year, they are helping the church rediscover its calling as a sent people.
Liminal founder Aaron Barnett is stepping boldly into the “in-between” spaces of young adulthood – those defining transition moments where identity, calling, and faith are forged. Anchored in a commitment to stay on the wall until the work is done, Liminal is cultivating environments where young leaders co-create with God through service, community, calling, and worship. What began as a Spirit-led vision in late 2024 is quickly taking shape into a movement, forming and sending a generation who will not drift through transition, but be discipled and deployed through it.
Academy Training, led by Lance Frickle, is scaling accessible, high-impact training for church planters around the world. They are equipping leaders not just with knowledge, but with actionable plans and coaching support to multiply. Through a unique blend of on-demand content and live cohort-based coaching, they are forming practitioners who can immediately implement and reproduce what they’ve learned. With six completed tracks and a vision to expand into Spanish, French, and beyond, they are lowering barriers and accelerating a global movement of disciple-makers and church planters.
Pitching Deck Session #2
Session two was kicked off with a pitch from Peyton Jones and Kris Langham. They are the founders of Disciplology. Disciplology is a disciple-making platform for a digital age—placing a daily, relational pathway into the hands of everyday believers. Co-developed by NewBreed Training and Through the Word, the platform guides users through Scripture, clear actionable next steps, and real-time voice interaction with disciple-making partners, turning formation into practice! Disciplology is poised to equip a new wave of disciples who don’t just consume content – but actively reproduce. They currently have 4,500 users and are dreaming about 1 million more by 2030.
Come to the River (C2TR) founder Andy Krajewski enthusiastically pitched next. Andy is calling the church back to the water, positioning baptism as a bold, public, and celebratory gateway from the world to the water to the church. Their first C2TR event saw over 500 attendees and 68 people baptized! He has a dream to scale this to a national movement where C2TR events are held across the nation.
Project 3|26, founded by Brian Cooper, is inviting people into a daily, life-changing encounter with the Bible — one chapter a day, over 3 years and 26 days. By pairing each passage with clear study guides and companion podcasts, and equipping leaders to multiply the journey in small groups.
Grace Bomb, started by Patrick Linnell in 2019, is helping believers break out of their “Christian bubbles” with a simple, Spirit-led practice that turns everyday moments into opportunities for unexpected kindness and Gospel conversation. By equipping people to build the habit of “grace bombing,” they are activating ordinary Christians to live on mission in natural, relational ways. In 2025 alone, they put 92,390 grace bomb cards in the hands of believers around the world. Last year they received almost 1,100 impact stories.
Pitching Deck Session #3
Session three of the Pitching Deck was kicked off by Holy Health, founded by Justin Roethlingshoefer. Holy Health is reframing health as a discipleship issue – aligning habits, rhythms, and lifestyle with God’s design for whole-person transformation. Through a fully integrated ecosystem of app, curriculum, and community, they are equipping believers to steward their bodies with intentionality and accountability. Already piloted in 20 churches, this movement is poised to scale – helping people experience not just better health, but a more holistic, embodied faith.
Break Free Ministries founder Michael Swalley pitched their dynamic ministry to Hip-Hop culture next. They are boldly stepping into the heart of that culture to see gospel-centered micro-churches launched! By mobilizing everyday missionaries – artists, dancers, and cultural influencers – they are forming “Fire Teams” that live on mission, make disciples, and start micro-churches embedded in their existing Hip-Hop networks around the world. What has emerged over the past two years is a reproducible movement, redefining church planting as something that flows through culture, not just into it.
OneChurch.io, founded by James Donley, is building digital infrastructure for a more unified Church – connecting leaders, churches, and communities beyond denominational lines within a shared local ecosystem. What began as a grassroots experiment in Florida is now evolving into a scalable platform, empowering cities like Lincoln, Nebraska to collaborate, communicate, and move together as friends on mission. As this model replicates, it holds the potential to reimagine how the Church shows up – locally unified, digitally connected, and collectively on mission.
Seeds of Change founder Doug Beutler pitched to end session three. Seeds of Change is investing in the often-overlooked pastors of smaller churches. They are cultivating a relational network where encouragement, coaching, and practical training help them thrive again. They are doing this by helping these churches who are declining or plateaued become disciple making churches. What started with a single church has quickly grown into a multiplying network, revealing the powerful impact that can emerge when small church leaders are seen and supported as they discover how to become places where disciple are made to multiple generations.
Pitching Deck Session #4
Session four was kicked off by Mark Wurtz who is the founder of 3E Internship. The 3E Internship is identifying and investing in young adults through a deeply immersive, year-long journey that integrates work, community, learning, and global missions. Rooted in a rhythm of shared life and real responsibility – from farm-based community living to international ministry experiences – the program is raising up young leaders with spiritual depth and a missional imagination.
The final pitch was from Michael Hewitt and his team from Pool Church. Pool Church is stepping into billiards culture with a creative and compelling expression of the gospel – turning pool tables into platforms for disciple-making. Through trick shots, digital content reaching millions, and relational micro-gatherings, they are reaching people in the billiards culture. What they hope emerges are micro-expressions of the church that gather around pool tables.
If you have read this far. Stop and celebrate with the NEXT Ventures team. Wow, 14 innovative projects and 14 wonderful pitches!
NEXT Ventures Pitching Deck is more than a selection process – it offers a glimpse into the future of the church. Each project represented a leader who sees an opportunity where others might see a challenge. Some of these projects were invited to apply for Shark Tank this fall where they will have the opportunity to pitch for a micro-grant and a deeper partnership with Next Ventures.
But regardless of the outcome of this year’s Pitching Deck or Shark Tank event this fall, the real win is a growing community of leaders who are willing to boldly step forward. And with those steps, they are courageously experimenting and pursuing new ways to multiply the mission of Jesus.
We are grateful for their courage, creativity, and bold faith these leaders bring to the frontline of their Kingdom ventures. We look forward to seeing how God continues to use their ideas to spark new expressions of ministry and church in the years ahead!
