NEXUS 2026 Training and Worship Will “Encourage Your Spirit So That Your Church Can Flourish”
Hope Chapel will host the second annual NEXUS 2026 conference in November.
You’re invited to flourish!
“We all know ministry in New England is hard, but it is not impossible!” observed Terry Dorsett, executive director of the Baptist Churches of New England (BCNE). “Our family of 400 churches is flourishing. We see record baptisms year after year, increasing worship attendance, and solid discipleship ministries through various types of small groups.”
“Join us November 6-7, 2026, at Hope Chapel in Sterling, Massachusetts, for two days of inspiration at the second annual NEXUS conference,” he added. Sponsored by the BCNE, a multicultural network of 400 churches, “participation at NEXUS will help pastors and church leaders find ministry partners and equip members for leadership. The conference speakers, worship, and practical training offered will “encourage your spirit so that your church can flourish,” Dorsett stated.
“We know that every leader in our BCNE family of churches has a vision God has put on their hearts to accomplish something great for the kingdom. Our BCNE staff is committed to helping our churches flourish so they can see those visions fulfilled,” the executive director commented.
That’s a lot packed into a two-day conference, the theme of which—“Flourish”—is extracted from Psalm 92:12-13 (ESV):
The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the LORD;
they flourish in the courts of our God.”
Hope Chapel’s new worship center will seat 500 people for the NEXUS conference.
Growing a Flourishing Neighborhood Church
“There is significant hope for neighborhood churches across North America because many church leaders and their congregations are leveraging their resources and reclaiming their neighborhoods for Christ,” wrote Sam Rainer in “Dispelling Four Common (and Unhelpful) Myths about Neighborhood Churches,” for a Church Answers blog post.
As the plenary speaker on the second day of NEXUS 2026, Rainer will discuss lessons learned from consulting with pastors and church leaders, ideas that led to his latest book, The Surprising Return of the Neighborhood Church: Discover How Your Church Is Primed to Reach Your Neighbors (2023).
Based on the chapters of his book, he will discuss the conference’s “Flourish” theme by considering the “marks” and “myths” of a “healthy neighborhood church” and some “current challenges” and “effective strategies” for evangelizing neighbors. The book’s final chapter brings attention to a topic of particular importance to pastors and church leaders in multicultural New England: how a congregation can transform itself into a “neighborhood church for the nations.”
Sam Rainer
Rainer is the son of Baptist author and researcher Thom Rainer, who founded Church Answers and was president and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources. The NEXUS speaker consults on church health issues and co-hosts with his father the “Rainer on Leadership”podcast. Sam Rainer is now president of Church Answers, and he also leads The Revitalize Network.
In the October 2023 blog article, he “dispel[s] some unhelpful myths”: that neighborhood churches “can’t compete with large, regional churches,” “small size means small influence,” “our neighborhood location makes us invisible to the community,” and “the most capable pastors lead the largest churches.”
“Today there is a solid group of pastors and church leaders willing to take on the challenges of church revitalization,” which is one of the BCNE’s main purposes. “Many are co-vocational or bi-vocational. There is a strong contingent of pastors with a calling to serve neighborhood churches,” Rainer wrote. “We need to get excited about how God can use churches that are already situated in neighborhoods across our nation. A church on every street corner is precisely how God’s kingdom can grow!” he concluded the article.
Church Answers provides resources and consulting for church leaders and offers those who purchase a membership access to their “digital community” of nearly 2,000 members who help other members find answers to difficult questions. Retired pastors and church leaders, who want to continue “to impact the kingdom and spread the gospel,” also join the Church Answers online community.
Rainer is also president of The Revitalize Network, which was started in September 2018, with Lifeway Christian Resources, California Baptist University, and Brentwood (Tennessee) Baptist Church. The network, also called the Now Go Network, partners with the North American Mission Board and describes itself as a “a joyous community of Great Commission churches, organizations, and individuals working together to help churches get healthier.”
Rainer is author of nine books, including The Church Revitalization Checklist: A Hopeful and Practical Guide for Leading Your Congregation to a Brighter Tomorrow (2022),andUnderstanding the Bible as a Whole: An Accessible Book-by-Book Guide through the Scripture (2022).
The BCNE plenary speaker is lead pastor at West Bradenton (Florida) Baptist Church. He graduated from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (MA in Missiology) and Dallas Baptist University (PhD in Leadership Studies).
Worship With Flourishing Churches
Darryl L. Craft, senior pastor of Whitesburg Baptist Church, Huntsville, Alabama, will amplify the “Flourish” conference theme when he preaches the annual sermon at the Friday night worship rally. He will lead a breakout session Saturday morning on leadership and legacy development, entitled “Preparing Your Leaders to Flourish: Building a Legacy Through Seasons of Transition.”
Darryl Craft
Craft led his congregation to invest a significant amount of time and funds over three years to rehabilitate BCNE’s Luther Rice Lodge and Suite, the historic retreat center that was showing its age.
Whitesburg Baptist teams joined BCNE volunteers to replace or repair all the flooring, including some that was damaged by water leaks. They painted the interior as needed and donated many of the new mattresses.
The Whitesburg Baptists also rebuilt the office building's second floor into a modern Multiplication Center. “They redid two bathrooms and tore out walls to change offices into classrooms,” said Dorsett. One Alabaman, an interior designer, donated her time and expertise. “She had this great idea to add a cool accent on two walls using scrap lumber. Everyone who visits the space for the first time says, ‘Oh, that’s so cool’—and it was just a spontaneous thing. The idea came from the right person in the right moment at the right time,” the executive director observed.
Thanks to the BCNE partnership with Craft and the Whitesburg Baptists, the new Center features a conference room that doubles as a classroom for a variety of small groups, a hybrid video classroom for in-person and online training, a recording studio where training videos are made for the BCNE’s increasingly important Youtube channel, and a comfortable lounge that features a café. The Center “trains church leaders to navigate New England’s unique ministry and cultural challenges.”
The Whitesburg Baptists “particularly like the idea of helping us have what we need as an organization to be more self-sufficient at a higher level.” Dorsett noted.
In September 2018, Craft was called to lead Whitesburg Baptist Church. He succeeded Jimmy E. Jackson, senior pastor from 1978 until 2018; Jackson died in 2024. Craft is known for expository verse-by-verse preaching. He was an adjunct professor and a chapel speaker for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Before he came to Whitesburg Baptist Church, he was senior pastor of Temple Baptist Church, Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Green Street Baptist Church, High Point, North Carolina; and Brainerd Baptist Church, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Previously, he also led churches in Shelbyville, Tennessee; Capshaw, Alabama; and Durant, Oklahoma.
Practical Training Breakouts
In addition to a pair of inspirational messages by Sam Rainer, the following are some of the fifty-minute training sessions that will highlight Saturday’s agenda.
Preparing Your Leaders to Flourish: Building a Legacy Through Seasons of Transition led by Darryl Craft, senior pastor of Whitesburg Baptist Church, Huntsville, Alabama
Every ministry will face seasons of change, and healthy transitions don’t happen by accident. This breakout will explore how to intentionally develop leaders, create a culture of mentoring, and prepare the next generation to carry the mission forward. Discover practical strategies for succession planning, navigating leadership transitions with confidence, and leaving a lasting legacy that enables both your leaders and your church to flourish for years to come.
Creating a Worship Ministry That Flourishes, led by Billy Jones, pastor of Baptist Fellowship of Randolph, Vermont
A flourishing worship ministry is about more than great music; it is about cultivating a team that leads people into meaningful encounters with God. This breakout will explore practical ways to build a healthy worship culture, develop and disciple team members, navigate change, and create worship experiences that are both spiritually vibrant and missionally effective. Leave with fresh ideas and practical tools to help your worship ministry thrive in every season.
Surviving to Flourishing: Building a Practical Plan for Your Church’s Next Season, led by the BCNE Revitalization Team
This interactive workshop will help pastors move beyond identifying challenges to creating a practical plan for growth. Working alongside experienced BCNE coaches and revitalization leaders, participants will identify their most pressing ministry need and develop a personalized six-month action plan. Leave with greater clarity, practical next steps, and ongoing encouragement to help your church flourish.
From Redemption to Renewal: Flourishing Through Prayer, led by Daniel McGhee, BCNE New England Collegiate Ministry Director
Come and discover how to move beyond simply knowing they’re saved to actually living in the freedom and fullness Christ has secured for them. Prayer is one of God’s primary means of renewing our minds, replacing lies with truth, and learning to pray God’s promises rather than simply our problems.
Developing Young Leaders Today for a Thriving Ministry Tomorrow, led by Fady Ghobrial, BCNE Boston Collegiate Ministry Director
Healthy churches do more than gather people; they raise up leaders who multiply ministry. In this breakout, we’ll explore how churches can intentionally develop college students and young adults into servant-hearted leaders. We’ll look at practical systems for leadership identification, training, coaching, and deployment, while also addressing the heart-level vision needed to call young leaders into meaningful ownership of the mission.
Partnerships that Flourish: Cultivating Beneficial Relationships with Mission Minded Churches, led by Sharon Haller, BCNE Partnership Director
Learn how to maximize a mission partnership as well as how to strategically invest with others locally, regionally, and globally for gospel impact.