The Pacific District Conference has been purposefully investing in young leaders since 2004. But in 2024, the district launched a new version of its NextGen Grant Program in collaboration with USMB’s Leadership Pipeline to assist churches with developing young leaders.
“The need for younger generations of leaders to engage with their own culture intentionally is urgent,” says Lawrence Smith, PDC associate district minister. “Through this program, the PDC is able to provide financial and training assistance to churches who are willing to invest in their young leaders.”
Program offers hands-on experience
The grant program offers hands-on ministry experience for young NextGen leaders, who work with a supervisor at a participating church in youth or children’s ministry or with summer programming.
The district offers grants of up to $1,000—used to pay the NextGen leader—to churches who hire a young person either full- or part-time. The Board of NextGen Leadership reviews applications and distributes grants at the program’s completion.
Additional funding is available through the MB Foundation Leadership Generation Fund. LeadGen offers three levels of funding, with Level 1 and Level 2 qualifying to be paired with the PDC NextGen Grant Program.
When the NextGen program re-launched in 2024, for the first time the district required participation in the Leadership Pipeline, which provides training material.
“We’ve been trying to grow our sense of connection to our larger MB family,” Smith says. “Our hope is that this partnership between the PDC grant and Leadership Pipeline is a strong and intentional effort in making disciples together as one nationwide MB family.”
Last year, 28 NextGen leaders participated at 10 churches in five states, including seven who served at Bethany Church in Fresno, Calif.
“(Our NextGen leaders) made a huge difference,” says children’s pastor Crystal Nachtigall. “All of them, but especially my children’s ministry NextGen leaders, were absolutely instrumental in maintaining momentum and running our summer fun.”
Board embraces renewed vision
In the 20 years the PDC has offered programming for young leaders, the district has given $388,000 to churches to subsidize ministry experiences for 239 young people, Smith says, but challenges have threatened the program’s sustainability.
“With district-wide staffing changes from 2017 to 2023 and increase in cost for keeping staff members like NextGen leaders on staff at churches, the program began to dwindle,” Smith says. “The Board of NextGen Leadership was put on pause for a brief time to dream and cast vision for the future.”
The district elected a new Board of NextGen Leadership at its 2023 convention, including chair Joe Broesamle, associate pastor of Vinewood Community Church in Lodi, Calif.
“As a PDC NextGen board we wanted to continue developing young leaders,” Broesamle says. “The NextGen grants allow for our local churches to give young leaders the keys to grow in their relationship with Jesus and in leadership qualities.”
In 2025, the district has funding for 22 NextGen leaders, and Smith says he would like to see 15 to 20 churches participate.
“I hope that churches become inspired to invest in the next generation of leaders,” he says. “I also hope that this program helps (young leaders) grow closer to Jesus and more excited and equipped to share the Good News of Jesus’ love, hope and life in a culture that often seems focused on fear and shame.”
Janae Rempel Shafer is the Christian Leader associate editor. She joined the CL staff in September 2017 with six years of experience as a professional journalist. Shafer is an award-winning writer, having received three 2016 Kansas Press Association Awards of Excellence and an Evangelical Press Association Higher Goals award in 2022. Shafer graduated from Tabor College in 2010 with a bachelor of arts in Communications/Journalism and Biblical/Religious Studies. She and her husband, Austin, attend Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.
